I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2818 

To promote permanent families for children, privacy and safety for unwed 

mothers, responsible fatherhood, and security for adoptive parents by 

establishing a National Responsible Father Registry and encouraging 

States to enter into agreements to contribute the information contained 

in the State’s Responsible Father Registry to the National Responsible 

Father Registry, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 18, 2015 

Mrs. HARTZLER (for herself and Ms. KUSTER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To promote permanent families for children, privacy and 

safety for unwed mothers, responsible fatherhood, and 

security for adoptive parents by establishing a National 

Responsible Father Registry and encouraging States to 

enter into agreements to contribute the information contained in the State’s Responsible Father Registry to 

the National Responsible Father Registry, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Adoption 

3 Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find6 ings: 

7 (1) Responsible father registries, also known as 

8 possible father registries or putative father reg9 istries, exist in as many as 34 States. 

10 (2) The Supreme Court of the United States in 

11 Lehr v. Robertson (463 U.S. 248) (1983), found re12 sponsible father registries to be constitutional. 

13 (3) Responsible father registries help to speed 

14 up the stable placement of children by providing a 

15 mechanism to determine whether there are any pos16 sible fathers who may have an interest in partici17 pating in the placement decisions of the child so that 

18 the possible father can timely assert his rights or so 

19 that the father’s rights can be waived, surrendered, 

20 or terminated and the child made available for adop21 tion or placement. 

22 (4) Responsible father registries protect the pri23 vacy and safety of unwed mothers by removing the 

24 burden from the mother to provide information 

25 about any possible fathers, disclosure of which would 

26 be an invasion of her privacy and may cause harm 


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1 to the mother, particularly in the case of rape or do2 mestic violence. 

3 (5) Responsible father registries serve to pro4 tect the rights of men who wish to be involved in the 

5 placement decisions of a child they believe they may 

6 have fathered by creating a mechanism for such men 

7 to undertake responsibility and to protect their 

8 rights without having to rely upon others to protect 

9 their rights, and to indicate their desire to be noti10 fied in a timely manner of certain legal proceedings 

11 related to the child, including proceedings related to 

12 termination of rights, adoption, and the placement 

13 of the child into State custody. 

14 (6) Responsible father registries protect the pri15 vacy of possible fathers by providing a mechanism 

16 for men to submit identifying information to a data17 base with restricted access. 

18 (7) Responsible father registries protect the in19 terests of adoptive parents and increase the security 

20 of adoptions by reducing the risk that possible fa21 thers cannot be located in a timely manner. One of 

22 the biggest risks to the finalization of an adoption 

23 is the inability of the parties to an adoption pro24 ceeding to timely locate the possible fathers. When 

25 possible fathers are not provided with timely notice 


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1 of an adoption proceeding related to a child they 

2 may have fathered and discover such proceeding 

3 later, the adoption proceeding often is delayed or 

4 disrupted. In addition to causing emotional stress 

5 and significant costs associated with this problem, 

6 such cases, particularly when they attract media at7 tention, create a chilling effect on adoption in that 

8 prospective adoptive parents may decide not to pur9 sue the option of adoption for fear that they will be 

10 involved in such a case. 

11 (8) Interstate travel of mothers and the filing 

12 of legal actions relating to a child in a State other 

13 than the State in which a possible father may have 

14 registered may circumvent and eliminate the protec15 tions such unwed mothers and possible fathers are 

16 provided by the individual State Responsible Father 

17 Registries, because there are no agreements or 

18 mechanisms between the States to identify or to pro19 vide notice to possible fathers who have registered in 

20 another State. 

21 (9) The inability of States to coordinate and 

22 cross-check their responsible father registries may 

23 jeopardize or delay the placement of the child in a 

24 permanent home and undermines the benefits to 

25 unwed mothers, protections intended for registered 


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1 possible fathers, and security for adoptive parents 

2 that State registries are intended to afford. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

4 (1) to provide for a national database that 

5 would accept possible father registrations from par6 ticipating State Responsible Father Registries and 

7 directly from possible fathers, and would transmit 

8 the results of specific searches of such registrations 

9 to authorized parties involved in any State’s pro10 ceedings, whether the State participates in the na11 tional registry or not, for adoption, the placement of 

12 a child in State custody, or the termination of a fa13 ther’s rights; 

14 (2) to enable children to find a permanent home 

15 more quickly by providing identifying information on 

16 possible fathers thereby enabling the fathers’ rights 

17 to be addressed in a more timely manner; 

18 (3) to remove the burden from the mother of 

19 having to identify potential fathers, to protect her 

20 privacy and safety, especially in cases of rape or do21 mestic violence; 

22 (4) to empower men to take responsibility for 

23 the protection of their rights by enabling them to 

24 register in a participating State or directly with the 

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1 ceiving notice of a proceeding in another State and 

2 reducing the opportunity for the mother to deprive 

3 a possible father of the ability to assert his rights 

4 by withholding accurate information concerning the 

5 possible father, by moving, or by traveling to an6 other State; and 

7 (5) to reduce the risk to prospective adoptive 

8 parents of delayed or disrupted placements resulting 

9 from challenges to adoptions due to a possible fa10 ther’s untimely receipt of notice of such proceedings. 

11 SEC. 3. REGISTRIES TO FACILITATE ADOPTIONS. 

12 Part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 620 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘Subpart 4—National and State Responsible Father 

16 Registries to Facilitate Adoptions 

17 ‘‘SEC. 445. DEFINITIONS. 

18 ‘‘In this subpart: 

19 ‘‘(1) BUSINESS DAY.—The term ‘business day’ 

20 means a day on which Federal or State offices, as 

21 applicable, are open for regular business. 

22 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE PARTY.—The term ‘eligible 

23 party’ means— 

24 ‘‘(A) public and licensed private adoption 

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1 tion for a planned or pending adoption or the 

2 termination of rights of one or more possible fa3 thers; 

4 ‘‘(B) licensed attorneys representing a 

5 party in a planned or pending adoption or in 

6 the termination of rights of one or more pos7 sible fathers; 

8 ‘‘(C) State agencies or entities responsible 

9 for the placement of children; and 

10 ‘‘(D) State courts. 

11 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL RESPONSIBLE FATHER REG12 ISTRY.—The term ‘National Responsible Father 

13 Registry’ means the registry established and main14 tained under section 445A. 

15 ‘‘(4) NOTICE.—The term ‘notice’ means notice 

16 to all possible fathers of a proceeding sufficient to 

17 satisfy the notice requirements of the law of the 

18 State in which the proceeding is pending. 

19 ‘‘(5) PENDING ADOPTION.—The term ‘pending 

20 adoption’ means any adoption in which an adoption 

21 petition has been filed and is still pending with a 

22 court pursuant to State law. 

23 ‘‘(6) PLANNED ADOPTION.—The term ‘planned 

24 adoption’ means any plan for the adoption of a child 

25 or children in which the birth mother has contacted 


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1 an attorney or a public or licensed private adoption 

2 agency about placing her child for adoption, or in 

3 which a public or licensed private adoption agency is 

4 working to place a child for adoption. 

5 ‘‘(7) PROCEEDING.—The term ‘proceeding’ 

6 means a proceeding relating to a child that a pos7 sible father has or may have fathered regarding a 

8 planned or pending adoption of the child, the entry 

9 of the child into State custody, or the termination of 

10 a possible father’s rights to the child. 

11 ‘‘(8) POSSIBLE FATHER.—The term ‘possible 

12 father’ or ‘putative father’ means a man who has 

13 had sexual relations with a woman to whom he is 

14 not married and is therefore presumed to know that 

15 such woman may be pregnant as a result of such re16 lations. 

17 ‘‘(9) SEARCH.—The term ‘search’ means a re18 quest for information regarding the existence of all 

19 possible fathers related to a child that is the subject 

20 of a proceeding. 

21 ‘‘(10) STATE RESPONSIBLE FATHER REG22 ISTRY.—The term ‘State Responsible Father Reg23 istry’ means, with respect to a State, the registry es24 tablished or modified and maintained under section 

25 445C for that State. 


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1 ‘‘(11) PARTICIPATING STATE.—The term ‘par2 ticipating State’ means a State that has entered into 

3 an agreement with the Secretary under section 

4 445B. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 445A. NATIONAL RESPONSIBLE FATHER REGISTRY. 

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date 

8 that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

9 subpart, the Secretary shall establish and maintain 

10 an automated National Responsible Father Registry 

11 that contains the information described in section 

12 445C(c) and that provides a mechanism for men to 

13 register such information directly with the National 

14 Responsible Father Registry. 

15 ‘‘(2) DATA ENTRY AND DELETION REQUIRE16 MENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) DATA ENTRY.—Information trans18 mitted by a State or a possible father under 

19 section 445C(d)(2) shall be entered into the 

20 National Responsible Father Registry not later 

21 than the date that is 2 business days after the 

22 date on which such information is received. 

23 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBLE FATHER REGISTRA24 TION.—The Secretary shall establish procedures 

25 under which a possible father may submit the 


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1 information described in section 445C(c) di2 rectly to the Secretary for the purpose of in3 cluding such information in the National Re4 sponsible Father Registry. Such procedures 

5 shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) require the possible father to 

7 verify by submission of a sworn statement 

8 or such other means as the Secretary de9 termines appropriate that the information 

10 submitted is his own personal information 

11 and that it is true and correct to the best 

12 of his knowledge; 

13 ‘‘(ii) provide that no fee shall be 

14 charged to the possible father for reg15 istering in the National Responsible Father 

16 Registry; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) allow possible fathers to submit 

18 registrations by mail or electronic means. 

19 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION OF FEDERAL PEN20 ALTIES FOR SUBMISSION OF FALSE INFORMA21 TION.—Any person who knowingly submits 

22 false information to the National Responsible 

23 Father Registry directly or indirectly through 

24 transmission of information submitted to a 

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1 ject to penalties in accordance with the provi2 sions of section 1001 of title 18, United States 

3 Code. 

4 ‘‘(D) DELETION OF DATA.—Information 

5 entered into the National Responsible Father 

6 Registry shall remain in the registry for not 

7 less than 20 years from the date of entry. 

8 ‘‘(3) ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN THE NA9 TIONAL RESPONSIBLE FATHER REGISTRY.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara11 graph (B), access to the information contained 

12 in the National Responsible Father Registry is 

13 limited to an eligible party. 

14 ‘‘(B) LIMITED ACCESS FOR REG15 ISTRANTS.—Each possible father who registers 

16 in the National Responsible Father Registry 

17 may file a search request with the Secretary for 

18 the limited purpose of confirming that the in19 formation he provided is contained in the Na20 tional Registry. 

21 ‘‘(4) SEARCH REQUESTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) BY AN ELIGIBLE PARTY.—The Sec23 retary shall accept a request from an eligible 

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1 ther Registry only if the request has been 

2 verified for authenticity. 

3 ‘‘(B) BY A REGISTRANT.—The Secretary 

4 shall accept a request from a possible father 

5 who has registered in the National Responsible 

6 Father Registry to search the National Respon7 sible Father Registry only if the request has 

8 been verified for authenticity. 

9 ‘‘(C) FEE.—The Secretary is authorized to 

10 charge a reasonable fee for a search conducted 

11 under this section. 

12 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE OF INFORMA13 TION.—No information contained in the National 

14 Responsible Father Registry shall be disclosed to 

15 any person if the disclosure of the information would 

16 contravene a national security interest of the United 

17 States or if the disclosure would compromise the 

18 confidentiality of census data. 

19 ‘‘(6) METHODS FOR REQUESTING A SEARCH OF

20 THE NATIONAL DATABASE.—An eligible party may 

21 request a search under this section either electroni22 cally or through the mail. 

23 ‘‘(7) CERTIFICATE OF SEARCH.— 

24 ‘‘(A) ISSUANCE.—Within 2 business days 

25 of receipt of a search request, the Secretary 


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1 shall issue by mail or electronic means a certifi2 cate of search to the person who requested the 

3 search. 

4 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF ELIGIBLE PARTY

5 SEARCH.—The certificate of search on behalf of 

6 an eligible party shall contain— 

7 ‘‘(i) the names and most recent con8 tact information for all possible fathers 

9 who are registered in the National Respon10 sible Father Registry or registered in any 

11 participating State Responsible Father 

12 Registry; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the latest date through which 

14 data in the National Responsible Father 

15 Registry has been updated; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) the list of the State Responsible 

17 Father Registries whose data is included in 

18 the search database and the date through 

19 which the data from each participating 

20 State was last updated. 

21 ‘‘(C) CONTENTS OF REGISTRANT

22 SEARCH.—The certificate of search on behalf of 

23 a possible father who has registered in the Na24 tional Responsible Father Registry shall only 

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1 retary by the registrant himself or provided by 

2 the registrant to a participating State registry 

3 and transmitted by that State registry to the 

4 Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(D) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATE.—A certifi6 cate of search issued under subparagraph (B) 

7 shall serve as evidence of efforts by the eligible 

8 party who requested the search to locate a pos9 sible father in order to provide those possible 

10 fathers identified in the certificate with notice 

11 of a proceeding. 

12 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN.—The 

13 Secretary shall establish a nationwide responsible father14 hood and responsible father registry educational campaign 

15 that is designed to inform possible fathers, unwed moth16 ers, possible adoptive parents, and eligible parties of the 

17 existence of the National Responsible Father Registry, the 

18 advantages of possible fathers registering either in the Na19 tional Responsible Father Registry or a State Responsible 

20 Father Registry, or both, the rights and responsibilities 

21 of possible fathers, unwed mothers, possible adoptive par22 ents, and eligible parties with regard to a proceeding, and 

23 the role of the National Responsible Father Registry and 

24 a State Responsible Father Registry in a proceeding. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 445B. AGREEMENTS WITH STATES TO PROMOTE RE2 SPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use all rea4 sonable efforts to encourage States to enter into an agree5 ment with the Secretary to become a participating State 

6 under this subpart. Such agreements shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) require that the State comply with the re8 quirements for State Responsible Father Registries 

9 under section 445C; 

10 ‘‘(2) require that the State provide for a proc11 ess under which a registered possible father will re12 ceive notice of a proceeding at the most recent ad13 dress he provided to the registry, within State deter14 mined guidelines and time limits; 

15 ‘‘(3) require the State to provide annual reviews 

16 and reports to the Secretary on the State Respon17 sible Father Registry, including such information as 

18 may be necessary to measure compliance with the 

19 requirements under this subpart; 

20 ‘‘(4) require the State to, in accordance with 

21 standards prescribed by the Secretary, cooperate 

22 with other States and the Federal Government to 

23 assist individuals and governments in their efforts to 

24 locate and provide notice to possible fathers; 

25 ‘‘(5) encourage the State to establish or des26 ignate a single organizational unit within the State 


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1 that meets such staffing and organizational require2 ments as the Secretary may prescribe to administer 

3 the State Responsible Father Registry; 

4 ‘‘(6) encourage the State to enter into coopera5 tive agreements between the State and appropriate 

6 entities, such as those specified in section 

7 445C(e)(2), to assist the organizational unit estab8 lished or designated to administer the State Respon9 sible Father Registry; 

10 ‘‘(7) encourage the State to amend its long-arm 

11 jurisdictional statute to ensure that personal juris12 diction is established in a proceeding for a father 

13 registered in the National Responsible Father Reg14 istry; 

15 ‘‘(8) encourage States to develop, establish, and 

16 operate programs that are designed— 

17 ‘‘(A) to improve the protection of the 

18 rights of possible fathers in a proceeding; 

19 ‘‘(B) to assist mothers in making respon20 sible plans for their children’s future; and 

21 ‘‘(C) to protect the privacy and safety of 

22 possible fathers and of birth mothers, including 

23 those who have been the victims of violence, by, 

24 among other things, enabling birth mothers to 

25 proceed with an adoption or placement plan 


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1 without being required to disclose her sexual 

2 partners; and 

3 ‘‘(9) encourage States to enact laws and regula4 tions to address the pre-birth abandonment of a 

5 child by the biological father and abandonment of a 

6 child by the biological father subsequent to birth. 

7 ‘‘(b) GRANTS TO PROMOTE RESPONSIBLE FATHER8 HOOD.—An agreement with a State that meets the re9 quirements of subsection (a) may include a grant to the 

10 State as provided for under section 445D. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 445C. STATE RESPONSIBLE FATHER REGISTRIES. 

12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

14 each State that is a participating State under this 

15 subpart shall provide assurances to the Secretary 

16 that the State has, or will establish, and will main17 tain an automated responsible father registry that 

18 meets the requirements of this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) EXISTING STATE RESPONSIBLE FATHER

20 REGISTRIES.—A State that has a responsible father 

21 registry in existence on the date of enactment of this 

22 subpart and desires to enter into an agreement with 

23 the Secretary under section 445B shall provide as24 surances to the Secretary that the State will, not 

25 later than 180 days from the last day of the first 


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1 regular session of the State legislature that begins 

2 after the date of enactment of this subpart, modify 

3 the registry to the extent necessary for the registry 

4 to meet the requirements of this section with respect 

5 to responsible fathers who register with the State on 

6 or after that day. For purposes of the previous sen7 tence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year legis8 lative session, each year of the session is considered 

9 to be a separate, regular session of the State legisla10 ture. 

11 ‘‘(b) REGISTRATION WITH THE STATE RESPONSIBLE

12 FATHER REGISTRY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—The 

14 State shall establish procedures under which the 

15 possible father of a child may submit the informa16 tion described in subsection (c) to the State for the 

17 purpose of including the information in the State 

18 Responsible Father Registry. Such procedures shall 

19 provide that, in order for the possible father to be 

20 entitled to notice of any proceeding, the possible fa21 ther must submit information for inclusion in the 

22 State Responsible Father Registry within State-de23 termined time limits. 

24 ‘‘(2) VERIFICATION.—The procedures estab25 lished under paragraph (1) shall require the possible 


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1 father to verify by submission of a sworn statement 

2 or such other means as the State, in consultation 

3 with the Secretary, determines appropriate that the 

4 information submitted is his own personal informa5 tion and that it is true and correct to the best of 

6 his knowledge. 

7 ‘‘(c) CONTENTS.—With respect to a child, the State 

8 Responsible Father Registry shall contain information suf9 ficient to identify the possible father, which may include 

10 (but is not limited to)— 

11 ‘‘(1) the name of the possible father (including 

12 any other names by which he may be known); 

13 ‘‘(2) the date of birth of the possible father; 

14 ‘‘(3) the Social Security number of the possible 

15 father, if any; 

16 ‘‘(4) the State of issue and driver’s license 

17 number of the possible father, if any; 

18 ‘‘(5) the address provided by the possible father 

19 at which he requests notice; 

20 ‘‘(6) all known telephone numbers for the pos21 sible father; 

22 ‘‘(7) the name and address of the employer of 

23 the possible father, if any; 

24 ‘‘(8) the name of the mother (including any 

25 other names by which she may be known); 


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1 ‘‘(9) the most recent address of the mother, if 

2 known; 

3 ‘‘(10) the date of birth of the mother, if known; 

4 ‘‘(11) the Social Security number of the moth5 er, if known; 

6 ‘‘(12) the State of issue and driver’s license 

7 number of the mother, if known; 

8 ‘‘(13) the city and State where possible concep9 tion took place; 

10 ‘‘(14) the date or estimated date (or range of 

11 dates) of possible conception; 

12 ‘‘(15) the birth date of the child or the approxi13 mate delivery date, if known; and 

14 ‘‘(16) the name and gender of the child, if 

15 known. 

16 ‘‘(d) COLLECTION OF STATE INFORMATION AND

17 TRANSMISSION TO THE NATIONAL RESPONSIBLE FATHER

18 REGISTRY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) COLLECTION.—The State shall collect the 

20 information described in subsection (c) submitted by 

21 the possible father and enter such information into 

22 the State Responsible Father Registry. 

23 ‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION.—Not later than the date 

24 that is 3 business days after the date on which any 

25 information described in subsection (c) is entered 


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1 into the State Responsible Father Registry, the 

2 State shall furnish such information to the Sec3 retary, in an electronic format designated by the 

4 Secretary, for purposes of including the information 

5 in the National Responsible Father Registry. 

6 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT.—The procedures estab7 lished under subsection (b)(1) shall include a means 

8 by which a possible father is informed that the reg9 istry may be used to establish an obligation to sup10 port a child or children. Except as provided in sub11 section (g), registration shall not constitute an ad12 mission of guilt to any crime under Federal or State 

13 law. 

14 ‘‘(e) ESTABLISHMENT OF REGISTRATION CEN15 TERS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The State shall establish 

17 centers in various locations throughout the State so 

18 that registration forms for the State Responsible 

19 Father Registry are easily accessible to possible fa20 thers. 

21 ‘‘(2) SITES.—The sites of the centers described 

22 in paragraph (1) may include (but are not limited 

23 to) the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) State and local hospitals. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Courthouses in which family courts 

2 are located. 

3 ‘‘(C) State departments of motor vehicles. 

4 ‘‘(D) State welfare agencies. 

5 ‘‘(E) State health department offices. 

6 ‘‘(F) State vital records offices. 

7 ‘‘(G) State probate courts. 

8 ‘‘(H) State-operated or -sponsored websites 

9 for each center established in accordance with 

10 this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(f) METHOD OF SUBMITTING REGISTRATION.—The 

12 State shall permit a possible father to submit information 

13 to the State Responsible Father Registry electronically, in 

14 person, or by mail. The State shall not charge a fee for 

15 registering in the State Responsible Father Registry. 

16 ‘‘(g) PENALTIES FOR SUBMISSION OF FALSE INFOR17 MATION.—A State shall have in effect a law that provides 

18 that any person who knowingly submits false information 

19 to a State Responsible Father Registry shall be guilty of 

20 the highest class of misdemeanor under State law. 

21 ‘‘(h) ACCURACY OF DATA.—A possible father is solely 

22 responsible for the accuracy of the information contained 

23 in his registration and he shall be responsible for updating 

24 the information, if needed to keep it accurate. The infor25 mation contained in the registration is presumed accurate. 


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1 Notice regarding a proceeding shall be deemed received 

2 by the possible father if sent or delivered to him at the 

3 most recent address he provided in subsection (c)(5). 

4 ‘‘(i) PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS.—The State shall estab5 lish procedures to ensure that the information maintained 

6 in the State Responsible Father Registry is subject to the 

7 same privacy safeguards as the privacy safeguards re8 quired under section 454(26). 

9 ‘‘SEC. 445D. GRANTS TO STATES TO PROMOTE RESPON10 SIBLE FATHERHOOD. 

11 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Secretary may make 

12 a grant to a State that enters into an agreement with the 

13 Secretary pursuant to section 445B to become a partici14 pating State for purposes of— 

15 ‘‘(1) modifying an existing State Responsible 

16 Father Registry to the extent necessary for the reg17 istry to meet the requirements of section 445C; or 

18 ‘‘(2) establishing a State Responsible Father 

19 Registry that meets the requirements of section 

20 445C. 

21 ‘‘(b) CONDITION.—As a condition for receiving a 

22 grant under this section, a State shall agree to— 

23 ‘‘(1) maintain an automated State Responsible 

24 Father Registry in accordance with the requirements 

25 of section 445C; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) support the nationwide responsible father2 hood and responsible father registry educational 

3 campaign established under section 445A(b). 

4 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT.—A grant made under this section 

5 shall be in such an amount as the Secretary determines 

6 appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds received under a grant 

8 made under this section may be used to reimburse a par9 ticipating State in whole or in part for costs incurred to 

10 modify an existing State Responsible Father Registry or 

11 to establish a State Responsible Father Registry, and to 

12 reimburse the State in whole or in part for costs incurred 

13 to satisfy the conditions specified in subsection (b). 

14 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec16 essary for fiscal year 2016 and each fiscal year thereafter 

17 for purposes of making grants to States under this sec18 tion.’’. 

Æ 


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