I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6298 

To establish national and State putative father registries, to make grants 

to States to promote permanent families for children and responsible 

fatherhood, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 

Ms. RICHARDSON (for herself, Mr. CONYERS, and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To establish national and State putative father registries, 

to make grants to States to promote permanent families 

for children and responsible fatherhood, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 and Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Act of 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL AND STATE PUTA2 TIVE FATHER REGISTRIES TO FACILITATE 

3 ADOPTIONS. 

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

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

6 following: 

7 ‘‘Subpart 3—National and State Putative Father 

8 Registries to Facilitate Adoptions 

9 ‘‘SEC. 440. DEFINITIONS. 

10 ‘‘In this subpart: 

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

12 means a day on which Federal and State offices are 

13 open for regular business. 

14 ‘‘(2) HOME ADDRESS.—The term ‘home ad15 dress’ means the most recent place of residence of 

16 an individual. 

17 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL PUTATIVE FATHER REG18 ISTRY.—The term ‘National Putative Father Reg19 istry’ means the registry established and maintained 

20 under section 441. 

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

22 sufficient to satisfy any requirements under State 

23 law applicable with respect to notice to a putative fa24 ther of paternity, of a proceeding to terminate his 

25 rights to a child, or of a proceeding that is related 

26 to a planned or pending adoption in that State of a 


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1 child he has, or may have fathered, or the entry of 

2 such a child into State custody. 

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

4 adoption’ means any adoption in which an adoption 

5 petition has been filed with a court pursuant to 

6 State law. 

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

8 adoption’ means any adoption in which the birth 

9 mother has formally contacted an attorney or a 

10 State licensed adoption agency about placing her 

11 child for adoption. 

12 ‘‘(7) PUTATIVE FATHER.—The term ‘putative 

13 father’ means a man who has had sexual relations 

14 with a woman to whom he is not married and is 

15 therefore presumed to know that such woman may 

16 be pregnant as a result of such relations. 

17 ‘‘(8) SEARCH.—The term ‘search’ means a re18 quest for information regarding a man who had sex19 ual relations with a woman to whom he is not mar20 ried and is therefore presumed to know that such 

21 woman may be pregnant. 

22 ‘‘(9) STATE PUTATIVE FATHER REGISTRY.— 

23 The term ‘State Putative Father Registry’ means, 

24 with respect to a State, the registry established or 


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1 modified and maintained under section 444 for that 

2 State. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 441. NATIONAL PUTATIVE FATHER REGISTRY. 

4 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE.— 

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

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

7 subpart, the Secretary shall establish and maintain 

8 an automated National Putative Father Registry 

9 that contains the information described in section 

10 444(c). 

11 ‘‘(2) DATA ENTRY AND DELETION REQUIRE12 MENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) DATA ENTRY.—Information trans14 mitted by a State under section 444(d)(2) shall 

15 be entered into the National Putative Father 

16 Registry not later than the date that is 2 busi17 ness days after the date on which such informa18 tion is received. 

19 ‘‘(B) DELETION OF DATA.—Information 

20 entered into the National Putative Father Reg21 istry shall remain in the registry for not less 

22 than 20 years from the date of entry. 

23 ‘‘(3) ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN THE NA24 TIONAL PUTATIVE FATHER REGISTRY.—Access to 

25 the information contained in the National Putative 


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1 Father Registry is limited to the organizational unit 

2 that is responsible for administering the State Puta3 tive Father Registry under section 443(3) and any 

4 State agencies or entities that are involved in the 

5 placement of children. 

6 ‘‘(4) SEARCH REQUESTS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

8 only accept a request from an eligible party de9 scribed in subparagraph (B) to search the Na10 tional Putative Father Registry if such request 

11 has been verified for authenticity. 

12 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE PARTIES DESCRIBED.—The 

13 eligible parties described in this subparagraph 

14 are as follows: 

15 ‘‘(i) Public and licensed private adop16 tion or child placement agencies accessing 

17 information for an adoption or termination 

18 of rights of a putative father. 

19 ‘‘(ii) Licensed attorneys representing 

20 a party in a planned or pending adoption 

21 or the termination of rights of a putative 

22 father. 

23 ‘‘(iii) The State agency responsible for 

24 administering the State plan under part D 

25 of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) State agencies or entities respon2 sible for the placement of children. 

3 ‘‘(v) State courts. 

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

5 charge a reasonable fee for a search conducted 

6 under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE OF INFORMA8 TION.—No information contained in the National 

9 Putative Father Registry shall be disclosed to any 

10 person if the disclosure of such information would 

11 contravene a national security interest of the United 

12 States or if such disclosure would compromise the 

13 confidentiality of census data. 

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

15 THE NATIONAL DATABASE.—A person who is eligible 

16 to request a search under this section may do so ei17 ther electronically or through the mail. 

18 ‘‘(7) CERTIFICATE OF SEARCH.— 

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

20 of receipt of a search request under paragraph 

21 (4), the Secretary shall issue by mail a certifi22 cate of search to the person who requested the 

23 search. 

24 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The certificate of 

25 search shall contain— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the names and most recent con2 tact information for possible putative fa3 thers; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the State Putative Father Reg5 istries included in the search. 

6 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATE.—A certifi7 cate issued under this paragraph shall serve as 

8 evidence of efforts to locate a putative father in 

9 order to provide the putative father with notice 

10 of a proceeding to establish paternity of, of a 

11 proceeding to terminate the putative father’s 

12 rights to, or of a proceeding related to a pend13 ing or planned adoption of a child the putative 

14 father has or may have fathered, or of the entry 

15 of such a child into State custody. 

16 ‘‘(8) NOTICE TO REGISTERED PUTATIVE FA17 THERS.—Each putative father identified by a certifi18 cate of search issued in response to a request under 

19 paragraph (4)(A) shall be provided notice in such 

20 form and manner, and subject to such time limits, 

21 as specified by the law of the forum State of any of 

22 the following unless and until the putative father’s 

23 rights to the child have been terminated: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A proceeding related to a pending or 

2 planned adoption of a child the putative father 

3 has, or may have, fathered. 

4 ‘‘(B) A proceeding to terminate the puta5 tive father’s rights to a child. 

6 ‘‘(C) A proceeding related to the entry of 

7 a child the putative father has, or may have, fa8 thered into State custody. 

9 ‘‘(D) Establishment of paternity. 

10 ‘‘(9) CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION.— 

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

12 of receipt of information transmitted by a State 

13 under section 444(d), the Secretary shall issue 

14 by mail a certificate of registration to the indi15 vidual registered. 

16 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATION.—A cer17 tificate issued under this section shall serve as 

18 evidence that a putative father has registered 

19 with a State Putative Father Registry request20 ing that he receive notice of a proceeding to es21 tablish paternity of, of a proceeding to termi22 nate the putative father’s rights to, or of a pro23 ceeding related to a planned or pending adop24 tion of a child the putative father has or may 


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1 have fathered, or of the entry of such a child 

2 into State custody. 

3 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL MEDIA EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN.— 

4 The Secretary shall establish a nationwide responsible fa5 therhood and putative father registry educational cam6 paign that is designed— 

7 ‘‘(1) to inform men of the existence of the Na8 tional Putative Father Registry, the advantages of 

9 registering with a State Putative Father Registry, 

10 and the rights and responsibilities of putative fa11 thers; and 

12 ‘‘(2) to inform women of the existence of the 

13 National Putative Father Registry and the potential 

14 role of that registry in a pending or planned adop15 tion or a termination of the rights of a putative fa16 ther. 

17 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

19 such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2011 and each 

20 fiscal year thereafter. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 442. GRANTS TO STATES TO PROMOTE RESPONSIBLE 

22 FATHERHOOD. 

23 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.—Subject to subsection (b), 

24 the Secretary shall make grants to eligible States for the 

25 purpose of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) assisting States in developing, establishing, 

2 and operating programs that are designed— 

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

4 rights of responsible unwed fathers in legal pro5 ceedings involving a planned or pending adop6 tion, the termination of a father’s rights to a 

7 biological child, or the entry of a child into the 

8 State child welfare system; 

9 ‘‘(B) to improve the laws and regulations 

10 involving the pre-birth abandonment of a child 

11 by the biological father and abandonment of a 

12 child by the biological father subsequent to 

13 birth; 

14 ‘‘(C) to assist mothers in making respon15 sible plans for their children’s future; and 

16 ‘‘(D) to protect the privacy and safety of 

17 birth mothers and fathers; and 

18 ‘‘(2) reimbursing States for any costs incurred 

19 in meeting the requirements of this subpart. 

20 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

21 may not make a grant to a State under this section unless 

22 the State demonstrates to the Secretary that the State 

23 has— 

24 ‘‘(1) a State plan in effect that has been ap25 proved by the Secretary under section 443; 


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1 ‘‘(2) established, or agreed to establish, a State 

2 Putative Father Registry under section 444; and 

3 ‘‘(3) implemented or has agreed to implement— 

4 ‘‘(A) a law on pre-birth abandonment and 

5 abandonment subsequent to birth under section 

6 445(a); 

7 ‘‘(B) a State media educational campaign 

8 under section 445(b); and 

9 ‘‘(C) adoption laws under section 445(c). 

10 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec12 essary for fiscal year 2009 and each fiscal year thereafter 

13 for purposes of awarding grants to States under this sec14 tion. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 443. STATE PLAN FOR PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FA16 THERHOOD AND PERMANENCY FOR CHIL17 DREN. 

18 ‘‘Each State that desires to receive a grant under sec19 tion 442 shall develop and implement a State plan for pro20 moting responsible fatherhood and permanency for chil21 dren that— 

22 ‘‘(1) has been approved by the Secretary; 

23 ‘‘(2) shall be in effect in all political subdivi24 sions of the State; 


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1 ‘‘(3) establishes or designates a single organiza2 tional unit within the State that meets such staffing 

3 and organizational requirements as the Secretary 

4 may prescribe to administer the State plan and the 

5 State Putative Father Registry required under sec6 tion 444; 

7 ‘‘(4) provides services to children of unwed par8 ents related to the identification of putative fathers 

9 and the making of permanent custody arrangements 

10 for those children; 

11 ‘‘(5) provides for the establishment of coopera12 tive agreements between the State and appropriate 

13 agencies, such as courts, hospitals, and law enforce14 ment agencies, to assist the organizational unit es15 tablished or designated under paragraph (3) to ad16 minister the State plan by making available putative 

17 father registry registration forms for mailing by pu18 tative fathers to such organizational unit; 

19 ‘‘(6) provides assurances that the State will, in 

20 accordance with standards prescribed by the Sec21 retary, cooperate with other States and the Federal 

22 Government to assist individuals in their efforts to 

23 locate and provide notice to putative fathers; 

24 ‘‘(7) provides for a process of annual reviews 

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1 plemented under this section, including such infor2 mation as may be necessary to measure compliance 

3 with the requirements under this subpart; 

4 ‘‘(8) provides that the State will establish and 

5 maintain a State Putative Father Registry that 

6 meets the requirements of section 444 or will modify 

7 and maintain an existing registry to meet such re8 quirements; 

9 ‘‘(9) provides for a process under which a reg10 istered putative father will receive notice at the ad11 dress provided to the registry, within State deter12 mined guidelines and time-limits, of a proceeding to 

13 establish the paternity of, of a proceeding to termi14 nate the putative father’s rights to, or of a pro15 ceeding related to a planned or pending adoption of 

16 a child the putative father has or may have fathered, 

17 or of the entry of such a child into State custody; 

18 ‘‘(10) amends the State long-arm jurisdictional 

19 statute to ensure that personal jurisdiction is estab20 lished for a father registered with the National Pu21 tative Father Registry established under section 

22 441(a); and 

23 ‘‘(11) provides that the State will establish pro24 cedures, if not already in place, to protect the safety 


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1 and privacy of mothers, including those who have 

2 been the victims of violence. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 444. STATE PUTATIVE FATHER REGISTRIES. 

4 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE.— 

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

6 each State that desires to receive a grant under sec7 tion 442 shall provide assurances to the Secretary 

8 that the State will establish and maintain an auto9 mated putative father registry that meets the suc10 ceeding requirements of this section. 

11 ‘‘(2) EXISTING STATE PUTATIVE FATHER REG12 ISTRIES.—A State that has a putative father reg13 istry in existence on the date of enactment of this 

14 subpart and desires to receive a grant under section 

15 442 shall provide assurances to the Secretary that 

16 the State will, not later than 180 days from the last 

17 day of the first regular session of the State legisla18 ture that begins after the date of enactment of this 

19 subpart, modify the registry to the extent necessary 

20 for the registry to meet the succeeding requirements 

21 of this section with respect to putative fathers who 

22 register with the State on or after that day. For 

23 purposes of the previous sentence, in the case of a 

24 State that has a 2-year legislative session, each year 


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1 of the session is considered to be a separate, regular 

2 session of the State legislature. 

3 ‘‘(b) REGISTRATION WITH THE STATE PUTATIVE

4 FATHER REGISTRY.— 

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

6 State shall establish procedures under which the pu7 tative father of such child may submit the informa8 tion described in subsection (c) to the State for the 

9 purpose of including such information in the registry 

10 established or modified and maintained under sub11 section (a). Such procedures shall provide that, in 

12 order for the putative father to be entitled to notice 

13 of any of the proceedings identified in section 

14 441(a)(8), the putative father must submit informa15 tion for inclusion in the State registry within State16 determined time limits. 

17 ‘‘(2) VERIFICATION.—The procedures estab18 lished under paragraph (1) shall include a means to 

19 verify that the information submitted by a putative 

20 father is his own personal information and that it is 

21 true and correct to the best of his knowledge. 

22 ‘‘(c) CONTENTS.—With respect to a child, the reg23 istry established or modified and maintained under sub24 section (a) shall contain the following information: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The name of the putative father (including 

2 any other names by which he may be known). 

3 ‘‘(2) The date of birth of the putative father. 

4 ‘‘(3) The race or ethnicity of the father, if 

5 known. 

6 ‘‘(4) The Social Security number of the putative 

7 father. 

8 ‘‘(5) The State of issue and driver’s license 

9 number of the putative father, if any. 

10 ‘‘(6) The home address of the putative father. 

11 ‘‘(7) The telephone number of the putative fa12 ther, if any. 

13 ‘‘(8) The name and address of the employer of 

14 the putative father, if any. 

15 ‘‘(9) The name of the mother (including any 

16 other names by which she may be known). 

17 ‘‘(10) The last known address of the mother. 

18 ‘‘(11) The date of birth of the mother, if 

19 known. 

20 ‘‘(12) The Social Security number of the moth21 er, if known. 

22 ‘‘(13) The race or ethnicity of the mother, if 

23 known. 

24 ‘‘(14) The State of issue and driver’s license 

25 number of the mother, if known. 


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1 ‘‘(15) The city and State where possible birth 

2 took place. 

3 ‘‘(16) The birth date of the child or the approx4 imate delivery date, if known. 

5 ‘‘(17) The name and gender of the child, if 

6 known. 

7 ‘‘(d) COLLECTION OF STATE INFORMATION AND

8 TRANSMISSION TO THE NATIONAL PUTATIVE FATHER

9 REGISTRY.— 

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

11 information described in subsection (c) submitted by 

12 the putative father and enter such information into 

13 the State Putative Father Registry established or 

14 modified and maintained under subsection (a). 

15 ‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the 

17 date that is 3 business days after the date on 

18 which any information described in subsection 

19 (c) is entered into the State Putative Father 

20 Registry, the State shall furnish such informa21 tion to the Secretary for purposes of including 

22 the information in the National Putative Father 

23 Registry. 

24 ‘‘(B) METHOD OF TRANSMISSION.—States 

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1 section (b) in an electronic format designated 

2 by the Secretary for purposes of this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(e) ESTABLISHMENT OF REGISTRATION CEN4 TERS.— 

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

6 centers in various locations throughout the State so 

7 that registration forms for the State Putative Father 

8 Registry are easily accessible to putative fathers. 

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

10 in paragraph (1) may include the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) State and local hospitals. 

12 ‘‘(B) Courthouses in which family courts 

13 are located. 

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

15 ‘‘(D) State welfare agencies. 

16 ‘‘(E) State health department offices. 

17 ‘‘(F) State vital records offices. 

18 ‘‘(G) State probate courts. 

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

20 State shall permit a putative father to submit information 

21 under this section electronically, in person, or by mail. 

22 ‘‘(g) FALSE FILING.—Any person who knowingly 

23 submits false information to a State Putative Father Reg24 istry shall be guilty of the highest class of misdemeanor 

25 under State law. 


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1 ‘‘(h) ACCURACY OF DATA.—A putative father is sole2 ly responsible for the accuracy of the information con3 tained in his registration. The information contained in 

4 the registration is presumed accurate. In the event that 

5 a putative father fails to update his profile, the notice de6 scribed in section 441(a)(8) shall be deemed received by 

7 the putative father if sent or delivered to the putative fa8 ther at the address provided by him under subsection (c). 

9 ‘‘(i) PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS.—The State shall estab10 lish procedures to ensure that the information maintained 

11 in the State Putative Father Registry is subject to the 

12 privacy safeguards established under section 454(26). 

13 ‘‘SEC. 445. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) STATE LAWS ON PRE-BIRTH ABANDONMENT

15 AND ABANDONMENT SUBSEQUENT TO BIRTH.—Each 

16 State that desires to receive a grant under section 442 

17 shall provide assurances to the Secretary that the State 

18 has in effect or will enact a State law that— 

19 ‘‘(1) defines what constitutes pre-birth aban20 donment and abandonment subsequent to birth; and 

21 ‘‘(2) allows for implied consent to the child’s 

22 adoption in the case of pre-birth abandonment or 

23 abandonment subsequent to birth. 

24 ‘‘(b) STATE MEDIA EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN.— 

25 Each State that desires to receive a grant under section 


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1 442 shall provide assurances to the Secretary that the 

2 State shall regularly and frequently publicize, through ad3 vertising campaigns, educational literature, and public 

4 service announcements— 

5 ‘‘(1) the availability of putative father establish6 ment services; and 

7 ‘‘(2) that putative fathers should register with 

8 the State Putative Father Registry. 

9 ‘‘(c) REVOCATION OF ADOPTIONS.—Each State that 

10 desires to receive a grant under section 442 shall provide 

11 assurances to the Secretary that the State has in effect 

12 or will enact State laws that— 

13 ‘‘(1) set finite time limits in which an adoption 

14 can be attacked on grounds of procedural irregular15 ities, fraud, or duress; and 

16 ‘‘(2) establish a period of time after which the 

17 revocation of an adoption would be presumed not to 

18 be in the best interest of the child.’’. 

Æ 


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