II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3803 

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

to States to promote responsible fatherhood, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 3, 2006 

Ms. LANDRIEU introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To establish national and State putative father registries, 

to make grants to States to promote 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 Rights of 

5 Unknowing Dads and Fostering Access To Help Encour6 age Responsibility (Proud Father) Act of 2006’’. 


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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) OVERNIGHT MAIL.—The term ‘overnight 

4 mail’ includes any courier or carrier that guarantees 

5 delivery by the next business morning. 

6 ‘‘(6) PENDING ADOPTION.—The term ‘pending 

7 adoption’ means any adoption in which an adoption 

8 petition has been filed with a court pursuant to 

9 State law. 

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

11 adoption’ means any adoption in which the birth 

12 mother has formally contacted an attorney or a 

13 State licensed adoption agency about placing her 

14 child for adoption. 

15 ‘‘(8) PUTATIVE FATHER.—The term ‘putative 

16 father’ means a man who has had sexual relations 

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

18 therefore presumed to know that such woman may 

19 be pregnant as a result of such relations. 

20 ‘‘(9) SEARCH.—The term ‘search’ means a re21 quest for information regarding a man who had sex22 ual relations with a woman to whom he is not mar23 ried and is therefore presumed to know that such 

24 woman may be pregnant. 


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1 ‘‘(10) STATE PUTATIVE FATHER REGISTRY.— 

2 The term ‘State Putative Father Registry’ means, 

3 with respect to a State, the registry established or 

4 modified and maintained under section 444 for that 

5 State. 

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

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE.— 

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

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

10 Act, the Secretary shall establish and maintain an 

11 automated National Putative Father Registry that 

12 contains the information described in section 444(b). 

13 ‘‘(2) DATA ENTRY AND DELETION REQUIRE14 MENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) DATA ENTRY.—Information trans16 mitted by a State under section 444(d)(2) shall 

17 be entered into the National Putative Father 

18 Registry not later than the date that is 2 busi19 ness days after the date on which such informa20 tion is received. 

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

22 entered into the National Putative Father Reg23 istry shall remain in the registry for not less 

24 than 20 years from the date of entry. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN THE NA2 TIONAL PUTATIVE FATHER REGISTRY.—Access to 

3 the information contained in the National Putative 

4 Father Registry is limited to the organizational unit 

5 that is responsible for administering the State Puta6 tive Father Registry under section 443(3) and any 

7 State agencies or entities that are involved in the 

8 placement of children. 

9 ‘‘(4) SEARCH REQUESTS.— 

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

11 only accept a request from an eligible party de12 scribed in subparagraph (B) to search the Na13 tional Putative Father Registry if such request 

14 has been verified for authenticity. 

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

16 eligible parties described in this subparagraph 

17 are as follows: 

18 ‘‘(i) Public and licensed private adop19 tion or child placement agencies accessing 

20 information for an adoption or termination 

21 of parental rights. 

22 ‘‘(ii) Licensed attorneys representing 

23 a party in a planned or pending adoption 

24 or the termination of rights of a putative 

25 father. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) The State agency responsible for 

2 administering the State plan under part D 

3 of title IV. 

4 ‘‘(iv) State agencies or entities respon5 sible for the placement of children. 

6 ‘‘(v) State courts. 

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

8 charge a reasonable fee for a search conducted 

9 under this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE OF INFORMA11 TION.—No information contained in the National 

12 Putative Father Registry shall be disclosed to any 

13 person if the disclosure of such information would 

14 contravene a national security interest of the United 

15 States or if such disclosure would compromise the 

16 confidentiality of census data. 

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

18 THE NATIONAL DATABASE.—A person who is eligible 

19 to request a search under this section may do so ei20 ther electronically or through certified mail. 

21 ‘‘(7) CERTIFICATE OF SEARCH.— 

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

23 of a search request filed under paragraph (4), 

24 the Secretary shall issue by certified mail a cerVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:49 Aug 08, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3803.IS S3803

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1 tificate of search to the person who requested 

2 the search. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The certificate of 

4 search shall contain— 

5 ‘‘(i) the names and most recent con6 tact information for possible putative fa7 thers; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the State Putative Father Reg9 istries included in the search. 

10 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF CERTIFICATE.—A certifi11 cate issued under this paragraph shall serve as 

12 rebuttable evidence of efforts to locate a puta13 tive father and provide him with notice of pa14 ternity, of a proceeding to terminate his paren15 tal rights, or of a proceeding related to a pend16 ing or planned adoption of a child he has, or 

17 may have fathered, or the entry of such a child 

18 into State custody. 

19 ‘‘(8) NOTICE TO REGISTERED PUTATIVE FA20 THERS.—Each putative father identified by a certifi21 cate of search issued in response to a request under 

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

23 form and manner as is specified by State law of any 

24 of the following: 


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

2 planned adoption of a child he has, or may 

3 have, fathered. 

4 ‘‘(B) A proceeding to terminate parental 

5 rights to a child. 

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

7 a child he has, or may have, fathered into State 

8 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(c)(2), the Secretary shall 

14 issue by certified mail a certificate of registra15 tion to the individual registered. 

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

18 rebuttable evidence of a putative father’s receipt 

19 of notice of paternity, of a proceeding to termi20 nate parental rights, or of a proceeding related 

21 to a planned or pending adoption of a child he 

22 has, or may have fathered, or the entry of such 

23 a child into State custody. 

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

25 The Secretary shall establish a nationwide responsible faVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:49 Aug 08, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3803.IS S3803

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1 therhood and putative father registry educational cam2 paign that is designed— 

3 ‘‘(1) to inform potential fathers of the existence 

4 of the National Putative Father Registry, the advan5 tages of registering with a State Putative Father 

6 Registry, and the rights and responsibilities of puta7 tive fathers; and 

8 ‘‘(2) to inform unwed mothers of the existence 

9 of the National Putative Father Registry and its po10 tential role in a pending or planned adoption or a 

11 termination of parental rights. 

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

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

14 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and such sums as may 

15 be necessary for fiscal year 2007 and each fiscal year 

16 thereafter. 

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

18 FATHERHOOD. 

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

20 the Secretary shall make grants to eligible States for the 

21 purpose of— 

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

23 and operating programs that are designed— 

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

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1 ceedings involving a planned or pending adop2 tion or the termination of a father’s rights to 

3 a biological child; 

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

5 involving the prebirth abandonment of a child 

6 by the biological father and abandonment of a 

7 child by the biological father subsequent to 

8 birth; 

9 ‘‘(C) to assist mothers in making respon10 sible plans for their children’s future; and 

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

12 birth mothers and fathers; and 

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

14 in meeting the requirements of this subpart. 

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

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

17 the State demonstrates to the Secretary that the State 

18 has— 

19 ‘‘(1) a State plan in effect that has been ap20 proved by the Secretary under section 443; 

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

22 Putative Father Registry under section 444; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(A) a law on prebirth abandonment and 

2 abandonment subsequent to birth under section 

3 445(a); 

4 ‘‘(B) a State media educational campaign 

5 under section 445(b); and 

6 ‘‘(C) adoption consent laws under section 

7 445(c). 

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

9 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec10 essary for fiscal year 2006 and each fiscal year thereafter 

11 for purposes of awarding grants to States under this sec12 tion. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 443. STATE PLAN FOR PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FA14 THERHOOD AND PERMANENCY FOR CHIL15 DREN. 

16 ‘‘Each State that desires to receive a grant under sec17 tion 442 shall develop and implement a State plan for pro18 moting responsible fatherhood and permanency for chil19 dren that— 

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

21 ‘‘(2) shall be in effect in all political subdivi22 sions of the State; 

23 ‘‘(3) establishes or designates a single organiza24 tional unit within the State that meets such staffing 

25 and organizational requirements as the Secretary 


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1 may prescribe to administer the State plan and the 

2 State Putative Father Registry required under sec3 tion 444; 

4 ‘‘(4) provides services to children of unwed par5 ents toward the establishment of putative father and 

6 the making of permanent custody arrangements for 

7 those children; 

8 ‘‘(5) provides for the establishment of coopera9 tive agreements between the State and appropriate 

10 agencies, such as courts, hospitals, and law enforce11 ment agencies, to assist the organizational unit es12 tablished or designated under paragraph (3) to ad13 minister the State plan by making paternity reg14 istration forms for mailing by putative fathers avail15 able to such organizational unit; 

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

17 accordance with standards prescribed by the Sec18 retary, cooperate with other States and the Federal 

19 Government to assist individuals in their efforts to 

20 locate and provide notice to putative fathers; 

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

22 and reports to the Secretary on the State plan im23 plemented under this section, including such infor24 mation as may be necessary to measure compliance 

25 with the requirements under this subpart; 


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

2 maintain a State Putative Father Registry that 

3 meets the requirements of section 444 or will modify 

4 and maintain an existing registry to meet such re5 quirements; 

6 ‘‘(9) provides for a process under which a reg7 istered putative father will receive notice at the ad8 dress provided to the registry, within State deter9 mined guidelines and time-limits, of paternity, of a 

10 proceeding to terminate his parental rights, or of a 

11 proceeding related to a planned or pending adoption 

12 of a child he has, or may have fathered, or the entry 

13 of such a child into State custody; 

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

15 statute to ensure that personal jurisdiction is estab16 lished for a father registered with the National Pu17 tative Father Registry established under section 

18 441(a); and 

19 ‘‘(11) provides that the State will establish pro20 cedures, if not already in place, to protect the safety 

21 and privacy of mothers, including those who have 

22 been the victims of violence. 

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

24 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE.— 


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

2 each State that desires to receive a grant under sec3 tion 442 shall provide assurances to the Secretary 

4 that the State will establish and maintain an auto5 mated putative father registry that meets the suc6 ceeding requirements of this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) EXISTING STATE PUTATIVE FATHER REG8 ISTRIES.—A State that has a putative father reg9 istry in existence on the date of enactment of this 

10 subpart and desires to receive a grant under section 

11 442 shall provide assurances to the Secretary that 

12 the State will, not later than the last day of the first 

13 regular session of the State legislature that begins 

14 after the date of enactment of this subpart, modify 

15 the registry to the extent necessary for the registry 

16 to meet the succeeding requirements of this section 

17 with respect to putative fathers who register with 

18 the State on or after that day. For purposes of the 

19 previous sentence, in the case of a State that has a 

20 2-year legislative session, each year of the session is 

21 considered to be a separate, regular session of the 

22 State legislature. 

23 ‘‘(b) REGISTRATION WITH THE STATE PUTATIVE

24 FATHER REGISTRY.— 


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

2 State shall establish procedures under which the pu3 tative father of such child may submit the informa4 tion described in subsection (c) to the State for the 

5 purpose of including such information in the registry 

6 established or modified and maintained under sub7 section (a). 

8 ‘‘(2) VERIFICATION.—The procedures estab9 lished under paragraph (1) shall include a means to 

10 verify that the information submitted by a putative 

11 father is his own personal information and that it is 

12 true and correct to the best of his knowledge. 

13 ‘‘(c) CONTENTS.—With respect to a child, the reg14 istry established or modified and maintained under sub15 section (a) shall contain the following information: 

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

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

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

19 ‘‘(3) The social security number of the putative 

20 father. 

21 ‘‘(4) The State of issue and driver’s license 

22 number of the putative father, if known. 

23 ‘‘(5) The home address of the putative father. 

24 ‘‘(6) The telephone number of the putative fa25 ther. 


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1 ‘‘(7) The name and address of the employer of 

2 the putative father. 

3 ‘‘(8) The name of the mother (including any 

4 other names by which she may be known). 

5 ‘‘(9) The last known address of the mother. 

6 ‘‘(10) The date of birth of the mother, if 

7 known. 

8 ‘‘(11) The social security number of the mother, 

9 if known. 

10 ‘‘(12) The race or ethnicity of the mother, if 

11 known. 

12 ‘‘(13) The State of issue and driver’s license 

13 number of the mother, if known. 

14 ‘‘(14) The city and State where possible concep15 tion took place. 

16 ‘‘(15) The birth date of the child or the approx17 imate delivery date, if known. 

18 ‘‘(16) The name and gender of child, if known. 

19 ‘‘(d) COLLECTION OF STATE INFORMATION AND

20 TRANSMISSION TO THE NATIONAL PUTATIVE FATHER

21 REGISTRY.— 

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

23 information described in subsection (c) submitted by 

24 the putative father and enter such information into 


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1 the State Putative Father Registry established or 

2 modified and maintained under subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION.— 

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

5 date that is 3 business days after the date on 

6 which any information described in subsection 

7 (c) is entered into the State Putative Father 

8 Registry, the State shall furnish such informa9 tion to the Secretary for purposes of including 

10 the information in the National Putative Father 

11 Registry. 

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

13 shall transmit the information described in sub14 section (b) in an electronic format designated 

15 by the Secretary for purposes of this paragraph. 

16 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT.—The procedures estab17 lished under paragraph (1) shall include a means by 

18 which a putative father is informed of all of the legal 

19 consequences of his registration, including that the 

20 registry may be used to establish an obligation to 

21 support a child or children. 

22 ‘‘(e) ESTABLISHMENT OF REGISTRATION CEN23 TERS.— 

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

25 centers in various locations throughout the State so 


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1 that registration forms for the State Putative Father 

2 Registry are easily accessible to putative fathers. 

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

4 in paragraph (1) may include the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) State and local hospitals. 

6 ‘‘(B) Courthouses in which family courts 

7 are located. 

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

9 ‘‘(D) State welfare agencies. 

10 ‘‘(E) State health department offices. 

11 ‘‘(F) State vital records offices. 

12 ‘‘(G) State probate courts. 

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

14 State shall permit a putative father to submit the informa15 tion required under this section electronically, in person, 

16 or by certified mail. 

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

18 submits false information to a State Putative Father Reg19 istry shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction 

20 thereof shall be fined not less than $25,000 for each such 

21 violation and imprisoned for not more than 2 years. 

22 ‘‘(h) ACCURACY OF DATA.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Unless otherwise specified, 

24 the information provided under subsection (c) is pre25 sumed to be the most current information available. 


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1 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO UPDATE INFORMATION.—In 

2 the event that a putative father fails to update his 

3 profile, notice sent to the last registered address can 

4 be used as rebuttable evidence of efforts to locate 

5 the putative father and provide him with notice de6 scribed in section 441(a)(8). 

7 ‘‘(i) PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS.—The State shall estab8 lish procedures to ensure that the information maintained 

9 in the State Putative Father Registry is subject to the 

10 privacy safeguards established under section 454(26). 

11 ‘‘SEC. 445. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) STATE LAWS ON PREBIRTH ABANDONMENT

13 AND ABANDONMENT SUBSEQUENT TO BIRTH.—Each 

14 State that desires to receive a grant under section 442 

15 shall provide assurances to the Secretary that the State 

16 will put into effect a State law that defines what con17 stitutes prebirth abandonment and abandonment subse18 quent to birth. 

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

20 Each State that desires to receive a grant under section 

21 442 shall provide assurances to the Secretary that the 

22 State will regularly and frequently publicize, through ad23 vertising campaigns, educational literature, and public 

24 service announcements— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the availability of putative father establish2 ment services; 

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

4 the State Putative Father Registry; and 

5 ‘‘(3) the availability of the State Putative Fa6 ther Registry to searching birth mothers. 

7 ‘‘(c) CONSENT TO ADOPTION.—Each State that de8 sires to receive a grant under section 442 shall provide 

9 assurances to the Secretary that the adoption laws of the 

10 State— 

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

12 can be attacked on grounds of procedural irregular13 ities, fraud, or duress; 

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

15 revocation of an adoption would be presumed not to 

16 be in the best interest of the child; and 

17 ‘‘(3) allow for implied consent in the case of 

18 abandonment.’’. 

Æ 


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