A World Wide Web of Unwanted Children: The Practice, the Problem, and the Solution to Private Re-Homing

A deplorable practice has emerged in the world of adoption. Adoptive families are now using the Internet to give their unwanted adopted children over to complete strangers, some of whom are traffickers, pedophiles, child pornographers, or worse. This practice is known as private re-homing. Through the use of online message boards and a simple notarized power of attorney document, adoptive parents are circumventing the adoption system—including its home study and background check requirements for prospective parents—and placing children in great danger. Because only a handful of states have enacted legislation directly targeting private re-homing and because no such legislation exists at the federal level, this Note calls for drastic change to protect the best interests of adopted children. This Note also proposes a model state statute to combat private re-homing. Without regulation or restraint, private re-homing will perpetuate a world wide web of unwanted children. The dangers that this practice poses for adopted children and the severity of its consequences demand the holistic solution that this Note recommends, which includes taking steps at both the state and federal levels to prevent and prohibit private re-homing. INTRODUCTION 2105 I. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON ADOPTION 2108 A. The Origin of Adoption in the United States and the Rise of International Adoption 2108 B. The Development of Adoption Legislation 2110 * Editor’s Note: This Note won the Gertrude Brick Prize for the best Note in Spring 2015. ** J.D. candidate 2016, University of Florida Levin College of Law; B.A. 2012, University of Florida. I would like to dedicate this Note to my mom for spending the final twenty-four years of her life stirring my passions and believing that I could change the world with my words. She was my biggest fan. I would like to thank the Fields and Kurdziel families for adopting and loving their children unconditionally as well as for being a constant reminder of how beautiful adoption can be. Additionally, I would like to thank Alyse Atkinson Young for her research on this deplorable practice and, along with Marie Banks, for spurring me on to fight for justice for the marginalized, victimized, and oppressed. I would also like to thank Professor Stephen Pennypacker for his guidance in writing this Note. Lastly, I would like to thank the members of the Florida Law Review, specifically Aubrey Burris and my advisors in the Notes & Comments department for making the Note-writing process a joy; Marla Spector Bowman and Rebekah Runyon for a warm welcome onto the Review, as well as for their encouragement, care, and laughter both in and out of the office; and all of the other members who worked hard to edit this Note. 1 Testerman: A World Wide Web of Unwanted Children: The Practice, the Problem, Published by UF Law Scholarship Repository, 2016 2104 FLORIDA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 67 II. THE EMERGENCE AND PRACTICE OF PRIVATE RE-HOMING 2113 A. The Causes of Private Re-homing 2113 1. Inadequate Medical and Social History Disclosure 2114 2. Insufficient Training for Adoptive Parents 2115 3. Lack of Post-adoption Services and Support 2116 4. Risky Alternatives and the Demand for Adopted Children 2117 B. The Process of Private Re-homing 2118 1. The Role of the Internet 2118 2. The Use of a Power of Attorney Document 2119 C. The Dangers and Consequences of Private Re-homing 2120 III. AN ANALYSIS OF EXISTING LEGISLATION COMBATING PRIVATE RE-HOMING 2121 A. Combating Private Re-homing at the State Level 2122 B. Combating Private Re-homing with the ICPC 2128 C. Combating Private Re-homing at the Federal Level 2129 IV. THE PROPOSED SOLUTION TO PRIVATE RE-HOMING 2131 A. Pre-adoption Prevention of Private Re-homing 2132 1. Preparation and Vetting of Adoptive Families 2132 2. Mandated Medical and Social History Disclosure 2133 B. Post-adoption Prevention of Private Re-homing 2134 1. Provision of Post-adoption Services and Support 2134 2. Requirement of Post-adoption Reporting 2137 3. Use of the “Wrongful Adoption” Tort 2138 4. Bringing Re-homing Above Ground 2139 C. Prohibiting Private Re-homing Through Legislation Specifically Targeting the Practice 2140 1. At the State Level 2141 2. Proposed State Statute 2141 2 Florida Law Review, Vol. 67, Iss. 6 [2016], Art. 6 http://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/flr/vol67/iss6/6 2015] THE PRACTICE, THE PROBLEM, AND THE SOLUTION TO PRIVATE RE-HOMING 2105 3. Leveraging the ICPC 2145 4. At the Federal Level 2146 CONCLUSION 2146