I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6220 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to criminalize unlawful adoption 
practices. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 
Ms. KUSTER (for herself, Mr. LAMBORN, and Mr. ADERHOLT) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to criminalize 
unlawful adoption practices. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Adoption Deserves 
Oversight, Protection, and Transparency Act of 2023’’ or 
the ‘‘ADOPT Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to: 
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(1) Protect individuals and families impacted by 
private domestic adoption from exploitation by unli-
censed adoption intermediaries. 
(2) Ensure that individuals seeking assistance 
with domestic adoption have ready access to licensed 
and regulated adoption providers in their commu-
nities. 
(3) Prevent the commodification of children. 
SEC. 3. ADOPTION OFFENSE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11A of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 228A. Unlawful adoption practices 
‘‘(a) ADOPTION INTERMEDIARY SERVICES.— 
‘‘(1) OFFENSE.—Whoever, in any circumstance 
described in subsection (d), knowingly provides or 
offers to provide adoption intermediary services shall 
be punished as provided in accordance with sub-
section (e). 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply to— 
‘‘(A) a public child-placing agency; 
‘‘(B) a private licensed child-placing agen-
cy; or 
‘‘(C) a licensed attorney. 
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of an adoption in an amount exceeding $500, shall 
be punished in accordance with subsection (e). 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply with respect to payments made by or in co-
operation with— 
‘‘(A) a private child-placing agency li-
censed in the State where the placing parent re-
sides or is located; or 
‘‘(B) an attorney licensed in the State 
where the placing parent resides or is located. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—For the purposes of sections 
(a), (b), and (c), the circumstances described in these sub-
sections are that— 
‘‘(1) the offender or victim traveled in inter-
state commerce, or traveled using a means, channel, 
facility, or instrumentality of interstate commerce, in 
furtherance of or in connection with the conduct de-
scribed in subsections (a), (b), or (c); 
‘‘(2) the offender used a means, channel, facil-
ity, or instrumentality of interstate commerce in fur-
therance of or in connection with the conduct de-
scribed in subsections (a), (b), or (c); 
‘‘(3) any payment of any kind was made, di-
rectly or indirectly, in furtherance of or in connec-
tion with the conduct described in subsections (a), 
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(b), or (c) using any means, channel, facility, or in-
strumentality of interstate commerce or in or affect-
ing interstate commerce; 
‘‘(4) the offender transmitted in interstate com-
merce any communication relating to or in further-
ance of the conduct described in subsections (a), (b), 
or (c) using any means, channel, facility, or instru-
mentality of interstate commerce or in or affecting 
interstate commerce by any means or in manner, in-
cluding by computer, mail, wire, or electromagnetic 
transmission; or 
‘‘(5) the conduct described in subsection (a) 
otherwise occurred in or affected interstate or for-
eign commerce. 
‘‘(e) PENALTY.—Whoever violates subsection (a), (b), 
or (c)— 
‘‘(1) in the case of an individual, shall be fined 
$100,000, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or 
both, per violation; or 
‘‘(2) in the case of an organization, shall be 
fined $250,000 per violation. 
‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion may be construed to affect the application of the In-
dian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) 
or limit the provision of intercountry adoption programs 
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and services authorized under the Intercountry Adoption 
Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14921). 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) 
ADOPTION
ADVERTISING.—The 
term 
‘adoption advertising’ means a paid advertisement, 
article, notice, or other paid communication pub-
lished in any newspaper, magazine, or on the inter-
net, on a billboard, over radio or television, or other 
similar media that— 
‘‘(A) solicits prospective adoptive parents 
for the purpose of acting as a link between a 
placing parent and a prospective adoptive par-
ent, or the prospective adoptive parent’s rep-
resentative, attorney, or agency, for the transfer 
of legal or physical custody of a child, including 
adoptive placement; 
‘‘(B) solicits placing parents for the pur-
pose of acting as a link between a placing par-
ent and a prospective adoptive parent, or the 
prospective adoptive parent’s representative, at-
torney, or agency, for the transfer of legal or 
physical custody of a child, including adoptive 
placement; or 
‘‘(C) offers to pay a placing parent’s living 
expenses in connection with any transfer or po-
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tential transfer of legal or physical custody of 
a child, including adoptive placement. 
‘‘(2) ADOPTION
INTERMEDIARY
SERVICES.— 
The term ‘adoption intermediary services’ means the 
provision of any of the following services, in ex-
change for direct or indirect compensation: 
‘‘(A) Soliciting placing parents, whether 
through adoption advertising or other means, 
for the purposes of acting as a link between a 
placing parent and a prospective adoptive par-
ent, or the prospective adoptive parent’s rep-
resentative, attorney, or agency, for the transfer 
of legal or physical custody of their child, in-
cluding adoptive placement. 
‘‘(B) Soliciting prospective adoptive par-
ents, whether through adoption advertising or 
other means, for the purpose of acting as a link 
between a placing parent and a prospective 
adoptive parent, or the prospective adoptive 
parent’s representative, attorney, or agency, for 
the transfer of legal or physical custody of a 
child, including adoptive placement. 
‘‘(C) Acting as a link between placing par-
ents of a child and prospective adoptive parents, 
whether directly or through the prospective 
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adoptive parents’ representative, agency, or at-
torney, for the purpose of the transfer of phys-
ical or legal custody of the child, including 
adoptive placement. 
‘‘(3) PLACING
PARENT.—The term ‘placing 
parent’ means a parent with legal authority to place 
the child for adoption. 
‘‘(4) PUBLIC
CHILD-PLACING
AGENCY.—The 
term ‘public child-placing agency’ means any govern-
ment child welfare agency or child protection agency 
that has the legal authority to place children for 
adoption. 
‘‘(5) PRIVATE LICENSED CHILD-PLACING AGEN-
CY.—The term ‘private licensed child-placing agency’ 
means a licensed or State approved agency that has 
the legal authority to place children for adoption.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) CHAPTER HEADING.—The chapter heading 
for chapter 11A of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended 
by 
inserting 
‘‘AND 
UNLAWFUL 
ADOPTION PRACTICES’’ after ‘‘CHILD 
SUPPORT’’. 
(2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 
for chapter 11A of title 18, United States Code, is 
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amended by adding after the item relating to section 
228, the following: 
‘‘228A. Unlawful adoption practices.’’. 
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 
on the date that is 120 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
Æ 
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