I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6529 
To establish a national registry to provide for the linking of State and 
tribal responsible father registries to facilitate the timely notification 
of adoption proceedings to out-of-State possible biological fathers, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 30, 2023 
Ms. KUSTER (for herself, Mr. SMUCKER, and Mr. HUIZENGA) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To establish a national registry to provide for the linking 
of State and tribal responsible father registries to facili-
tate the timely notification of adoption proceedings to 
out-of-State possible biological fathers, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Protecting All Parents 
and Adoptees Act’’ or the ‘‘PAPA Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
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(1) A permanent, stable home is critical for the 
physical and cognitive development of children. 
(2) Identifying the biological father of a child is 
crucial to ensuring a timely adoption proceeding to 
provide permanency and stability for the child. 
(3) Responsible father registries, also known as 
putative father registries, help to facilitate the stable 
placement of children by providing a mechanism to 
identify possible fathers and determine whether a bi-
ological father has a protectable interest in partici-
pating in the placement decisions for a child. 
(4) Responsible father registries remove the 
burden from the mother of having to identify pos-
sible fathers, to protect her privacy and safety, espe-
cially in cases of rape or domestic violence. 
(5) Responsible father registries empower pos-
sible fathers to take responsibility for the protection 
of their rights by enabling them to voluntarily reg-
ister and increase the likelihood of receiving timely 
notice of a proceeding. 
(6) Responsible father registries reduce the risk 
to prospective adoptive parents of delayed or dis-
rupted placements resulting from challenges to adop-
tions due to a possible father’s untimely receipt of 
notice of such proceedings. 
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(7) Responsible father registries and related pa-
ternal identification registries have been established 
by a number of States and Indian tribes but no 
mechanism exists to cross-reference registries. 
(8) National cross-referencing of State and 
Tribal responsible father registries would provide 
registered individuals an ability to receive timely no-
tice of a proceeding related to a child they may have 
fathered out of wedlock in a State other than the 
State in which the individual is registered. 
SEC. 3. LINKING OF STATE RESPONSIBLE FATHER REG-
ISTRIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall— 
(1) establish a national responsible father reg-
istry consisting of information about possible biologi-
cal fathers identified in any responsible father reg-
istry established by any State or Indian tribe, and 
seek to have the information in each such respon-
sible father registry provided to the national registry 
voluntarily; and 
(2) enable the State and tribal agencies admin-
istering the responsible father registries to access, 
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and electronically exchange information with, the na-
tional registry. 
(b) PARTIES AUTHORIZED TO ACCESS
THE NA-
TIONAL REGISTRY.—The Secretary shall make the infor-
mation in the national registry available to— 
(1) public or private licensed adoption or child 
placement agencies; 
(2) State or tribal child welfare authorities; 
(3) State or tribal courts; and 
(4) licensed attorneys representing a party in 
an adoption, a child placement, or a termination of 
rights proceeding. 
(c) AUTHORITY TO CHARGE FEE.—The Secretary 
may charge a reasonable fee for a search of the national 
registry. 
(d) REPORT.—Within 12 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Congress a report on the implementation of this Act, that 
shall include— 
(1) a framework to assist States and Indian 
tribes without a responsible father registry in setting 
up such a registry, or to coordinate with a State or 
tribal responsible father registry; 
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(2) a description of best practices that a State 
or Indian tribe with a responsible father registry 
may follow to improve the efficiency of the registry; 
(3) an identification of administrative and legis-
lative options for ensuring that every possible bio-
logical father has access to the protections of a re-
sponsible father registry regardless of the State in 
which the possible biological father resides; and 
(4) a description of the national registry so es-
tablished, which shall identify participating states 
and explain how authorized users may access and 
use the national registry. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act. 
(2) RESPONSIBLE
FATHER
REGISTRY.—The 
term ‘‘responsible father registry’’ means a registry 
for the receipt of information that directly relates to 
the identity or location of possible biological fathers 
who have voluntarily registered to be notified of a 
proceeding relating to a child that a possible biologi-
cal father may have fathered out of wedlock, so that 
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