I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2936
To amend the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act of 1988 to prevent aban-
doned infants from experiencing prolonged foster care where a permanent
adoptive home is available.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 6, 1993
Mr. FAWELL (for himself, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. PORTER, Mr. HYDE, Mr.
HASTERT, Mr. KLINK, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. WOLF, Mr.
UPTON, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. RAVENEL, Mr. SANTORUM, Mr. SOLO-
MON, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, and Mrs. ROUKEMA) introduced the following
bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Education and
Labor and Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act of 1988
to prevent abandoned infants from experiencing pro-
longed foster care where a permanent adoptive home
is available.
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 ‘‘At-Birth Abandoned
Infants Assistance Amendments of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) each year thousands of infants throughout
the United States are abandoned by their parents
shortly after birth, such as when a mother gives
birth at a hospital under an assumed name and ad-
dress and then disappears afterwards, leaving the in-
fant behind, when the whereabouts of the parents
are unknown, and when infants are left to die in
garbage dumpsters because their mothers cannot
care for them;
(2) infants who are abandoned during the form-
ative months occurring shortly after birth are denied
the ability to bond with a loving parent or parents;
(3) the process of attachment or bonding be-
tween an infant and the same adults is essential to
the development of a healthy personality in the in-
fant;
(4) the Inspector General of the Department of
Health and Human Services, in the February 1990
report entitled ‘‘Crack Babies’’, states that legisla-
tion ‘‘should reduce barriers to placing drug exposed
infants into foster care and adoptive homes and es-
tablish ‘fast track’ procedures to expedite child wel-
fare cases involving drug abuse’’;
(5) according to experts, current legal rules and
agency policies make it exceedingly difficult and time
consuming to terminate parental rights of those par-
ents who truly abandon their infants, and as a result
very few of those abandoned infants are available for
adoption;
(6) the welfare of infants abandoned during the
formative months occurring shortly after birth is of
such special interest and concern to our society that
if there are persons desiring to adopt and parentally
bond with such an infant, the infant should be af-
forded the right to expeditious placement with, and
adoption by, such persons; and
(7) other steps should be taken to expedite the
adoption of infants who are abandoned during the
formative months occurring shortly after birth.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to encourage States to im-
plement a system that will expedite the initiation of the
adoption process for infants abandoned at birth. In doing
so, States will appoint competent persons to be
preadoptive parents for infants abandoned at birth in
order to provide a proper and loving home during the in-
fants’ formative months. The preadoptive parents will also
be responsible for initiating legal proceedings that could
lead to the legal adoption of the infant. Once the proceed-
ings have been initiated, the State courts of proper juris-
diction will continue to be responsible for the final deci-
sion, taking into account the legal rights of all the parties
involved, including the infant abandoned at birth, the nat-
ural parents, the preadoptive parents, and the State.
SEC. 4. ADOPTION BY PREADOPTIVE PARENTS OF CERTAIN
ABANDONED INFANTS.
(a) CERTAIN STATE LAWS REQUIRED AS CONDITION
OF PROJECT GRANTS.—Title 1 of the Abandoned Infants
Assistance Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 670 note) is amend-
ed—
(1) in section 101(a), by striking ‘‘The Sec-
retary’’ in the matter preceding paragraph (1) and
inserting ‘‘Subject to section 101A, the Secretary’’;
and
(2) by inserting after section 101 the following
section:
‘‘SEC. 101A. CERTAIN STATE LAWS REQUIRED AS CONDI-
TION OF PROJECT GRANTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not make a
grant under section 101 to a public or nonprofit private
entity unless the project for which the grant is to be made
is located in a State for which there is in effect State laws
and rules of law that provide all of the following:
‘‘(1) Within 30 days after the State obtains
custody of a designated abandoned infant (as de-
fined in subsection (b)), the State shall—
‘‘(A) find 1 or more individuals to be the
preadoptive parents of such infant;
‘‘(B) designate such individual or individ-
uals as the preadoptive parents of the infant;
and
‘‘(C) place the infant with such individual
or individuals.
‘‘(2)(A) During the 90-day period beginning on
the date a designated abandoned infant is placed
with the preadoptive parents of the infant, the
preadoptive parents shall have the right to petition
the courts of the State for an expedited hearing—
‘‘(i) to terminate the parental rights of all other
persons with respect to the infant; and
‘‘(ii) to become the adoptive parents of the in-
fant.
‘‘(B) In determining whether to grant a petition
described in subparagraph (A), the courts of the
State shall not draw any inference adverse to the in-
terests of a petitioner by reason of the present or
former status of any petitioner as a foster parent.
‘‘(3) If the preadoptive parents of a designated
abandoned infant fail to file a petition described in
paragraph (2)(A) during the 90-day period described
in such paragraph, the State shall—
‘‘(A) immediately revoke their designation
as the preadoptive parents of the infant; and
‘‘(B) within 30 days after the end of such
90-day period—
‘‘(i) find 1 or more individuals (other
than the former preadoptive parents of the
infant) to be the new preadoptive parents
of the infant;
‘‘(ii) designate such individual or indi-
viduals as the preadoptive parents of the
infant; and
‘‘(iii) place the infant with such indi-
vidual or individuals.
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the
term ‘designated abandoned infant’ means an abandoned
infant—
‘‘(1) who has not attained the age of 18
months; and
‘‘(2) whose abandonment occurs during the first
6 months after the infant is born.
‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The provisions and
rules of State law that are enacted or adopted pursuant
to this subsection shall not be construed to affect any pro-
vision or rule of State law with respect to the abandon-
ment of children that is not so enacted or adopted, except
to the extent that such provisions or rules of State law
are in direct conflict.’’.
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall not apply to any child who attains the
age of 18 months before the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection
(b), the amendments made by this Act shall apply to
grants under section 101 of the Abandoned Infants Assist-
ance Act of 1988 for fiscal years beginning after the fiscal
year in which this Act is enacted.
(b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE-
QUIRED.—In the case of a grant under section 101 of the
Abandoned Infants Assistance Act of 1988 to a project
with respect to which the Secretary of Health and Human
Services determines that State legislation is required
(other than legislation appropriating funds) in order to
meet the condition established in section 101A of such Act
for the project to receive such a grant, the project shall
not be regarded as failing to meet such condition solely
on the basis that such legislation is not in effect before
the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter beginning after
the close of the 1st regular session of the State legislature
that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act.
For purposes of the previous sentence, in the case of a
State that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of
such session shall be deemed to be a separate regular ses-
sion of the State legislature.
Æ