Safe Home Act of 2021
Bill: S.397 | Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN)
Policy area: Families

Summary:
Safe Home Act of 2021This bill makes unregulated custody transfers a form of child abuse and neglect under federal child-welfare law. Specifically, an unregulated custody transfer occurs when a child is placed with a non-relative or otherwise unfamiliar adult, with the intention of severing the parental or guardian relationship with the child, without reasonably ensuring the child's safety, and without legally transferring parental or guardian rights. The bill also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to (1) report on the causes, effects, and prevalence of unregulated custody transfers; (2) develop policy recommendations for preventing such transfers; and (3) issue guidance to the states.

To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to include an act 
 of unregulated custody transfer in the definition of child abuse and 
                    neglect, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Safe Home Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that:
            (1) Adopted children may be most at risk of experiencing an 
        unregulated custody transfer because the challenges associated 
        with adoptions, including the child's mental health needs and 
        the difficulties many families face in acquiring support 
        services, may lead families to seek out unregulated custody 
        transfers.
            (2) Many adopted children experience trauma, and the 
        disruption and placement in another home by unregulated custody 
        transfer creates additional trauma and instability for the 
        child.
            (3) Children who experience an unregulated custody transfer 
        may be placed with families who have not completed required 
        child welfare or criminal background checks or clearances.
            (4) Social services agencies and courts are often unaware 
        of the placement of children through unregulated custody 
        transfer and therefore do not conduct assessments on the 
        child's safety and well-being in such placements.
            (5) Such lack of placement oversight places a child at risk 
        for future abuse and increases the likelihood that the child 
        may experience--
                    (A) physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or 
                neglect;
                    (B) contact with unsafe adults or youth; and
                    (C) exposure to unsafe or isolated environments.
            (6) The caregivers with whom a child is placed through 
        unregulated custody transfer often have no legal responsibility 
        with respect to such child, placing the child at risk for 
        additional unregulated custody transfers.
            (7) Such caregivers also may not have complete records, 
        including birth, medical, or immigration records.
            (8) A child adopted through intercountry adoption may be at 
        risk of not acquiring United States citizenship if an 
        unregulated custody transfer occurs before the adoptive parents 
        complete all necessary steps to finalize the adoption of such 
        child.
            (9) Engaging in, or offering to engage in, unregulated 
        custody transfer is a form of child abuse.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF UNREGULATED CUSTODY TRANSFER.

    (a) In General.--Section 3 of the Child Abuse Prevention and 
Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``or an act or failure'' and 
                inserting ``an act or failure''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, or an unregulated custody 
                transfer'' after ``serious harm'';
            (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (3) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(9) the term `unregulated custody transfer' means the 
        abandonment of a child by the child's parent, legal guardian, 
        or a person or entity acting on behalf, and with the consent, 
        of such parent or guardian--
                    ``(A) by placing a child with a person who is not--
                            ``(i) the child's parent, step-parent, 
                        grandparent, adult sibling, adult uncle or 
                        aunt, legal guardian, or other adult relative;
                            ``(ii) a friend of the family who is an 
                        adult and with whom the child is familiar; or
                            ``(iii) a member of the federally 
                        recognized Indian tribe of which the child is 
                        also a member;
                    ``(B) with the intent of severing the relationship 
                between the child and the parent or guardian of such 
                child; and
                    ``(C) without--
                            ``(i) reasonably ensuring the safety of the 
                        child and permanency of the placement of the 
                        child, including by conducting an official home 
                        study, background check, and supervision; and
                            ``(ii) transferring the legal rights and 
                        responsibilities of parenthood or guardianship 
                        under applicable Federal and State law to a 
                        person described in subparagraph (A).''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--Paragraph (5) of section 3 of the Child 
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note) is amended by 
striking ``450b'' and inserting ``5304''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
this section.

SEC. 4. REPORT AND GUIDANCE ON UNREGULATED CUSTODY TRANSFERS.

    Section 204 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and 
Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 5114) is amended to read as 
follows:

``SEC. 204. REPORT AND GUIDANCE ON UNREGULATED CUSTODY TRANSFERS.

    ``(a) Report to Congress.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of State, shall provide to the 
        Committee on Education and Labor of the House of 
        Representatives, the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 
        of Representatives, and the Committee on Health, Education, 
        Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report on unregulated 
        custody transfers of children, including of adopted children.
            ``(2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    ``(A) the causes, methods, and characteristics of 
                unregulated custody transfers, including the use of 
                social media and the internet;
                    ``(B) the effects of unregulated custody transfer 
                on children, including the lack of assessment of a 
                child's safety and well-being by social services 
                agencies and courts due to such unregulated custody 
                transfer;
                    ``(C) the prevalence of unregulated custody 
                transfers within each State and across all States; and
                    ``(D) recommended policies for preventing, 
                identifying, and responding to unregulated custody 
                transfers, including of adopted children, that 
                include--
                            ``(i) amendments to Federal and State law 
                        to address unregulated custody transfers;
                            ``(ii) amendments to child protection 
                        practices to address unregulated custody 
                        transfers; and
                            ``(iii) methods of providing the public 
                        information regarding adoption and child 
                        protection.
    ``(b) Guidance to States.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation 
        with the Secretary of State, shall issue guidance and technical 
        assistance to States related to preventing, identifying, and 
        responding to unregulated custody transfers, including of 
        adopted children.
            ``(2) Elements.--The guidance required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    ``(A) education and training materials related to 
                preventing, identifying, and responding to unregulated 
                custody transfers for employees of State, local, and 
                Tribal agencies that provide child welfare services;
                    ``(B) model State laws with respect to unregulated 
                custody transfers; and
                    ``(C) guidance on appropriate pre-adoption training 
                and post-adoption services for domestic and 
                international adoptive families to promote child 
                permanency.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `State' means each of the several States, 
        the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or 
        possession of the United States; and
            ``(2) the term `unregulated custody transfer' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 3 of the Child Abuse 
        Prevention and Treatment Act.''.
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