The Safe Home Act of 2025 aims to prevent unregulated custody transfers of children by amending the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978. This legislation establishes a clear definition for an "unregulated custody transfer," characterizing it as the abandonment of a child by a parent or guardian who places the child with certain non-relatives or non-familiar individuals with the intent to sever the parental relationship, all without ensuring the child's safety, permanency, or legal transfer of rights. It specifically excludes surrenders made under State safe haven laws. The bill includes a Sense of Congress highlighting the significant challenges and potential trauma associated with these transfers, such as the lack of safety measures like background checks. To combat this, the Secretary is directed to improve public awareness regarding the prevention of adoption disruption and dissolution, including unregulated custody transfers, by providing educational materials for child welfare agencies and information for prospective adoptive families on support services. Furthermore, the Act mandates a comprehensive report to Congress within two years, detailing the causes, methods, and effects of these transfers, their prevalence, and recommending policies for prevention, identification, and response, including potential changes to Federal and State laws.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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Safe Home Act of 2025
USA119th CongressS-604| Senate
| Updated: 2/13/2025
The Safe Home Act of 2025 aims to prevent unregulated custody transfers of children by amending the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978. This legislation establishes a clear definition for an "unregulated custody transfer," characterizing it as the abandonment of a child by a parent or guardian who places the child with certain non-relatives or non-familiar individuals with the intent to sever the parental relationship, all without ensuring the child's safety, permanency, or legal transfer of rights. It specifically excludes surrenders made under State safe haven laws. The bill includes a Sense of Congress highlighting the significant challenges and potential trauma associated with these transfers, such as the lack of safety measures like background checks. To combat this, the Secretary is directed to improve public awareness regarding the prevention of adoption disruption and dissolution, including unregulated custody transfers, by providing educational materials for child welfare agencies and information for prospective adoptive families on support services. Furthermore, the Act mandates a comprehensive report to Congress within two years, detailing the causes, methods, and effects of these transfers, their prevalence, and recommending policies for prevention, identification, and response, including potential changes to Federal and State laws.