If you could make or change any 3 laws in reguards to adoption (either domestic, international, foster-adopt or just adoption in general) what would they be.
Tags: Adoption, Change, Laws, Related, What, Would
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January 8th, 2010 at 5:24 AM
* Open adoptions would be legally enforceable. If the adoptive parents break the agreement, natural parents would be provided with free legal counsel and a waiver of court fees.
* All domestic adoptions would be open unless expressly waived by the natural parents.
* Birth certificates would never be changed.
January 8th, 2010 at 12:15 PM
1.) Stop amending birth certificates and repeal sealed birth certificate laws.
2.) All international adoptees brought into this country prior to the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 have citizenship guaranteed. If it is discovered at any point that an adult adoptee is not a citizen due to their adoptive parents not finalizing, their citizenship is granted. Adult adoptees pending deportation and deported are returned to this county.
3.) The Adoption Tax Credit is used only for it’s original intent – adopting children from foster care
I’m going for 4
4.) Open adoption agreements become legally enforceable child custody agreements.
January 8th, 2010 at 5:22 PM
I was not adopted but, I had to have children adopted since I was maligned by the ‘system’ when, they were prepared to keep the kids with the mom. Thankfully, They didn’t, keep the kids with the mother, like they intended.
What I would change is, the practice of ‘closed’ adoptions. The adoptee needs medical info on the parents and, a ‘closed’ adoption is a slap in the face, to the child.
With ‘open’ adoption, I would make regular and consistent communication, between the bio-parents and, the adoptive-parents, mandatory.
January 8th, 2010 at 7:25 PM
Wow, only three?!
* Open Records
* No Altering of BCs
* Enforcing Open Adoption Agreements
But also:
* Universal Times for Relinquishment Rescindment Periods (6 months to a year – none of this 3,7 and 30 day crap. Give Mothers a change to recover before making a permanent decision.)
* No Waivers for Rescindment Periods.
* Serious Penalties for Proven Coercion Fraud and Omission of Pertinent Information to Expectant Mothers and Relinquishing Parents.
* Mandatory Independent Legal Council and Representation for ALL Parties.
* Mandatory IndIndependent Legal Representation for Foster Children.
* Legal Limits to Profits for Facilitating Adoptions (It should be a social service, not a business.)
* Greater Discretion Given to Judges in Ruling on Foster Care Cases (Give Judges more ability to make decisions based on individual circumstances.)
* Enact Minimum Standards Effort For Family Preservation Services for Parents Considering Voluntary Relinquishment and Cases of Neglect.
* More serious penalties for Felony Child Abuse cases – making it easier to TPR parents who are truly unfit and have little chance for rehabilitation.
* Mandatory Reproduction and Basic Parenting Education in High School (As much as I wish we could leave this up to parents, let’s face it – too many are either falling down on the job or simply are unaware of all the information themselves!)
* Serious Penalties, including permanent license revocation for SW’s, GAL/CASAs, foster parents, group home workers, etc. who knowingly fail to act in good faith for the children in their care, knowingly endanger children, purposefully neglect duties or embezzle from social services.
I could think of a whole bunch more but this would be a start.
January 8th, 2010 at 8:27 PM
1. MANDATORY counseling for all the want to place their child. I hear about first mom’s being talked into placing their child. Adoption agencies do this, as well as friends and family members. The state should have a counselor sit down with each person before placing to make sure this is what they want to do, and also provide resources and answers on ways that she could keep the child.
2. More social workers. Not everyone is qualified to adopt and those that place their child should feel confident that they are going to a good family. Although it’s required to have one or even many home studies, everyone should be evaluated by a psychologist first, and everyone should receive adoption training so they can understand things they may not have thought about before.
3. Records should NOT be sealed and adoption should be open (except in the cases where the parents have the potential to harm the child). Every person has a right to know where they came from.
January 8th, 2010 at 9:58 PM
1.) Birth certificates would not be amended. A separate certificate of adoption would be issued, and birth records would remain intact and unsealed.
2.) A mother would be required to have received independent counseling before terminating her parental rights, at no expense to herself. Counseling should also be made available to the father if he so desires, again at no expense to him.
3.) Significantly more money allocated to the foster care system, but also better results expected from it in the areas of family preservation, screening of prospective foster and adoptive parents, abuse prevention, followup support to adoptive and foster families, and better adoptive placement rates for older children.
January 9th, 2010 at 3:28 AM
Adoptee access to their original birth certificates would be number one for me. Secondly I would change the amount of time first parents have to change their minds and make is uniform across the board. Thirdly I would add a law that makes open adoptions enforceable, with child access after a divorce they can legally force a parent to allow visitation and I feel the same should be done for open adoptions.
January 9th, 2010 at 9:59 AM
Monkeykitty addressed it absolutely perfect.
I would like to see adoption made easier for children that are in foster care or orphanages.
January 9th, 2010 at 10:07 AM
require medical history be updated annually
allow gays to adopt (Fl and AZ it is illegal)
provide counseling for both the birth mother and the adoptive parents
January 9th, 2010 at 4:56 PM
no change in birth certificate.
unseal records.
require medical updates from the first parents. (the truthful kind would be even better.)