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A place to call home—The Permanency for Children Act

by Reps. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) and Annie Kuster (D-N.H.), Opinion Contributors - 11/16/17 2:30 PM ET

A permanent home and a forever family—these are things many of us are born into and simply take for granted. But for the more than 100,000 children in America awaiting adoption, these are things that are dreamed of, hoped for and prayed for. Adoption completes families. It gives children stable, caring homes, and it gives adoptive moms and dads the joys that come with parenthood and raising a family.

The bipartisan Permanency for Children Act (H.R. 3092) will streamline the process for finding biological fathers in pending adoption cases, making it easier to reunite children with biological family members or place children with adoptive families — permanently.

{mosads}The Permanency for Children Act achieves this by synchronizing existing state and federal databases that help locate and notify children’s birthfathers during the permanency process. The current system, a collection of 34 unconnected state Responsible Father Registries (RFRs), leaves gaps in the adoption and dependency process. Our legislation would link these state registries to the Federal Parent Locator Service via a single streamlined search system that can identify birthfathers more quickly, allowing them the chance to assert or terminate their parental rights. This system would give adoptive parents greater peace of mind, preventing unexpected custody concerns from derailing the adoption process. Most importantly, it would help children find their forever families faster.

The adoption process is too often filled with hurdles and heartbreaks, with adoptive parents becoming mired in custody battles and legal challenges. Our legislation would improve the adoption process by removing some of those barriers and increasing the number of successful adoptions.

This National Adoption Month, Congress has the opportunity to shorten the wait for adoptive families by passing the Permanency for Children Act. Getting this legislation through Congress and the White House will allow more children to come home, once and for all.

All children deserve a safe and loving home—always. By streamlining our nation’s adoption system with H.R. 3092, we can give more children the promise of permanence and a place to belong.

Hartzler represents Missouri’s 4th District and Kuster represents New Hampshire’s 2nd District.