Protecting Adopted Children Act

Floor Speech

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Madam Speaker, today, too many children are falling victim to a system of adoption that lacks necessary oversight.

Horrifying stories have come to light about children being ``rehomed'' into the custody of strangers through dubious or even illegal arrangements. As a child of adoption myself, I am personally invested in this issue.

I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the Protecting Adopted Children Act today to reduce that risk and better help these children find stable, loving homes and to improve support services for adoptive parents.

These support services--including counseling on potential parenting challenges, postadoption mental health services, and peer mentoring--can play a critical role in providing a healthy environment for a child entering an adoptive home.

These initiatives will also foster an ongoing dialogue between the families and adoption service agencies that should last during and beyond the adoption process.

I would like to thank Representative Langevin for his leadership on this issue. We must do all we can to prevent adoptive children from being placed in dangerous situations. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the Protecting Adopted Children Act.

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