The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act () is a US bill that would address federal adoption incentives and would amend the Social Security Act (SSA) to require the state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to demonstrate that the state agency has developed policies and procedures with respect to the children it is working, and which are (possibly) a victim of sex trafficking or a severe form of trafficking in persons. The bill furthermore requires states to implement the 2008 UIFSA version, which is required so the 2007 Hague Maintenance Convention can be ratified by the US.
The bill was introduced into the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress. The bill is a compromise measure made up of pieces of six other bills.
Background
Adoption
Adoptions in the United States may be either domestic or from another country. Domestic adoptions can be arranged either through adoption agency or independently. Adoption agencies must be licensed by the state in which they operate. The U.S. government maintains a website, Child Welfare Information Gateway, which lists each state's licensed agencies. There are both private and public adoption agencies. Private adoption agencies often focus on infant adoptions, while public adoption agencies typically help find homes for waiting children, many of them presently in foster care and in need of a permanent loving home. To assist in the adoption of waiting children, there is a U.S. government-affiliated website, AdoptUSKids.org, assisting in sharing information about these children with potential adoptive parents. The North American Council on Adoptable Children provides information on financial assistance to adoptive parents (called adoption subsidies) when adopting a child with special needs.
Independent adoptions are usually arranged by attorneys and typically involve newborn children. Approximately 55% of all U.S. newborn adoptions are completed via independent adoption.
The 2000 census was the first census in which adoption statistics were collected. The estimated number of children adopted in the year 2000 was slightly over 128,000, bringing the total U.S. population of adopted children to 2,058,915. In 2008 the number of children adopted increased to nearly 136,000.
Child support
Provisions for recovery of child support are a subject of state-law (rather than federal law) in the US. For the international recovery of child support, bilateral agreements are in place between the US and a number of countries, and certain US States have bilateral agreements with countries in place. In 2007 the Hague Maintenance Convention was adopted within the framework of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, aimed at recovery of international maintenance. The convention requires countries to set up Central Authorities to coordinate recovery of maintenance, and provides for recognition and enforcement measures of judicial maintenance decisions. The US was the first to sign the convention in 2007 and the Senate approved it several years later. Ratification by the US could not take place because domestic legislation needs to be amended. Meanwhile, the agreement has entered into force with respect to the European Union and 5 other European countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Norway and Ukraine.
Provisions of the bill
This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the Congressional Research Service, a public domain source.
The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act would amend part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require the state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to demonstrate that the state agency has developed policies and procedures for identifying, documenting in agency records, and determining appropriate services with respect to, any child or youth over whom the state agency has responsibility for placement, care, or supervision who the state has reasonable cause to believe is, or is at risk of being, a victim of sex trafficking or a severe form of trafficking in persons.
The bill would authorize a state, at its option, to identify and document any individual under age 26 without regard to whether the individual is or was in foster care under state responsibility.
The bill would add as state plan requirements: (1) the reporting to law enforcement authorities of instances of sex trafficking, as well as (2) the locating of and responding to children who have run away from foster care.
The bill would include sex trafficking data in the adoption and foster care analysis and reporting system (AFCARS).