The area of adoption law has grown at an exponential rate within the last eighty years, and, like all United States law, it has gone through an extensive process of refining and building upon itself. Adoption law has pursued and created protections for all parties in the adoption process, from children to parents. However, it also comes at a high cost. Created in the 1960s, the ICPC, or the Interstate Compact on Placement of Children, monitors almost all interstate adoptions and is one of the most important regulators of adoption (“Guide to the Interstate Compact on Placement of Children”). While not a federal law, all U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands, have agreed to comply with the ICPC in pursuit of placing
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Within this act, Congress made the decision to prioritize keeping children with their birth families, if at all possible. However, if a child experiences “aggravated circumstances,” such as abandonment, torture, or abuse, or if their parent or parents have committed violent crimes, a child may be forcibly removed from parental custody (“Adoption and Safe Families Act”). Consequently, if a child must be removed from their home, the act also mandates that “reasonable efforts shall be made to place the child in a timely manner,” to avoid children being lost in a legal stalemate (“Adoption and Safe Families Act”). Additionally, the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 set up a time period for placement hearings; a child must have a permanency hearing for placement within thirty days of the termination of parental rights (“Adoption and Safe Families Act”). In a similar way, if a child has been in the foster system for fifteen out of the most recent twenty-two months, that child is freed and placed up for adoption (“Adoption and Safe Families Act”). Because of this 1997 law, children’s health and protections were given a greater …show more content…
As a response to the growing crisis of child sex trafficking, one of the main goals of this act was “to prevent and address sex trafficking of children in foster care,” (“Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act”). By amending the Social Security Act, this act requires states to offer assistance and training to identify, document, and offer assistance to any child who has or is at risk of being a victim of sexual exploitation (“Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act”). In hopes of growing the network of foster care families, the act also revitalizes the incentives of foster care (“Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act”). Also paramount to the act is the inclusion of children in their own foster care and/or adoption process. For example, the act allows children aged 14 or older to participate in the development of their case, additional requirements are described for a child’s rights to such things as health and freedom from exploitation, and discharged children of 18 receive copies of identifying material such as birth certificate, Social Security, and medical records (“Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act”). Through the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, emphasis has been placed on not only keeping children from exploitation, but also in ensuring their rights to
Within this act, Congress made the decision to prioritize keeping children with their birth families, if at all possible. However, if a child experiences “aggravated circumstances,” such as abandonment, torture, or abuse, or if their parent or parents have committed violent crimes, a child may be forcibly removed from parental custody (“Adoption and Safe Families Act”). Consequently, if a child must be removed from their home, the act also mandates that “reasonable efforts shall be made to place the child in a timely manner,” to avoid children being lost in a legal stalemate (“Adoption and Safe Families Act”). Additionally, the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 set up a time period for placement hearings; a child must have a permanency hearing for placement within thirty days of the termination of parental rights (“Adoption and Safe Families Act”). In a similar way, if a child has been in the foster system for fifteen out of the most recent twenty-two months, that child is freed and placed up for adoption (“Adoption and Safe Families Act”). Because of this 1997 law, children’s health and protections were given a greater …show more content…
As a response to the growing crisis of child sex trafficking, one of the main goals of this act was “to prevent and address sex trafficking of children in foster care,” (“Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act”). By amending the Social Security Act, this act requires states to offer assistance and training to identify, document, and offer assistance to any child who has or is at risk of being a victim of sexual exploitation (“Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act”). In hopes of growing the network of foster care families, the act also revitalizes the incentives of foster care (“Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act”). Also paramount to the act is the inclusion of children in their own foster care and/or adoption process. For example, the act allows children aged 14 or older to participate in the development of their case, additional requirements are described for a child’s rights to such things as health and freedom from exploitation, and discharged children of 18 receive copies of identifying material such as birth certificate, Social Security, and medical records (“Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act”). Through the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, emphasis has been placed on not only keeping children from exploitation, but also in ensuring their rights to