Protecting Adoption and Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Act of 2012 - Amends part B (Child and Family Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish and maintain an automated National Responsible Father Registry.
Requires the Registry to: (1) contain specified kinds of information sufficient to identify a possible father, and (2) provide a mechanism for men to register such identifying information directly with the Registry.
Limits access to Registry information to eligible parties, including: (1) public and licensed private adoption or child placement agencies, (2) licensed attorneys representing a party in a planned or pending adoption or in the termination of rights of one or more possible fathers, (3) state agencies or entities responsible for the placement of children, and (4) state courts.
Directs the Secretary to establish a nationwide campaign designed to inform possible fathers, unwed mothers, possible adoptive parents, and eligible parties of the National Registry, the advantages of possible fathers registering either in the National Registry or State Responsible Father Registries, or both, the rights and responsibilities of such parties with regard to a proceeding, and the role of such Registries in a proceeding.
Directs the Secretary to use all reasonable efforts to encourage states to enter into agreements to establish automated State Responsible Father Registries and centers that make registration forms easily accessible to possible fathers.
Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant to a state to establish a State Registry or modify an existing one to meet the requirements of this Act.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6035 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6035
To promote permanent families for children, privacy and safety for
unwed mothers, responsible fatherhood, and security for adoptive
parents by establishing a National Responsible Father Registry and
encouraging States to enter into agreements to contribute the
information contained in the State's Responsible Father Registry to the
National Responsible Father Registry, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 27, 2012
Ms. Richardson (for herself and Mr. Rangel) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote permanent families for children, privacy and safety for
unwed mothers, responsible fatherhood, and security for adoptive
parents by establishing a National Responsible Father Registry and
encouraging States to enter into agreements to contribute the
information contained in the State's Responsible Father Registry to the
National Responsible Father Registry, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Adoption and Promoting
Responsible Fatherhood Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Responsible father registries, also known as possible
father registries or putative father registries, exist in as
many as 34 States.
(2) The Supreme Court of the United States in Lehr v.
Robertson (463 U.S. 248) (1983), found responsible father
registries to be constitutional.
(3) Responsible father registries help to speed up the
stable placement of children by providing a mechanism to
determine whether there are any possible fathers who may have
an interest in participating in the placement decisions of the
child so that the possible father can timely assert his rights
or so that the father's rights can be waived, surrendered, or
terminated and the child made available for adoption or
placement.
(4) Responsible father registries protect the privacy and
safety of unwed mothers by removing the burden from the mother
to provide information about any possible fathers, disclosure
of which would be an invasion of her privacy and may cause harm
to the mother, particularly in the case of rape or domestic
violence.
(5) Responsible father registries serve to protect the
rights of men who wish to be involved in the placement
decisions of a child they believe they may have fathered by
creating a mechanism for such men to undertake responsibility
and to protect their rights without having to rely upon others
to protect their rights, and to indicate their desire to be
notified in a timely manner of certain legal proceedings
related to the child, including proceedings related to
termination of rights, adoption, and the placement of the child
into State custody.
(6) Responsible father registries protect the privacy of
possible fathers by providing a mechanism for men to submit
identifying information to a database with restricted access.
(7) Responsible father registries protect the interests of
adoptive parents and increase the security of adoptions by
reducing the risk that possible fathers cannot be located in a
timely manner. One of the biggest risks to the finalization of
an adoption is the inability of the parties to an adoption
proceeding to timely locate the possible fathers. When possible
fathers are not provided with timely notice of an adoption
proceeding related to a child they may have fathered and
discover such proceeding later, the adoption proceeding often
is delayed or disrupted. In addition to causing emotional
stress and significant costs associated with this problem, such
cases, particularly when they attract media attention, create a
chilling effect on adoption in that prospective adoptive
parents may decide not to pursue the option of adoption for
fear that they will be involved in a such a case.
(8) Interstate travel of mothers and the filing of legal
actions relating to a child in a State other than the State in
which a possible father may have registered may circumvent and
eliminate the protections such unwed mothers and possible
fathers are provided by the individual State Responsible Father
Registries, because there are no agreements or mechanisms
between the States to identify or to provide notice to possible
fathers who have registered in another State.
(9) The inability of States to coordinate and cross-check
their responsible father registries may jeopardize or delay the
placement of the child in a permanent home and undermines the
benefits to unwed mothers, protections intended for registered
possible fathers, and security for adoptive parents that State
registries are intended to afford.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to provide for a national database that would accept
possible father registrations from participating State
Responsible Father Registries and directly from possible
fathers, and would transmit the results of specific searches of
such registrations to authorized parties involved in any
State's proceedings, whether the State participates in the
national registry or not, for adoption, the placement of a
child in State custody, or the termination of a father's
rights;
(2) to enable children to find a permanent home more
quickly by providing identifying information on possible
fathers thereby enabling the fathers' rights to be addressed in
a more timely manner;
(3) to remove the burden from the mother of having to
identify potential fathers, to protect her privacy and safety,
especially in cases of rape or domestic violence;
(4) to empower men to take responsibility for the
protection of their rights by enabling them to register in a
participating State or directly with the national registry,
increasing the likelihood of men receiving notice of a
proceeding in another State and reducing the opportunity for
the mother to deprive a possible father of the ability to
assert his rights by withholding accurate information
concerning the possible father, by moving, or by traveling to
another State; and
(5) to reduce the risk to prospective adoptive parents of
delayed or disrupted placements resulting from challenges to
adoptions due to a possible father's untimely receipt of notice
of such proceedings.
SEC. 3. REGISTRIES TO FACILITATE ADOPTIONS.
Part B of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 620 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Subpart 3--National and State Responsible Father Registries to
Facilitate Adoptions
``SEC. 440. DEFINITIONS.
``In this subpart:
``(1) Business day.--The term `business day' means a day on
which Federal or State offices, as applicable, are open for
regular business.
``(2) Eligible party.--The term `eligible party' means--
``(A) public and licensed private adoption or child
placement agencies gathering information for a planned
or pending adoption or the termination of rights of 1
or more possible fathers;
``(B) licensed attorneys representing a party in a
planned or pending adoption or in the termination of
rights of 1 or more possible fathers;
``(C) State agencies or entities responsible for
the placement of children; and
``(D) State courts.
``(3) National responsible father registry.--The term
`National Responsible Father Registry' means the registry
established and maintained under section 441.
``(4) Notice.--The term `notice' means notice to all
possible fathers of a proceeding sufficient to satisfy the
notice requirements of the law of the State in which the
proceeding is pending.
``(5) Pending adoption.--The term `pending adoption' means
any adoption in which an adoption petition has been filed and
is still pending with a court pursuant to State law.
``(6) Planned adoption.--The term `planned adoption' means
any plan for the adoption of a child or children in which the
birth mother has contacted an attorney or a public or licensed
private adoption agency about placing her child for adoption,
or in which a public or licensed private adoption agency is
working to place a child for adoption.
``(7) Proceeding.--The term `proceeding' means a proceeding
relating to a child that a possible father has or may have
fathered regarding a planned or pending adoption of the child,
the entry of the child into State custody, or the termination
of a possible father's rights to the child.
``(8) Possible father.--The term `possible father' or
`putative father' means a man who has had sexual relations with
a woman to whom he is not married and is therefore presumed to
know that such woman may be pregnant as a result of such
relations.
``(9) Search.--The term `search' means a request for
information regarding the existence of all possible fathers
related to a child that is the subject of a proceeding.
``(10) State responsible father registry.--The term `State
Responsible Father Registry' means, with respect to a State,
the registry established or modified and maintained under
section 443 for that State.
``(11) Participating state.--The term `participating State'
means a State that has entered into an agreement with the
Secretary under section 442.
``SEC. 441. NATIONAL RESPONSIBLE FATHER REGISTRY.
``(a) Establishment and Maintenance.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than the date that is 180 days
after the date of enactment of this subpart, the Secretary
shall establish and maintain an automated National Responsible
Father Registry that contains the information described in
section 443(c) and that provides a mechanism for men to
register such information directly with the National
Responsible Father Registry.
``(2) Data entry and deletion requirements.--
``(A) Data entry.--Information transmitted by a
State or a possible father under section 443(d)(2)
shall be entered into the National Responsible Father
Registry not later than the date that is 2 business
days after the date on which such information is
received.
``(B) Responsible father registration.--The
Secretary shall establish procedures under which a
possible father may submit the information described in
section 443(c) directly to the Secretary for the
purpose of including such information in the National
Responsible Father Registry. Such procedures shall--
``(i) require the possible father to verify
by submission of a sworn statement or such
other means as the Secretary determines
appropriate that the information submitted is
his own personal information and that it is
true and correct to the best of his knowledge;
``(ii) provide that no fee shall be charged
to the possible father for registering in the
National Responsible Father Registry; and
``(iii) allow possible fathers to submit
registrations by mail or electronic means.
``(C) Application of federal penalties for
submission of false information.--Any person who
knowingly submits false information to the National
Responsible Father Registry directly or indirectly
through transmission of information submitted to a
State Responsible Father Registry shall be subject to
penalties in accordance with the provisions of section
1001 of title 18, United States Code.
``(D) Deletion of data.--Information entered into
the National Responsible Father Registry shall remain
in the registry for not less than 20 years from the
date of entry.
``(3) Access to information in the national responsible
father registry.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B),
access to the information contained in the National
Responsible Father Registry is limited to an eligible
party.
``(B) Limited access for registrants.--Each
possible father who registers in the National
Responsible Father Registry may file a search request
with the Secretary for the limited purpose of
confirming that the information he provided is
contained in the National Registry.
``(4) Search requests.--
``(A) By an eligible party.--The Secretary shall
accept a request from an eligible party to search the
National Responsible Father Registry only if the
request has been verified for authenticity.
``(B) By a registrant.--The Secretary shall accept
a request from a possible father who has registered in
the National Responsible Father Registry to search the
National Responsible Father Registry only if the
request has been verified for authenticity.
``(C) Fee.--The Secretary is authorized to charge a
reasonable fee for a search conducted under this
section.
``(5) Limitation on disclosure of information.--No
information contained in the National Responsible Father
Registry shall be disclosed to any person if the disclosure of
the information would contravene a national security interest
of the United States or if the disclosure would compromise the
confidentiality of census data.
``(6) Methods for requesting a search of the national
database.--An eligible party may request a search under this
section either electronically or through the mail.
``(7) Certificate of search.--
``(A) Issuance.--Within 2 business days of receipt
of a search request, the Secretary shall issue by mail
or electronic means a certificate of search to the
person who requested the search.
``(B) Contents of eligible party search.--The
certificate of search on behalf of an eligible party
shall contain--
``(i) the names and most recent contact
information for all possible fathers who are
registered in the National Responsible Father
Registry or registered in any participating
State Responsible Father Registry;
``(ii) the latest date through which data
in the National Responsible Father Registry has
been updated; and
``(iii) the list of the State Responsible
Father Registries whose data is included in the
search database and the date through which the
data from each participating State was last
updated.
``(C) Contents of registrant search.--The
certificate of search on behalf of a possible father
who has registered in the National Responsible Father
Registry shall only contain the information provided to
the Secretary by the registrant himself or provided by
the registrant to a participating State registry and
transmitted by that State registry to the Secretary.
``(D) Effect of certificate.--A certificate of
search issued under subparagraph (B) shall serve as
evidence of efforts by the eligible party who requested
the search to locate a possible father in order to
provide those possible fathers identified in the
certificate with notice of a proceeding.
``(b) National Educational Campaign.--The Secretary shall establish
a nationwide responsible fatherhood and responsible father registry
educational campaign that is designed to inform possible fathers, unwed
mothers, possible adoptive parents, and eligible parties of the
existence of the National Responsible Father Registry, the advantages
of possible fathers registering either in the National Responsible
Father Registry or a State Responsible Father Registry, or both, the
rights and responsibilities of possible fathers, unwed mothers,
possible adoptive parents, and eligible parties with regard to a
proceeding, and the role of the National Responsible Father Registry
and a State Responsible Father Registry in a proceeding.
``SEC. 442. AGREEMENTS WITH STATES TO PROMOTE RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall use all reasonable efforts
to encourage States to enter into an agreement with the Secretary to
become a participating State under this subpart. Such agreements
shall--
``(1) require that the State comply with the requirements
for State Responsible Father Registries under section 443;
``(2) require that the State provide for a process under
which a registered possible father will receive notice of a
proceeding at the most recent address he provided to the
registry, within State determined guidelines and time limits;
``(3) require the State to provide annual reviews and
reports to the Secretary on the State Responsible Father
Registry, including such information as may be necessary to
measure compliance with the requirements under this subpart;
``(4) require the State to, in accordance with standards
prescribed by the Secretary, cooperate with other States and
the Federal Government to assist individuals and governments in
their efforts to locate and provide notice to possible fathers;
``(5) encourage the State to establish or designate a
single organizational unit within the State that meets such
staffing and organizational requirements as the Secretary may
prescribe to administer the State Responsible Father Registry;
``(6) encourage the State to enter into cooperative
agreements between the State and appropriate entities, such as
those specified in section 443(e)(2), to assist the
organizational unit established or designated to administer the
State Responsible Father Registry;
``(7) encourage the State to amend its long-arm
jurisdictional statute to ensure that personal jurisdiction is
established in a proceeding for a father registered in the
National Responsible Father Registry;
``(8) encourage States to develop, establish, and operate
programs that are designed--
``(A) to improve the protection of the rights of
possible fathers in a proceeding;
``(B) to assist mothers in making responsible plans
for their children's future; and
``(C) to protect the privacy and safety of possible
fathers and of birth mothers, including those who have
been the victims of violence, by, among other things,
enabling birth mothers to proceed with an adoption or
placement plan without being required to disclose her
sexual partners; and
``(9) encourage States to enact laws and regulations to
address the pre-birth abandonment of a child by the biological
father and abandonment of a child by the biological father
subsequent to birth.
``(b) Grants To Promote Responsible Fatherhood.--An agreement with
a State that meets the requirements of subsection (a) may include a
grant to the State as provided for under section 444.
``SEC. 443. STATE RESPONSIBLE FATHER REGISTRIES.
``(a) Establishment and Maintenance.--
``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), each State
that is a participating State under this subpart shall provide
assurances to the Secretary that the State has, or will
establish, and will maintain an automated responsible father
registry that meets the requirements of this section.
``(2) Existing state responsible father registries.--A
State that has a responsible father registry in existence on
the date of enactment of this subpart and desires to enter into
an agreement with the Secretary under section 442 shall provide
assurances to the Secretary that the State will, not later than
180 days from the last day of the first regular session of the
State legislature that begins after the date of enactment of
this subpart, modify the registry to the extent necessary for
the registry to meet the requirements of this section with
respect to responsible fathers who register with the State on
or after that day. For purposes of the previous sentence, in
the case of a State that has a 2-year legislative session, each
year of the session is considered to be a separate, regular
session of the State legislature.
``(b) Registration With the State Responsible Father Registry.--
``(1) Submission of information.--The State shall establish
procedures under which the possible father of a child may
submit the information described in subsection (c) to the State
for the purpose of including the information in the State
Responsible Father Registry. Such procedures shall provide
that, in order for the possible father to be entitled to notice
of any proceeding, the possible father must submit information
for inclusion in the State Responsible Father Registry within
State-determined time limits.
``(2) Verification.--The procedures established under
paragraph (1) shall require the possible father to verify by
submission of a sworn statement or such other means as the
State, in consultation with the Secretary, determines
appropriate that the information submitted is his own personal
information and that it is true and correct to the best of his
knowledge.
``(c) Contents.--With respect to a child, the State Responsible
Father Registry shall contain information sufficient to identify the
possible father, which may include (but is not limited to)--
``(1) the name of the possible father (including any other
names by which he may be known);
``(2) the date of birth of the possible father;
``(3) the Social Security number of the possible father, if
any;
``(4) the State of issue and driver's license number of the
possible father, if any;
``(5) the address provided by the possible father at which
he requests notice;
``(6) all known telephone numbers for the possible father;
``(7) the name and address of the employer of the possible
father, if any;
``(8) the name of the mother (including any other names by
which she may be known);
``(9) the most recent address of the mother, if known;
``(10) the date of birth of the mother, if known;
``(11) the Social Security number of the mother, if known;
``(12) the State of issue and driver's license number of
the mother, if known;
``(13) the city and State where possible conception took
place;
``(14) the date or estimated date (or range of dates) of
possible conception;
``(15) the birth date of the child or the approximate
delivery date, if known; and
``(16) the name and gender of the child, if known.
``(d) Collection of State Information and Transmission to the
National Responsible Father Registry.--
``(1) Collection.--The State shall collect the information
described in subsection (c) submitted by the possible father
and enter such information into the State Responsible Father
Registry.
``(2) Transmission.--Not later than the date that is 3
business days after the date on which any information described
in subsection (c) is entered into the State Responsible Father
Registry, the State shall furnish such information to the
Secretary, in an electronic format designated by the Secretary,
for purposes of including the information in the National
Responsible Father Registry.
``(3) Requirement.--The procedures established under
subsection (b) (1) shall include a means by which a possible
father is informed that the registry may be used to establish
an obligation to support a child or children. Except as
provided in subsection (g), registration shall not constitute
an admission of guilt to any crime under Federal or State law.
``(e) Establishment of Registration Centers.--
``(1) In general.--The State shall establish centers in
various locations throughout the State so that registration
forms for the State Responsible Father Registry are easily
accessible to possible fathers.
``(2) Sites.--The sites of the centers described in
paragraph (1) may include (but are not limited to) the
following:
``(A) State and local hospitals.
``(B) Courthouses in which family courts are
located.
``(C) State departments of motor vehicles.
``(D) State welfare agencies.
``(E) State health department offices.
``(F) State vital records offices.
``(G) State probate courts.
``(H) State-operated or -sponsored websites for
each center established in accordance with this
subsection.
``(f) Method of Submitting Registration.--The State shall permit a
possible father to submit information to the State Responsible Father
Registry electronically, in person, or by mail. The State shall not
charge a fee for registering in the State Responsible Father Registry.
``(g) Penalties for Submission of False Information.--A State shall
have in effect a law that provides that any person who knowingly
submits false information to a State Responsible Father Registry shall
be guilty of the highest class of misdemeanor under State law.
``(h) Accuracy of Data.--A possible father is solely responsible
for the accuracy of the information contained in his registration and
he shall be responsible for updating the information, if needed to keep
it accurate. The information contained in the registration is presumed
accurate. Notice regarding a proceeding shall be deemed received by the
possible father if sent or delivered to him at the most recent address
he provided in subsection (c)(5).
``(i) Privacy Safeguards.--The State shall establish procedures to
ensure that the information maintained in the State Responsible Father
Registry is subject to same the privacy safeguards as the privacy
safeguards required under section 454(26).
``SEC. 444. GRANTS TO STATES TO PROMOTE RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD.
``(a) Grants to States.--The Secretary may make a grant to a State
that enters into an agreement with the Secretary pursuant to section
442 to become a participating State for purposes of--
``(1) modifying an existing State Responsible Father
Registry to the extent necessary for the registry to meet the
requirements of section 443; or
``(2) establishing a State Responsible Father Registry that
meets the requirements of section 443.
``(b) Condition.--As a condition for receiving a grant under this
section, a State shall agree to--
``(1) maintain an automated State Responsible Father
Registry in accordance with the requirements of section 443;
and
``(2) support the nationwide responsible fatherhood and
responsible father registry educational campaign established
under section 441(b).
``(c) Amount.--A grant made under this section shall be in such an
amount as the Secretary determines appropriate.
``(d) Use of Funds.--Funds received under a grant made under this
section may be used to reimburse a participating State in whole or in
part for costs incurred to modify an existing State Responsible Father
Registry or to establish a State Responsible Father Registry, and to
reimburse the State in whole or in part for costs incurred to satisfy
the conditions specified in subsection (b).
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2013 and each
fiscal year thereafter for purposes of making grants to States under
this section.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Human Resources.
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