Uniform Law Commission - Unregulated Transfers of Adopted Children -- Rehoming

The re-homing of inter-country adoptees is one of adoption’s dirty but open little secrets today. Although we know of no major study on the subject, unregulated re-homing has been covered by a series of articles published by Reuters and in a broadcast documentary by Dan Rather. The revelation of the extent to which it is practiced in the US has rocketed un-regulated re-homing (and “legal” re-homing) into the vocabulary of adoption reform alongside birth and adoption records access, “legalized” infant abandonment, and adoptee citizenship/deportation. Currently, the Uniform Law Commission is drafting language regarding the practice: The Unregulated Transfer of Adopted Childen Act.

Bastard Nation Executive Chair Marley Greiner is an Observer to the process, meaning she can attend remote draft committee meetings and submit comments.

This past month it has become clear that the committee drafting the language is attempting to water-down the intent with influential members positing the draft act is an “over-reaction” to what they apparently perceive as a small problem in adoption. The focus has gone from adoptee to (benevolent) adopter. What was once about adopted persons–especially inter-country adoptees–is now becoming about non-adoptive scenarios, ie, sending your kid off to a high-ranked school district for a year so they can get into a “good college;” thus, erasing adoptees and their experiences and abuse from the intent of the act. This is an action reminiscent of turning Black Lives Matter into All Lives Matter.

Below are Bastard Nation’s initial comments on the current state of The Unregulated Transfer of Adopted Childen Act. As the process continues we will add relevant links.