Adoption Law
The NAF and its staff have been actively involved with efforts in Washington and elsewhere to achieve changes in adoption law and remove bureaucratic barriers to adoption.
- The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, has made it dramatically easier to adopt a child from foster care.
- The Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, raised the number of children available for adoption from other countries.
- The Child Health Act of 2000 has promoted greater emphasis on adoption as a choice for women facing unplanned pregnancies.
- Ratification of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption and Passage of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 provided the first consumer protections for families adopting abroad.
- The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 provides for automatic citizenship for children adopted abroad, saving adoptive families thousands of dollars and years of paperwork. It is estimated that over 100,000 children adopted in the US in the last 10 years became citizens for the first time when the law went into effect on February 27, 2001.
However, as more children are available for adoption, with less red tape, the reality is that more and more families are excluded financially from the adoption process. That's where NAF Financial Programs can help.
Find an Adoption Attorney
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Current Adoption Law Headlines
Same-sex marriage and adoption law implemented in Mexico city ! (Entertainment and Showbiz!)Mexico City: Same-sex marriage and adoption law implemented (Entertainment and Showbiz!)
Adoption gone awry lands couple on child abuse list (Orange County Register)
Gay couples find surrogate mothers in India (AFP via Yahoo! News)
EU extends parental leave to 4 months per parent (AP via Yahoo! Finance)
Philip N. Cohen: International Adoption Under Siege? (The Huffington Post)
A test of same-sex custody rights (Detroit Free Press)
Mom surrenders baby to fire station (WOOD TV 8 Grand Rapids)
Philip N. Cohen: W(h)ither Intercountry Adoption? (The Huffington Post)
An only child finds his big family (The Charlotte Observer)
Links courtesy of Yahoo! News. To add these stories to My Yahoo! click here
