A check list for state lawmakers who want to protect adopted children

The recent reporting on proposed Kentucky legislation arising from an ongoing child support dispute involving an abandoned adopted youth should be a moment for serious reflection and meaningful reform. 

Across the country, practitioners, courts and child-welfare professionals are confronting a growing and deeply  troubling reality: Some adopted children are being sent out of their homes across state lines or international borders, placed in institutions, informally transferred to other caregivers or left without financial or emotional support. When these cases come to light, they often expose significant gaps in law, oversight and accountability. 

The appropriate legislative response is not to limit young people’s ability to seek support. It is to ensure that adoption laws function as intended, to provide permanency, stability and lifelong responsibility. 

Adoption is not a temporary arrangement. It is a permanent legal commitment that must carry enforceable  obligations. 

Former KY governor’s child support case spawns bill from GOP lawmakers who worked for him

State legislatures have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to address longstanding gaps through thoughtful, targeted reforms: 

Strengthen oversight of adoption subsidies

Public funds provided through adoption subsidies are intended to support the child’s care and stability. Yet in many  cases, subsidies continue even when the child is no longer living with the adoptive family or has been placed in foster  care, residential treatment or another caregiver arrangement. 

States should require: 

• Verification that the child is residing in the adoptive home or receiving direct benefit from subsidy funds.
• Immediate review when school enrollment, medical usage, or address records suggest a disruption.
• Authority for agencies to redirect subsidy funds to the actual caregiver or placement meeting the child’s needs. 
• Penalties for knowingly misrepresenting a child’s living situation. 

This is not about punishment. It is about ensuring public resources serve their intended purpose, the well-being of  the child. 

Regulate and prevent informal “rehoming” 

In some states, adoptive parents may transfer custody or guardianship of a child through private agreements, powers  of attorney or online arrangements without court review or child-welfare oversight. 

Legislatures should: 

• Prohibit permanent custody transfers outside the court system. 
• Require background checks, home studies, and judicial approval before any long-term placement change. Mandate reporting to child-welfare authorities when an adoptive parent can no longer provide care. 
• Create civil and criminal consequences for unlawful transfers.

Children should never be placed into unvetted homes or institutions without safeguards.

Clarify ongoing parental responsibility 

Adoptive parents should remain legally and financially responsible when a child is placed in residential treatment, foster  care or out-of-state programs, unless parental rights are formally modified or terminated by a court. 

Legislation can: 

• Require transition plans addressing education, services, and return planning before out-of-home placements • Establish clear child-support obligations tied to actual cost of care 
• Prevent abandonment from becoming a pathway to avoiding responsibility 

Permanency must mean something in practice, not only on paper. 

Address cross-border and institutional placements 

When youth are sent across state lines or abroad, oversight often diminishes dramatically. Some placements occur in  jurisdictions with limited regulation or enforcement capacity. 

States should: 

• Prohibit referrals to unlicensed or unregulated facilities 
• Require individualized safety review for institutional placements 
• Strengthen enforcement of interstate placement requirements 
• Require documentation of educational services, disability supports, and medical care 

Distance should not become a shield against accountability. 

Guarantee youth access to legal remedies 

Young people whose adoptions fail often lack standing, resources or legal representation to seek support. Legislatures can: 

• Provide statutory standing for youth to petition for support or services 
• Fund specialized legal representation for abandoned or disrupted adoptees 
• Allow courts to order continued support when abandonment delays independence 

No young person should have to undertake extraordinary litigation simply to secure basic care. 

Invest in prevention and post-adoption support 

Many families face real challenges after adoption finalization, particularly when youth have experienced trauma,  disability or multiple placements. Without adequate support, crises can escalate. 

States should: 

• Expand access to respite care, crisis stabilization and trauma-informed services 
• Provide school-based and community mental health supports 
• Fund post-adoption case management for high-risk placements 
• Create early intervention pathways before disruption occurs 

Preventing abandonment is both more humane and more cost-effective than responding after harm has occurred.

Improve data, transparency and accountability 

States often lack reliable data on disrupted adoptions, out-of-home placements after finalization or subsidy misuse. Legislation should require: 

• Tracking and public reporting of adoption disruptions and re-placements 
• Interagency coordination between education, Medicaid, and child-welfare systems 
• Independent oversight or audit mechanisms 

Good policy depends on good information. 

This moment should not be viewed through the lens of one case or one family. It should be understood as part of a  broader systemic challenge that demands thoughtful reform. 

Accountability should not depend on political influence, public visibility or media attention. It should depend on a  simple and enduring principle: Every child deserves safety, stability and meaningful protection under the law. 

Lawmakers can engage with survivors, practitioners and child-welfare experts to craft legislation that strengthens  permanency, prevents abandonment and ensures that adopted youth are not left to navigate survival alone.