Policy & Law : State Laws
State Laws
Adoption is governed predominantly by state law. For instance, legislatures regulate who may adopt, when a birthmother may consent to adoption, and to what extent an unmarried, biological father can interfere with the birthmother’s decision to place the child for adoption. They also enact policies that can impact adoption, e.g., Safe Haven laws. This information provides a summary of state laws, including putative father registry laws and Safe Haven laws. NCFA’s Adoption Factbook IV, published in 2007, contains valuable analyses of state adoption laws.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who may adopt?
- Who may place a child for adoption?
- Is birthparent counseling required?
- May birthparents receive assistance with expenses?
- How are putative father rights addressed?
- When may the birthparent(s) relinquish custody and consent to adoption?
- How much time does a birthparent have to change his or her mind after consenting to the termination of parental rights?
Putative Father Registry Laws
About one half of the states have enacted putative father registry laws, which regulate the extent to which an unmarried, uninvolved biological father can undermine a birthmother's decision of the birthmother to place a child for adoption. Generally, these statutes establish a timeframe within which a possible, or “putative,” father must register with an identified state agency to have any right to notice of proceedings to terminate parental rights or not to consent to placement of the child for adoption. Some statutes require the putative father not only to demonstrate that he is, in fact, the biological father, but that he is also committed to the birthmother’s and child’s best interests. For example, putative father laws sometimes require a demonstration of financial support to the birthmother, beginning during the pregnancy. Read more about state putative father registry laws:
States with putative father registry laws
States without putative father registry laws
NCFA appreciates the efforts of Katy Braden, 2007 NCFA Summer Intern and the expert guidance and contributions provided by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, especially Andrea Vavonese, Juliane Sullivan, Ian Shavitz, Daniel Yonan, Natalie Roisman, Robert Leonard, David Hedgepeth, Deborah Bone, and Mary Ellen Moltumyr.
Safe Haven Laws
Safe Haven statutes allow desperate birthmothers to relinquish their newborns legally and confidentially with authorized caregivers, in designated locations, rather than abandoning them unsafely or directly harming them. Their purpose is to reduce the number of infant deaths and traumas through unsafe abandonment in such infamous places as dumpsters and toilets. These statutes work by providing the desperate birthmother a non-threatening escape from her crisis, so she will not harm her child. Once legally relinquished, the babies are placed for adoption. Safe Haven laws typically regulate the age under which the newborn must be to qualify as a newborn, the designated Safe Haven locations, and the nature of the protection afforded the birthmother.
As of February 2008, all fifty states have enacted Safe Haven laws for the protection of at-risk infants. Only the District of Columbia is currently without this child welfare safeguard.
For more information about Safe Havens, contact the National Safe Haven Alliance.
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