Category: States

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Foreign-Born Adopted Child by U.S. Military Family Missed Deadline for Adoption Finalization; Child Must Leave U.S.

Here’s a recent federal case wherein an United States citizen in the military followed the proper procedures to bring their foreign-born fifteen year old neice  to the United States for adoption, but the family then missed the age 16 deadline to file for adoption.  As a result of the missed adoption filing deadline, a Federal Judge just ruled that the child must leave the United States.

 

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Illinois Creates State Adoption Tax Credit

According to this article, the State of Illinois may offer a state adoption tax credit promoting adoption.

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Arizona Could Force You to Become A Parent

Warning:  Technology may outlast your relationship.  The State of Arizona now says according to this article that if you create frozen embryos and later have a change of heart, whoever wishes to use the embryos may do so even if the other intended parent disagrees.

Actress Sofia Vergara is fighting a similar dispute in a different state arguing that she should not be forced to become a parent with embryos created with an ex years ago.

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Georgia Changes Revocation Time In Certain Cases

According to this article, Georgia is changing the revocation period for certain adoption cases from ten days to four.

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Adult Adoptee Could Be Adopted Without Losing Biological Parent in New Hampshire

According to this article, a New Hampshire Court permitted an adult to be adopted by an unmarried adult without the Court having to terminate the rights of her biological parent.

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Trend Watch – Five States Seek To Provide Faith-Based Adoption Protections To Date

According to this article, the count is up to five.  Five states now provide or are moving forward to providing for faith-based religious protections for adoption agencies which place a child’s needs and best interest below the religiously held beliefs of the adoption agency.  Essentially allowing an adoption agency to ignore a child’s best interests over religiously held beliefs.

The five states are:  Alabama (passed on May 3, 2017), South Dakota (passed in March 2017), Virginia (passed in 2012), Texas (pending legislation), and Oklahoma (pending legislation).

Georgia was moving in this direction, but the bill died when the legislature adjourned without acting on it in March 2017. 

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Texas – Faith-Based Adoption Agency’s Religious Beliefs Trump Child’s Best Interest

According to this article, a bill in the Texas House just passed permitting faith-based adoption agencies to reject adoptive parents based on the agencies religiously held beliefs.   It has been argued that the rejections may include gay, divorced, non-Christian, Jewish, etc. 

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Proposed Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act — Bishops Support Agency Gay Adoption Discrimination

According to this article, three chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees signed a letter to Pennsylvania Representative Mike Kelly on April 10, 2017 voicing their support for the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act which would allow U.S. adoption agencies to legally exclude same-sex couples from consideration for adoption based on their “sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions.”  The Bishops support carving out a religious exception to state anti-discrimination laws that would allow religious adoption agencies to continue to receive state dollars.

The three chairs are:  (1) The chairman of the US Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty; (2) the chair of the bishops’ Subcommittee for Defense and Promotion of Marriage; and (3) the Chairman of the Bishops Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

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San Francisco — City Employees Banned From Official Travel to South Dakota In Response to Anti-Gay Adoption Legislation

Here’s an article with audio recording where the Governor of South Dakota tries to explain why he feels the bill he signed allowing adoption agencies to discriminate is not anti-gay adoption in an attempt to convince states not to enact travel bans on South Dakota.  The article also mentions that the State of California may soon follow San Francisco by banning all official State of California business travel to South Dakota.

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Florida – Recognition of Same-Sex Widow Prior to US Supreme Court Case Does Not Require Judicial Intervention

According to this article, a Federal Judge just ruled that the State of Florida improperly required widows and widowers in same-sex marriages to petition the Court for recognition on the death certificate if their spouse died prior to the date of the US Supreme Court decision declaring state bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.  

While this does not directly relate to same-sex adoption, it is significant in showing some challenges that the State of Florida continues to seek to place on same-sex couples.    

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