Bipartisan Blunt bill aims to strengthen inter-country adoption options

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) recently introduced bipartisan legislation that would modify U.S. diplomatic efforts to make inter-country adoption to the United States a more viable option.

The Vulnerable Children and Families Act, which was introduced by Blunt and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), would also replace the Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues with a new Office of Vulnerable Children and Family Security. The new office would be tasked with fostering more international capacity to establish effective child welfare systems with an emphasis on family preservation, reunification, domestic adoption and inter-country adoption.

“Every child deserves the opportunity to grow up in a safe, loving home regardless of where they are born,” Blunt said. “Sadly, millions of children living without families throughout the world are denied that opportunity, leaving them at greater risk than children living in family-based care. There are many families in the United States and around the world that are fighting for the chance to welcome a child into their homes. This bill aims to provide more children in need with the permanent care and stability that will help them grow into healthy, productive adults.”

The measure would also require the State Department to include data on children living without families in its annual human rights report, and it would require a report to Congress on technical assistance provided to foreign countries to promote permanent, family-based care.

“As Hennepin County attorney and as the Senate co-chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, and from a state with a strong tradition of adoption, I know the power of adoption,” Klobuchar said. “We can and must do more to provide vulnerable children, especially those who have been in institutional care, with the opportunity to be adopted into safe and nurturing homes. This bipartisan legislation will strengthen our relationships with nations across the world, while also making a difference in the lives of many families.”