Steve Stivers: “I was first made aware of the practice of rehoming earlier this year when it was discovered that a girl who had been…”

“I was first made aware of the practice of rehoming earlier this year when it was discovered that a girl who had been adopted from Haiti was transferred back and forth from an abusive environment in central Iowa, where I live, to Idaho via a Yahoo Internet forum. Rehoming is the transfer of children into the custody of unvetted strangers without the use of the child welfare system, and currently there is no Federal law prohibiting it. That means there is nothing stopping dangerous and unfit individuals from using online mediums like Craigslist to seek custody and then abuse, neglect, or exploit children. As a father of two young children, the idea of children being treated as goods or property is reprehensible. Our Nation must address rehoming. That is why I am introducing legislation to establish Federal guidelines and reporting requirements for custodial transfers. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help me solve this problem of rehoming. ____________________”