Amendment ID: S2043-7-R2

2nd Redraft Amendment 7

Commission on Barriers to Adoption

Messrs. Humason, Fattman, Tarr, deMacedo, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the bill by adding at the end thereof the following new section:-

Section X. There shall be a commission to examine the process of adoptions facilitated by the Commonwealth. The commission shall examine the monetary and temporal cost of adoption, state regulations and procedures, supports provided for families prior to and after adoption, educational transitions, issues related to oversight and accountability, and best practices. The commission shall also consider social barriers to adoption and differences between in-state, national, and international adoption processes. The commission shall provide recommendations for ensuring efficient and safe adoptions.

There shall be a seven member commission, consisting of the commissioner of the department of children and families or their designee, the chief justice of probate and family court or their designee, the child advocate, an adoptive parent to be nominated by the Home for Little Wanderers, a representative of the Rudd Adoption Research Program located at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the Deputy Chief Counsel of the Committee for Public Counsel Services' Children and Family Law Division or their designee, and a representative of the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange. The task force shall submit a report, together with any recommended legislation, to the clerks of the house and senate, the chairs of the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities and the house and senate committees on ways and means not later than December 30, 2016.