Legislative Committee On Adoption Continues To Hear Expert Testimony

A committee of state lawmakers and stakeholders met Tuesday in a continuing effort to improve child adoption programs in Wisconsin.

The committee is studying issues like evaluation of potential adoptive parents, making post-adoption resources available for families and identifying abuse or neglect in adoptive homes.

Experts from social service and state agencies testified at the hearing, sharing thoughts on current practices and potential areas for improvement in the Wisconsin laws that guide how adoptions and related services work.

State Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc, is the chairman of the committee. He said the subject matter was chosen after legislators learned some alarming things about adoption during the last legislative session, such as that it was not against the law to advertise the trade of a child on the Internet and that someone could sign over power of attorney on a child without a background check.

Gov. Scott Walker has since signed bills addressing both of those issues.

“When we realized that that was happening, it opened up a can of worms as to what other potentials there were for prospective adoptive children and those that were adopted to end up in situations that were not beneficial to them — and, in fact, in some situations, extremely harmful to them,” said Kleefisch.

Kleefisch said the committee has already identified potential legislation for next session, including a law that makes sure that children adopted from other countries are safe if their adoptive family dissolves.

The committee will meet to hear expert testimony a few more times this fall and winter before drafting its recommendations.