[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6199966,"mediaKeyId","3820656-d1bd70865ccbe7dd82a521c5ec9f6d0d","parentId",3820656,"title","Attorneys, agencies and parents press Georgia on private-adoption delays and enforcement of unlicensed placement activity","audioSeconds",1260,"startMs",5460000,"endMs",6720000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3820656-d1bd70865ccbe7dd82a521c5ec9f6d0d&start=5460&end=6720","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3820656-d1bd70865ccbe7dd82a521c5ec9f6d0d/thumbnail_5460000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6199966/Georgia/Attorneys-agencies-and-parents-press-Georgia-on-private-adoption-delays-and-enforcement-of-unlicensed-placement-activity","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6199966-1ed892f860af9e5ef1f311f87fd04740/orig.mp4?Expires=1770412536&Signature=FeprDpw9dBrS34qSpVlZyvR~P0PscLP~UjsIZ9u5onaML4HWJMWQHu1dKI9v-LvPLSlPj7Ks4zPXR~tF7SrvFjxDjt5pUvazXnPAEp33FB3amaGfbJR2Yz0-4bvdlUnSVsipMgTqWmqj0J3btSmvKYRmCxE9sCHO2Ehsdew5N7jo6d4Z439Nyutfw9MXujLZFuFsQMKn-M835V0TX~WiPwDF1p8jYyu8Wm2qZKlDuy622xRBCbEdNzt-CZOf6CXIg6q3N2uYlZhuFk8ZPGsu6RSrenQcobqtMmJFIuSL9qEpjY-Bt7Jj5n-rQs8IAofXBingaT~DoVgiK171XCcvsA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Senate Committee on Children & Families","date","2025-06-11T00:00:00Z","article","A second panel focused on private adoptions, advertising, unlicensed actors and how Georgia enforces child-placing rules. Senators heard competing accounts: DHS and the Office of Inspector General’s Residential Child Care Licensing (RCCL) unit described stepped-up enforcement of interagency agreements (IAAs) with out-of-state child-placing agencies, while private attorneys and adoptive families described repeated checklist changes, long delays for interstate approval and cases in which children were removed from private placements during investigations.

Why it matters: Attorneys and adoptive parents said recent administrative changes to ICPC practice and Georgia checklists have made interstate private adoptions longer and more uncertain—delaying families’ returns home with newborns and, in some accounts, leaving babies in foster care for months. RCCL and the inspector general’s office said the changes were necessary to curb unlawful advertising and unlicensed placement activity and to protect birth parents from exploitation.

State enforcement steps: Beth Vineyard, director of RCCL, and Inspector General Maurice Ingram described an enforcement focus that began after adoption attorneys and other stakeholders raised concerns about out-of-state entities doing placement activity in Georgia without an IAA or Georgia license. Vineyard said Georgia law requires that \"no person can advertise that they will adopt or arrange for or cause a child to be adopted or placed for adoption unless they're in one of three categories: a child placing agency, a prospective adoptive parent with an approved home study, or a Georgia attorney representing a prospective adoptive parent with a valid approved home study.\" She added that unlawful advertising and offering inducements are felonies under Georgia law.

Since RCCL put an emphasis on interagency agreements on July 15, 2024, Vineyard reported the office had received 130 IAA submissions, approved 76, had two withdrawn and reported 51 as \"no jurisdiction\" cases; RCCL had denied none (data reported as of the week before the hearing and updated in-session). RCCL also described 21 investigations that led to citations: 17 at the \"substantial compliance\" level (an educational-level finding) and four at a higher initial category 3 level, which RCCL said reflected intentional or deceptive violations. Vineyard said the number of citations has trended downward as outreach and education increased, and that RCCL now processes IAAs in roughly five business days.

Practitioner and family concerns: Private-adoption attorneys and agency directors testified that starting in late 2023 Georgia’s ICPC checklist and packet expectations changed repeatedly, causing uncertainty. Multiple attorneys said the state’s revised checklist had at times required material not demanded by other states—most prominently, a certified copy of the birth mother’s full medical record and a certification that the packet contained the mother’s entire record. Several speakers said Georgia appeared to be the only state requiring the mother’s entire medical chart and that obtaining certified medical records can be costly and slow.

Attorneys and adoptive parents described multiple cases where approvals were delayed or where ICPC-initiated investigations interrupted private placements. Counsel cited one high-profile Cherokee County case where an infant placed with adoptive parents was removed, placed in foster care and later returned after court proceedings; attorneys described that episode as an example of what they called \"weaponization\" of ICPC screening. Several family witnesses said administrative delay forced adoptive couples to remain in hotels or Airbnbs with newborns for weeks and months, missing early-family milestones.

Birth-parent and agency testimony: Several birth mothers and agency executives told senators that unchecked out-of-state intermediaries and unregulated facilitators have, in some circumstances, arranged placements that skirt Georgia licensing rules and that quick, on‑the‑ground support for expectant mothers is often missing when an out-of-state virtual operator handles a case. Agency directors described a range of agency fees and the cost of adequate oversight: one agency director said a full-service, licensed-agency placement for a private adoption (including placement support, a birth-parent attorney and counseling) typically has a multi-thousand-dollar fee, and that agency audits and malpractice/agency insurance are material cost drivers.

Suggested fixes and next steps: Witnesses disagreed about the appropriate balance between speed and safeguards. Several attorneys and agency directors urged DHS to publish a stable checklist and engage practitioners in rule design; DHS officials said they had published an updated, streamlined checklist the Monday before the hearing and that agency staff were working on additional improvements to tracking and technology. RCCL said it would begin annual reports on unlawful placement activity to the attorney general and law enforcement and stressed that a portion of the citations issued reflected lack of knowledge by out-of-state CPAs rather than willful misconduct; RCCL said it had shortened investigations in many cases to a one-business-day administrative review to avoid delaying families.

Committee response: Several senators asked DHS and RCCL to supply the committee with numbers the department did not have at the hearing—most prominently, an exact percentage of incoming packets that were incomplete and the nature of the missing items—so the legislature can assess whether administrative action, model rulemaking or statutory change is required. Some committee members suggested exploring statutory options to require independent counsel for birth parents in certain circumstances and to consider adoption-related reforms discussed in the Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act.

The hearing closed with DHS and other officials offering to continue working with practitioners, providing more data and considering administrative and (where appropriate) statutory steps to both protect birth parents and prevent unnecessary delay for adoptive families.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","06/11/2025 Senate Committee on Children & Families","oneSentenceSummary","Private adoption attorneys, agency directors, adoptive parents and birth mothers testified to the Senate special committee about evolving Georgia ICPC checklist requirements, delays in approvals, and enforcement actions against out-of-state operators; state licensing officials described recent interagency-agreement reviews and citations.","taxTitle","Children and Families, SENATE, Committees, Legislative, Georgia","taxId",17662,"location","Georgia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6199971,"Senate committee hears federal, state overview of interstate child-placement compact and Georgia timelines",3025,1375000,4400000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3820656-d1bd70865ccbe7dd82a521c5ec9f6d0d&start=1375&end=4400","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3820656-d1bd70865ccbe7dd82a521c5ec9f6d0d/thumbnail_1375000.jpg","/articles/6199971/Georgia/Senate-committee-hears-federal-state-overview-of-interstate-child-placement-compact-and-Georgia-timelines","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6199971-9426ad8c9ad19352796aaf1e9359cd34/orig.mp4?Expires=1770412536&Signature=bK9IZtfRzsFmg-hA9HSZmOUuhSTa3wwZbv~COoFO2tpeSPVxQPdsouKLkdYHw-K-p792qmUXnweIBREvBRryacDUoKl-LJrRK4COZuurSMKXTz0HgWpWfGng1UpjFwlMQy8HZ87skfg1HcRqk1dtt7jwKw~vPDsw3Yztlqzd0jvQ2kJK3yruYqlyw8Bm0dMytkXzuhRz08GFXNRVMfQifkQe49-xJVRS5XlecGni0AiLD-CjHF2N3nc4DqehNZPKdSjDWhWaDhip-zqfhYf2l6K7THirL05zVfeAqnt6y3CDb8aJol0Tkv9XXW~NiHq8ks-ty-SeXDksbDoe~B198Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Chairwoman Kay Kirkpatrick convened a special meeting of the Senate Special Committee on Children and Families to examine the interstate compact for placement of children (ICPC), saying the hearing was called to \"understand the process and to give all parties a chance to be heard.\" The committee said it would not take votes at the session.

The session opened with a remote briefing from Rick Masters, general counsel to the Interstate Commission for Juveniles, who summarized the compact’s purpose and recent updates. Masters said ICPC “is one of those compacts, which was enacted back in the 1950s,” and described the compact as a contract between member states that sets enforceable procedures for placing children across state lines.

Why it matters: Committee members and DHS officials said the recently revised ICPC and its implementing rules aim to reduce inconsistent enforcement and court challenges that have complicated interstate placements, and to provide clearer rulemaking for member states. Senators asked whether neighboring states had enacted the revised compact and how Georgia’s implementation would affect cross-border placements.

State officials described how ICPC cases move through Georgia’s system. Bridal Pedersen, deputy commissioner for health law and policy at the Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS/OHLP), told the committee DHS has consolidated ICPC work under OHLP and has revised public materials and checklists to speed processing. Pedersen said DHS moved its ICPC team under OHLP in February 2025 and is “just getting started” on broader operational changes.

Aletta DeJola Adegen, identified as the state compact administrator, outlined regulation types and statutory processing windows used in Georgia. He told senators that the state classifies placements under numbered ICPC regulations: relocation of an already-approved relative or foster family (Regulation 1), incoming placements that have not yet been approved (Regulation 2), licensed residential facility placements (Regulation 4) and expedited/priority emergency placements (Regulation 7). He summarized Georgia’s internal timelines:

- Regulation 1/2: up to 3 days to request a home study; up to 45 days to complete a home study; up to 3 days to transmit an approval or denial; if approved, up to 180 days for the sending state to effect placement. Georgia officials said 60 days is a more typical placement interval under normal circumstances.
- Regulation 4 (residential facilities): up to 3 days for an approval/denial and up to 30 days to place the child.
- Regulation 7 (expedited/priority): case initiation to assignment in 1 day, home-study completion in up to 15 days, decision transmission in 3 days, and the same up-to-180-day placement window if approved.

Dina Krim, a special assistant attorney general assigned to juvenile and ICPC matters, explained Regulation 12, which governs private (agency and independent) adoptions that cross state lines. She noted Regulation 12 gives receiving states three business days to review a packet and called the typical ICPC packet “at least a 100 pages long,” often much larger. Krim said Georgia strives to meet that 3-business-day standard for Reg 12 review but that delays most commonly result from incomplete packets.

Key figures and caseload: Pedersen provided fiscal-year-to-date figures for FY25. Georgia’s ICPC unit had processed just over 1,600 receiving-state cases (the state was the receiving jurisdiction) so far in the year; staff reported about 77% of those were public (parent/relative/foster/public-adoption) matters, 17.5% were residential placements and about 5.6% were private-adoption matters. As a sending state, Georgia had handled roughly 863 outgoing cases (71% public, 22% residential, 6.4% private adoptions). Pedersen said combined sending and receiving cases totaled nearly 2,500 in FY25 to date.

Officials emphasized that the sending state retains jurisdiction after placement for supervision and reporting, and that the receiving state may decline placements that would be contrary to the child’s interests. Pedersen and Adegen told senators that Georgia’s ICPC office uses a national case-tracking tool (referred to as the \"NICE\"/NEICE system in testimony) to communicate packets between states and to monitor status.

Committee questions and next steps: Senators pressed DHS on average processing times, causes of delay and whether neighboring states had enacted the revised compact; Adegen said only Florida among Georgia’s immediate neighbors had statutorily enacted the revised compact as of the briefing, and he offered to provide a list of other states offline. Pedersen and Adegen said missing or incomplete documentation—especially in Regulation 12 packets for private adoptions—was the single largest driver of delay. Krim and DHS staff also said they were updating checklists and public guidance to reduce preventable omissions and encouraged continued dialogue with practitioners.

The session’s presenters repeatedly framed the hearing as informational and said the committee would not vote; officials offered to provide supplemental case counts, the percentage of deficient packets, and revised checklists and tracking metrics for the committee’s follow-up. The committee paused for additional witnesses after the DHS presentations.","A Senate special committee on Children and Families heard an overview of the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC) from a national expert and Georgia Department of Human Services officials, who described how the compact works, the state’s caseload and regulatory timelines while saying the committee will not vote today.","actionData","errors"]

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Attorneys, agencies and parents press Georgia on private-adoption delays and enforcement of unlicensed placement activity

Senate committee hears federal, state overview of interstate child-placement compact and Georgia timelines