Guam: Bill 108 and Bill 109 Pass
“Lawmakers debated at length a measure aimed at streamlining the adoption process on Guam.
Sen. Mary Torres introduced Bill 108 to allow independent adoption agencies to place children with pre-approved adoptive families and to integrate agencies into the Adoption Screening Committee. The measure has bipartisan support from nine senators.
Department of Public Health and Social Services officials raised concerns over the lack of safeguards or regulations in the bill for establishing an adoption agency in Guam. Additional concerns also were raised about the possibility of the measure opening the door for unscrupulous agencies to engage in human trafficking.
Torres said she worked with Department of Youth Affairs Director Melanie Brennan, who currently has oversight of Public Health’s Child Protective Services division, to include certain safeguards.
Public Health would still be responsible for selecting which adoption agencies could participate, Torres said, and amendments were introduced to allow the agency to audit adoption agencies for compliance.
Sen. Telo Taitague introduced amendments that would reduce the involvement of adoption agencies in the process until regulations could be put in place.
The first would remove adoption agency representatives from the Adoption Screening Committee.
“This is a committee that oversees where a child should go. This is a definite conflict of interest. You’re getting a private company, whether nonprofit or not, … being part of a committee that decides where the child goes to,” she said.
Another amendment would remove an exemption from the screening committee for infants abandoned by their mothers under the Newborn Safe Haven Act. The third amendment would remove adoption agencies from the chain of custody for relinquished children.
Torres said the measure was intended to allow for children in dire need to quickly be placed with a permanent home.
All three amendments failed.
“Why are we putting the cart before the horse here?” Taitague asked.
Taitague said she spoke with Rev and Tax Director Dafne Mansapit-Shimizu about the requirements for opening an adoption agency, which amounted to nothing more than receiving a business license.
“We should have these rules and regulations and guidelines in place before we issue out adoption agency licenses,” she said.
Testimony was read into the record from Public Health Deputy Director Terry Aguon. He urged lawmakers to proceed with caution.
Sen. Joanne Brown questioned the rush in getting the bill passed.
“The key representatives that deal with these children in public health, they asked for further dialogue on this issue,” she said.
Taitague made a motion to return the bill to committee for further review. It failed.
Establishing rules
After a recess, Taitague introduced another two amendments that would require Public Health to establish rules for licensing adoption agencies before Bill 108 could be enacted.
Speaker Therese Terlaje supported the measure. She said licensing rules were an “absolutely reasonable” adjustment.
Torres objected to the amendments because they would likely require a new licensing division at Public Health and create another layer of “failed bureaucracy.”
The first amendment failed and lawmakers were debating the second when discussions of the bill were tabled around 3:30 p.m.
Vice Speaker Tina Muña Barnes requested the bill be set aside, until lawmakers could determine whether Aguon’s testimony represented the official opinion of Public Health. Taitague requested Bill 109, on independent adoption agencies, be set aside as well.”
[Guam Pacific Daily News 6/29/21 by Joe Taitano II]
“Recognizing that no unharmed infant should have to go into foster care, lawmakers supported a set of measures that would place relinquished newborns into Public Health-approved adoptive homes by a vote of 10-4 today.
If enacted, Bill Nos. 108-36 and 109-36 would allow adoption agencies that are contacted and selected by Child Protective Services to place a legally surrendered baby with an adoptive family instead of a foster home.
The measures were introduced at the request of former CPS management to ease the burden on the island’s foster care system. Guam currently has 450 children in foster care and less than 50 licensed foster families.
Under Guam law, adoptive families must undergo an extensive screening process which includes the Superior Court’s review of the adoptive parents, a home study report conducted by a social worker, and Public Health’s approval before the adoption is finalized.
“If an adoption agency brings unsuitable people to DPHSS, the adoption will not be approved. This is the same process that private attorneys are using to facilitate adoptions on Guam right now,” said Senator Torres. “Bills 108 and 109 simply recognize that a mother in distress should have just as much say in where her baby goes as a woman who can afford legal representation.”
According to the American Bar Association, infants entering foster care spend 33% more time in the system than older children. In other words, babies that start out in foster care, are more likely to stay longer —increasing the risk of trauma from multiple placements.
“Every child deserves to grow up in a stable and loving environment—not be taken from home to home because that’s just the ‘way it’s always been,’” said Senator Torres. “I thank my colleagues for standing by the facts and ask Governor Leon Guerrero to sign these into law soon.””
Child adoption measures pass Legislature
[Pacific News Center 7/9/21]
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