This bill allows children up to the age of 18 to be adopted by American citizens. How is this different from current law and are there security risks in allowing adoption of older teenagers?
Under current law, children can be adopted up until the age of 16. However, if a younger sibling is adopted, an older sibling can be adopted who is over the age of 16 but is under the age of 18. The language in this bill would eliminate the need to adopt a younger sibling in order to adopt a child under the age of 18. Teenagers are as much in need of families as younger children. Many older teens in our foster care system still dream of being adopted by a family. Those who are, fare much better than those who go through life unconnected to the love of a family. The current age restriction on adoption is arbitrary. Since we already allow for adoption for siblings up to age 18, the eligibility age for adoption should be raised to 18 regardless of whether a younger sibling is adopted or not. Some have argued that children, who are 17, or almost 18, are more of a security risk and could be “terrorists.” Even if this assumption were true, which it is not, the bill provides that the Secretar
