Congress mandates national adoption agency registry—but leaves 'good standing' undefined
H.R. 7236 — In Good Standing Adoption Agencies Act of 2026 · Filed by Jefferson Shreve (R-IN) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jan 23, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires states to submit annual lists of licensed, accredited private child placement agencies (adoption agencies) that are in good standing and tax-exempt to the federal government. The Secretary of Health and Human Services compiles these into a public national list and reports to Congress annually on which agencies are licensed but not listed and what disciplinary actions states have taken. States that fail to submit their lists lose federal adoption incentive payments.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is creating a national registry of licensed adoption agencies and requiring state reporting, with financial penalties for non-compliance. This is fundamentally a transparency and accountability measure, though the enforcement mechanism (funding withholding) and undefined standards create implementation ambiguity.
What the text implies
- The bill does not define what 'in good standing' means, leaving states discretion to list agencies despite prior disciplinary actions, potentially undermining transparency goals.
- Tying adoption incentive payments to list submission may incentivize states to submit lists quickly rather than thoroughly vet agencies, creating perverse incentives.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
licensed private adoption agencies (through increased visibility and potential client flow from nati