Article on Re-Homing in Texas

Meredith Larson recently published an Article entitled, Online Garage Sales, Now Offering Children: A Proactive Approach to Curb Re-Homing in Texas, 9 Est. Plan. & Community Prop. L.J. 163 (2016). Provided below is an abstract of the Article:

Parents in Texas can legally shuffle their children from home to home with merely a simple power of attorney, which individuals can easily obtain through a Google search. Transferring children requires less paperwork, less oversight, and less effort than purchasing a car. The government’s inaction is deplorable, and our state and nation’s laws fail to protect children from private entrepreneurs who transfer child custody for personal gain. This comment will discuss some of the issues associated with re-homing, including Texas’s failure to pass any proactive legislation and how the unregulated trade of adopted children will continue to thrive until states enact laws to protect these children. 

First, this comment will define re-homing and provide the necessary background into the process and the players involved in order to build an understanding of the practice. Next, it will focus on the ease of transferring custody through a simple power of attorney and the guardianship implications this creates. Then, this comment will explain the weaknesses in the adoption process that lead parents to re-home their child. Next, it will delve into the proposed federal legislation known as the Protecting Adoptive Children Act, as well as why this proposed act will likely fail. After discussing the lack of federal legislation, this comment will address the need for a state-by-state approach to specifically combat re-homing, as well as identify states that already have legislation in place. Lastly, this comment will identify instances of re-homing in Texas, as well as the state’s failure to respond legislatively. The assertions in this comment will hopefully bring awareness to the public and legislators, and it will call for more stringent laws in Texas to specifically prohibit re-homing and protect our state’s children.