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State Representative Buchy
Adoption Reform
Continues to Move Through the Legislature
As we begin to wrap up our work in Columbus for the rest of the year,
we still have a few major tasks to accomplish. Among my highest
priorities is reforming Ohio’s current adoption system to ease burdens
on families and incentivize Ohioans to consider adopting children here
in the state.
Ohio law affords the father of any newborn child the opportunity to
come forward and protest the adoption in the case that he wants to
retain custody of his child. Under the current structure, adoptive
parents can go through the entire adoption process before the clock
runs out on the biological father’s decision to retain custody of the
child, preventing the adoption to go through.
House Bill 307 will streamline the system to allow potential adoptive
parents to know if the father has already given prior approval for the
adoption to go through. This is an important change that will increase
the chances for adoptions to go through and provide meaningful, safe,
nurturing places to live for infants in Ohio.
This legislation would also provide a tax credit for Ohio families to
adopt children in the state. This is important for two reasons. First,
the future economic benefits of a child reared in a stable home
environment will far outweigh the up front costs of a tax credit.
Research has indicated that children who grow up in a two-parent
household are much more likely to become productive members of society
rather than a drain on social systems. And second, as an ardent
supporter of the pro-life movement, the more adoptive parents that we
can encourage with incentives, the more mothers with unwanted
pregnancies we can help carry their babies to full-term, knowing that
there is a loving home waiting for their children.
These reforms are necessary to maximize outcomes for mothers, babies,
families and taxpayers in the state. I am confident we can help move
Ohio’s adoption system forward for many years to come.
Please give me your opinion on this topic and others in the news this
month by completing an online survey at tinyurl.com/buchydecember2014.
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