We're Off to the State Capitol!

For the past month, I have been working with my local State Senator to draft legislation that would simplify re-adoption law for international adoptees in California. Our present system is redundant, costly and interpreted differently from county to county and even court to court.

Senator Dean Forez' solution was to draft SB 1393 to streamline the re-adoption process in California. Not surprisingly, this bill has met opposition from adoption agencies who use current law to charge their clients high fees to prepare reports that restate reports we have already paid for. These adoptions have already been FINALIZED in the foreign country. Re-adoption should merely be a process to formally RECOGNIZE these adoptions, as is the case in at least 28 other states. Additionally, this bill also simplifies the procedure to obtain a state-issued birth certificate for our adopted children.

Tomorrow, I will get the chance to speak before the Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of this bill. If it passes this committee, it will go before the full legislature. Be sure to stay tuned for photos and updates!