Legislation banning the "re-homing" of some adopted children is heading to the Arkansas Senate for a vote, a move prompted by a state lawmaker who gave his adopted daughters to away to a man who later sexually assaulted one of them.
The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed legislation on Tuesday that would make most transfers of adopted children without state oversight felony offenses, punishable by up to five years in prison. The practice is currently regulated in just five states.
The panel also endorsed a separate bill requiring the Department of Human Services to provide post-adoption services to families.
The measures were proposed after the Arkansas Times newspaper reported that Republican Rep. Justin Harris of West Fork gave his daughters to the man who assaulted one of them.