Adoption Facilitator
The passage of Assembly Bill (AB) 120 (Chapter 43, Statutes of 2023) repealed California’s Adoption Facilitator Program.
All Adoption facilitators who were on the Adoption Facilitator Registry as of July 1, 2023 must cease operation by on or before December 31, 2023. As of January 1, 2024, a person or entity operating or providing adoption facilitator services in California is prohibited.
Common practices and services undertaken by adoption facilitators: arranging contact between birth parent(s) and prospective adoptive parents; advertising for the purpose of soliciting parties to an adoption; locating children for an adoption; acting as an intermediary between the parties to an adoption; and charging a fee or other valuable consideration for services rendered.
As of January 1, 2024, only authorized persons or organizations specified in Family Code Section 8609 may advertise in any periodical or newspaper, by radio, or other public medium, that he, she, or it will place children for adoption, or accept, supply, provide, or obtain children for adoption, or that causes any advertisement to be published in or by any public medium soliciting, requesting, or asking for any child or children for adoption is guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person, other than a birth parent, or any organization, association, or corporation that, without holding a valid and unrevoked license to place children for adoption issued by the department, places any child for adoption is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Community Care Licensing (CCL) will investigate any complaint of entities or individuals providing adoption services defined in Health and Safety Code section 1502(a)(9) and (10), except for those otherwise permitted by law to perform those functions. To file a complaint, please visit the Complaint Hotline Page for contact information and more.
For a list of Adoption Facilitators as of December 31, 2023, please review the Registry of California Adoption Facilitators.
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