A new law awaiting President Barack Obama's approval will make it easier to for parents to correct the birth date of children adopted from overseas.
Under the Accuracy for Adoptees Act, federal agencies will be obliged to recognize an adopted child's date of birth as decided by a state court, The Courier-Post reported. It's not uncommon for U.S. parents who receive an adopted child from another country to find out the child is actually older or younger than what they were told.
Families are already allowed to present the state with dental or medical evidence to request a birth date change, however, federal agencies don't see the new date as legitimate.
"You had kids coming in who were given birth dates two, three years different than what they physiologically were," Donald Cofsky, a lawyer and head of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, told The Courier-Post. "It's a mess."
Singer and songwriter Lauren Hart got a surprise when the 4-year-old girl she adopted arrived from Ethiopia.
"She told us she was 7," Hart told The Courier-Post. A bone density test confirmed what the girl said. "It was about right."
Incorrect birth dates make it difficult for parents to enroll their kids in the right school grade, Cofsky told The Courier-Post. Sometimes the parents are even accused of identity fraud. Gina Leclerc, a social worker who lives in Philadelphia, was told her adopted daughter was 3-years-old when they met.
"She looked tall for her age," Leclerc told The Courier-Post. "She was a chatterbox 3...I said, 'OK, she's 3. I guess she's very advanced for her age.'"
But the girl, from Haiti, turned out to be 4. Leclerc said she's not sure how to go about correcting the mistake on her birth certificate.
"She should be going to kindergarten," Leclerc told The Courier-Post. "I don't know if I can do anything to change that, at this point."
The new measure, introduced in October 2013, should make things easier for Leclerc. Politicians from both parties supported the act, passed by Congress before the holiday recess.
"It's such a short act, and it makes so much sense, you would think, 'Gee, it's a no brainer,'" Cofsky told The Courier-Post.
