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Interstate Compact on the placement of Children

The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) is a uniform law enacted by all fifty states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. ICPC controls the lawful movement of children from one State to another for the purposes of adoption. It is illegal to move a child from one State to another without meeting the requirements of the ICPC.

The ICPC defines the responsibilities of both the sending State (where the child is born) as well as the receiving State (where the adoptive parents live and where the adoption of the child will take place).  In the Interstate Compact, a placement is “the arrangement for the care of a child with a foster family, a relative/kinship resource, an adoptive family, a parent, or a residential treatment provider whose legal residence is in another state.” Both the sending State as well as the receiving State must approve the child’s movement in writing before the child can legally leave the originating state.

The ICPC outlines the steps necessary to place a child out of State.   For example, the sending State asks the receiving State to conduct a home study to evaluate the suitability of the potential placement.   If a placement is actually made, the receiving State supervises the placement and the sending State maintains financial responsibility for the child. The documentation submitted to the ICPC for approval includes the adoptive parents’ home study, the child’s birth information and other health information, biological information on the birth parents, and relinquishment or termination documentation from the birth parents.

The States have policies and procedures that are generally uniform and comprehensive. The States have a Compact office at the State level that handles all Compact cases coming in and going out of the State.  The placements are initiated by the court, an agency, a parent or guardian.


Inside Interstate Compact on the placement of Children