Experts Warn of Safety Risks to American Children as Photos Expose Those Up for Adoption

Although we’ve made progress, “there’s still a long way to go” when it comes to the adoption process, one family expert says, including protecting the safety of youth in foster care while they wait for permanent, loving families.

The Selfless Love Foundation’s national think tank is a collective force of changemakers who aim to improve the foster care adoption process in this country. The annual conference, held in October, brings together youth who have experienced foster care, as well as child welfare leaders and policymakers from more than 30 states.

The National Think Tank is a strategic plan to influence federal policy and state-level action to transform the foster care adoption process to better serve children.

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Immediately following the October 2025 Think Tank, principal investigators at the University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall will create a roadmap and actionable next steps for each state.

For National Adoption Month in November, I spoke with Ashley Brown, founder and CEO of Selfless Love. She and her husband started their nonprofit 10 years ago, in 2015, and she said her own adoption as a child “changed the trajectory” of her life. He has appeared several times on “America’s Newsroom.” Read on for their thoughtful answers to some important questions!

Q: How does the United States care for children in foster care and encourage adoption?

Ashley Brown: As a nation, we have made progress, but there is still a long way to go. Many people would be surprised to know that in most states, photographs of children available for adoption are publicly posted online.

While that recruitment approach to adoption may have made sense before the evolution of the Internet, it can also put young people at risk.

In Florida, the Selfless Love Foundation worked alongside youth to help pass a law protecting images of children from public view. It also gives children ages 12 and up a say in the photos and information shared on adoption sites.

An entire day of the National Think Tank was dedicated to this specific topic. We also look at recruitment for adoption and post-adoption support for families, as the goal is not just placement of children, but also permanency.

Q: What are the biggest obstacles to making more progress?

Brown: One of the biggest obstacles to progress is the lack of a federal policy to protect children’s privacy and give them a say in how they are represented.

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Each state must make its own decisions and young people lack concrete rights and protections across the board. They are the experts and should be included in the decisions that most affect them.

Q: What research or lessons from the National Think Tank could foster significant progress?

Brown: What really stood out was how little protection there is for children in the adoption process. There is no federal law and very limited state laws that even recognize the right of youth to choose how they will be represented in recruitment for adoption.

“Rights, recruitment and post-adoption support are connected. We can’t fix one without strengthening the others.”

That gap highlights how far we have to go and where we should start.

It also reminds us that rights, recruitment and post-adoption support are connected. We can’t fix one without strengthening the others.

Q: What can state legislatures do in the next 12 months to make changes?

Brown: The most immediate and achievable step is to support legislation that gives young people the right to choose how they will be represented in recruitment for adoption, protecting their privacy, dignity and safety.

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Chapin Hall researchers will prepare a report on key findings from the National Think Tank, which will help state and federal leaders better understand the importance of youth rights in adoption.

Q: How can Americans best help children who are in foster care or aging out of the system?

Brown: One theme we heard over and over again at the National Think Tank was the power of community. Children in foster care and those who have left the system need to know that they have support and that people care.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, the Selfless Love Foundation is able to offer this National Think Tank at no cost, including scholarships to cover travel and accommodation for young people.

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The best way people can help is by allowing more young people to attend events like this, where their voices are heard, their experiences are valued and they are part of the transformation of the system.

Without a national standard in place, we leave a vulnerable group of children without clear protections.

We already recognize the right of the child to choose adoption.

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Extending that principle to how they are portrayed is a matter of equity and policy alignment. To help and learn more, anyone can visit selflesslovefoundation.org.