LilMtnCbn
11-18-2003, 09:17 AM
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20031117-104240-1511r.htm
Hill OKs adoption bill
By Cheryl Wetzstein
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Legislation that encourages states to find adoptive homes for foster
children — especially those ages 9 and older — has been passed by Congress
and is on its way to President Bush.
"Despite recent progress made, many more children [in foster care] are in
need of adoptive families," Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy G.
Thompson said yesterday.
Almost half — 47 percent — of the 116,653 children in foster care who
are freed for adoption are older than 9, said Mr. Thompson. The Adoption
Promotion Act of 2003 creates a new bonus category for "older child" adoptions
to encourage states to find permanent homes for these children, he said.
The new legislation, which was passed by the House last month and the
Senate on Friday, reauthorizes an incentive fund created in the 1997 Adoption
and Safe Families Act.
The program will now be funded at $43 million a year for five years. States
receive $4,000 (or $6,000 for a child with special needs) for every adoption
that exceeds the previous year's number of adoptions.
The legislation also asks states to begin tracking adoptions of foster
children ages 9 to 17. States that increase the number of these adoptions will
receive $4,000 per adoption, or $8,000 per adoption if the adoption meets other
criteria.
Adoption specialists say older-child adoptions are less common because
these children have special needs — they typically have experienced more
years of abuse or neglect, and struggle with feelings of anger, grief and low
self-esteem. Despite these hurdles, adoption-support groups are filled with
testimonies about the rewards of adopting teens and older children.
In 2002, there were 51,000 adoptions of foster children, 3,703 more than
the previous year, HHS said in September.
Almost $15 million is being paid in bonuses to 25 states and Puerto Rico,
HHS said. Maryland and West Virginia won adoption bonuses of $712,000 and
$18,000, respectively.
Separately, a study released last month by Fostering Results, a private
campaign aimed at promoting awareness of child-welfare issues, said that since
the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act was passed, 33 states and the District
have doubled their foster-care adoptions.
Cumulatively, from 1998 to 2002, states have placed more than 230,000
children in adoptive homes. That is more than the number of adoptions during
the previous 10 years combined, said Jess McDonald, co-director of Fostering
Results and former director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family
Services.
Locally, the District increased its annual adoptions from around 110 in
1997 to 313 in 2002. Similarly, Maryland increased its adoptions from 342 to
922, West Virginia increased adoptions from 182 to 361 and Virginia increased
adoptions from 298 to 422.
HHS estimates that 533,000 children were in foster care last year. The goal
of most children was to be reunified with their families.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Hill OKs adoption bill
By Cheryl Wetzstein
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Legislation that encourages states to find adoptive homes for foster
children — especially those ages 9 and older — has been passed by Congress
and is on its way to President Bush.
"Despite recent progress made, many more children [in foster care] are in
need of adoptive families," Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy G.
Thompson said yesterday.
Almost half — 47 percent — of the 116,653 children in foster care who
are freed for adoption are older than 9, said Mr. Thompson. The Adoption
Promotion Act of 2003 creates a new bonus category for "older child" adoptions
to encourage states to find permanent homes for these children, he said.
The new legislation, which was passed by the House last month and the
Senate on Friday, reauthorizes an incentive fund created in the 1997 Adoption
and Safe Families Act.
The program will now be funded at $43 million a year for five years. States
receive $4,000 (or $6,000 for a child with special needs) for every adoption
that exceeds the previous year's number of adoptions.
The legislation also asks states to begin tracking adoptions of foster
children ages 9 to 17. States that increase the number of these adoptions will
receive $4,000 per adoption, or $8,000 per adoption if the adoption meets other
criteria.
Adoption specialists say older-child adoptions are less common because
these children have special needs — they typically have experienced more
years of abuse or neglect, and struggle with feelings of anger, grief and low
self-esteem. Despite these hurdles, adoption-support groups are filled with
testimonies about the rewards of adopting teens and older children.
In 2002, there were 51,000 adoptions of foster children, 3,703 more than
the previous year, HHS said in September.
Almost $15 million is being paid in bonuses to 25 states and Puerto Rico,
HHS said. Maryland and West Virginia won adoption bonuses of $712,000 and
$18,000, respectively.
Separately, a study released last month by Fostering Results, a private
campaign aimed at promoting awareness of child-welfare issues, said that since
the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act was passed, 33 states and the District
have doubled their foster-care adoptions.
Cumulatively, from 1998 to 2002, states have placed more than 230,000
children in adoptive homes. That is more than the number of adoptions during
the previous 10 years combined, said Jess McDonald, co-director of Fostering
Results and former director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family
Services.
Locally, the District increased its annual adoptions from around 110 in
1997 to 313 in 2002. Similarly, Maryland increased its adoptions from 342 to
922, West Virginia increased adoptions from 182 to 361 and Virginia increased
adoptions from 298 to 422.
HHS estimates that 533,000 children were in foster care last year. The goal
of most children was to be reunified with their families.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
