According to a January 24 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) report, more than 25 states are anticipating budget problems. Unfortunately, recent increases in adoptions from foster care have made adoption assistance programs a tempting cost-cutting target. Regardless of financial challenges, states should never victimize children and their adoptive families by reducing subsidy payments to balance budgets.
California, Maine, and Oregon are all proposing to reduce subsidies so they can balance their budgets:
• In California, the 2008–2009 budget would cut adoption subsidy payments by 10 percent, even for families with signed adoption assistance agreements.
• In Maine, proposed cuts include a cap on adoption assistance payments that is 30 percent lower than current rates.
• Oregon legislators are discussing ways to check the rising tide of adoption assistance payments. One representative thinks agencies should find more parents who will adopt without a subsidy and another asserts that Oregon should revise eligibility requirements so fewer children can access these payments.
As Mark Courtney—executive director of Partners for Our Children and the Ballmer Endowed Chair for Child Well-Being at the University of Washington—recently asserted, adoption subsidy cuts are “simply a poorly thought-out cost cutting strategy.” Cuts discourage foster parents and others from adopting and, as economist Mary Eschelbach Hansen points out, adoption improves cognitive, educational, social, and economic outcomes for at-risk children in care. In addition, as researcher Richard Barth recently reported, the 50,000 children who are adopted from care each year save the government from $1 billion to $6 billion.
Youth who leave care without a caring family face a difficult future. Studies note that those who age out of care are much more likely to have educational deficits and periods of homelessness, experience health and mental health problems, and come into contact with adult welfare and justice systems. Findings published in Ending the Foster Care Life Sentence: The Critical Need for Adoption Subsidies indicate that adoption subsidies are not just less expensive than foster care, they are vital to parents’ ability to adopt.
A few states have recognized this truth and made child welfare a priority:
• New Jersey increased the 2008 Department of Children and Families budget by $49.4 million. New funds will help the state support at-risk families, prepare foster and adoptive families, and enhance family-centered therapeutic services for children with serious emotional disorders.
• Virginia has a projected $1.2 billion 2009 funding shortfall, yet Governor Kaine’s 2008–2010 budget proposal requests a $36.2 million increase to raise foster care and adoption payments.
As states brace for lean years ahead and officials reflect on budgeting decisions, they must remember that adoption saves money and improves outcomes for children and youth. Adoption subsidies and other post-adoption support must be enhanced, not reduced.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Costs of Abuse and Neglect Are High
Two reports issued January 29 examine the economic impact of child abuse. In "Total Estimated Cost of Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States," researchers concluded that abuse and neglect cost society nearly $104 billion last year, yet only about 10 percent of the federal child welfare budget (or $741.9 million) can be used to support families and prevent child welfare involvement. The second report, "Investing in Prevention: Keeping Children Safe at Home," identifies series of programs around the country that are successfully preventing abuse and neglect and keeping children out of foster care, or that are safely reunifying children with their families. Learn more from Kids Are Waiting.
NACAC believes that federal and state governments need to do more to invest in preventing child and abuse and neglect. Not only is it the right thing to protect children, but it also would money in the long term.
NACAC believes that federal and state governments need to do more to invest in preventing child and abuse and neglect. Not only is it the right thing to protect children, but it also would money in the long term.
Agencies Must Carefully Examine Child's Best Interests
NACAC's most recent position statement—Best Interests of the Child or Youth—identifies key elements that must be considered when workers and judges make child welfare decisions. Although such determinations are admittedly difficult, they are vital to a child's safety and well-being. In the U.S., state laws and practices vary widely and often provide little guidance. NACAC encourages each state to consider adopting policies and practices that taken into account the following factors:
• The physical safety and welfare of the child or youth, including food, shelter, health, and clothing
• The development of the child’s or youth’s identity
• The child’s or youth’s background and ties, including familial, cultural, racial, ethnic, language, and religious;
• The child’s or youth’s sense of permanent attachments, including:
-Where the child or youth actually feels love, attachment, and sense of being valued
-The child’s or youth’s sense of security
-The child’s or youth’s sense of familiarity
-The least disruptive placement alternative for the child or youth
• The child’s or youth’s wishes and long-term goals
• The child’s or youth’s community ties, including church, school, and friends
• The physical, emotional, mental health, and educational needs of the child or youth, now and in the future
• The child’s or youth’s need for legal permanence (reunification, guardianship, and adoption)
• The child’s or youth’s need for stability and continuity of relationships with kin, parent figures, and siblings
• The risks attendant to entering and being in foster care
• The probability of success of any (permanent or temporary) placement arrangement
Financial and programmatic support and services should be available to support any placement made in the child’s or youth’s best interests.
• The physical safety and welfare of the child or youth, including food, shelter, health, and clothing
• The development of the child’s or youth’s identity
• The child’s or youth’s background and ties, including familial, cultural, racial, ethnic, language, and religious;
• The child’s or youth’s sense of permanent attachments, including:
-Where the child or youth actually feels love, attachment, and sense of being valued
-The child’s or youth’s sense of security
-The child’s or youth’s sense of familiarity
-The least disruptive placement alternative for the child or youth
• The child’s or youth’s wishes and long-term goals
• The child’s or youth’s community ties, including church, school, and friends
• The physical, emotional, mental health, and educational needs of the child or youth, now and in the future
• The child’s or youth’s need for legal permanence (reunification, guardianship, and adoption)
• The child’s or youth’s need for stability and continuity of relationships with kin, parent figures, and siblings
• The risks attendant to entering and being in foster care
• The probability of success of any (permanent or temporary) placement arrangement
Financial and programmatic support and services should be available to support any placement made in the child’s or youth’s best interests.
NACAC Passes Statement in Support of Siblings
At its meeting in December, the NACAC board of directors passed a position statement that encourages policy and practice changes that would better support brothers and sisters in foster care and adoption. NACAC recognizes the critical importance of maintaining and establishing sibling relationships for children and youth who have had their lives turned upside down in foster care.
Key elements of the statement include:
- Allowing children and youth to identify those they consider siblings
- Ensuring that sibling relationships are strongly considered at every decision point in child welfare
- Keeping siblings together or reuniting them as soon as possible whenever it can be done
- Maintaining connections for those siblings who must be separated.
Far too many siblings are separated when they face abuse and neglect. It's time to do far more to keep them together or rebuild fractured relationships.
Key elements of the statement include:
- Allowing children and youth to identify those they consider siblings
- Ensuring that sibling relationships are strongly considered at every decision point in child welfare
- Keeping siblings together or reuniting them as soon as possible whenever it can be done
- Maintaining connections for those siblings who must be separated.
Far too many siblings are separated when they face abuse and neglect. It's time to do far more to keep them together or rebuild fractured relationships.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Key House Leader Introduces Broad Child Welfare Reform Bill
On February 14, Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support (which has jurisdiction over the nation’s child welfare system) introduced The Invest in KIDS Act, which seeks the first comprehensive reform of the U.S. child welfare system in nearly 30 years.
“Every American kid deserves a safe home and a secure life, and in the case of vulnerable children, it is up to us to make sure that happens,” McDermott said.
The legislation (HR 5466) would:
• provide additional funding to help states in their efforts to strengthen families and protect vulnerable children;
• make all foster children eligible for assistance for the first time (only 43% of foster children received federal aid in 2006);
• provide assistance to states to improve and retain their child welfare workforce;
• eliminate the aging out of foster kids at age 18 by extending support to the age of 21; and,
• provide financial support to grandparents and other relatives who want to care for foster children.
These critical changes would provided needed support that help vulnerable children have permanent families, and ensure that those families have the support they need.
Children can't wait. The time for reform is now.
“Every American kid deserves a safe home and a secure life, and in the case of vulnerable children, it is up to us to make sure that happens,” McDermott said.
The legislation (HR 5466) would:
• provide additional funding to help states in their efforts to strengthen families and protect vulnerable children;
• make all foster children eligible for assistance for the first time (only 43% of foster children received federal aid in 2006);
• provide assistance to states to improve and retain their child welfare workforce;
• eliminate the aging out of foster kids at age 18 by extending support to the age of 21; and,
• provide financial support to grandparents and other relatives who want to care for foster children.
These critical changes would provided needed support that help vulnerable children have permanent families, and ensure that those families have the support they need.
Children can't wait. The time for reform is now.
New Bill Seeks to Make Children a Priority
Yesterday, Representatives Chaka Fattah (D-PA) and Jon Porter (R-NV) introduced legislation to reestablish a White House Conference on Children and Youth. The bill (HR 5461) would authorize a conference to be held in 2010 to focus on child welfare issues.
Congressman Fattah explained, “It’s time to renew America’s commitment to our children, our national treasure. The nation’s future is dependent on preparing them to face the myriad challenges that lie ahead. “As leaders,” Fattah said, “it’s our job to make sure their basic needs are met and the promise of their possibility is advanced.”
The lawmakers hope that the conference, like others before it, will lead to major policy improvements on behalf of children. To read more about the effort, visit http://www.house.gov/list/press/pa02_fattah/021408.html.
Congressman Fattah explained, “It’s time to renew America’s commitment to our children, our national treasure. The nation’s future is dependent on preparing them to face the myriad challenges that lie ahead. “As leaders,” Fattah said, “it’s our job to make sure their basic needs are met and the promise of their possibility is advanced.”
The lawmakers hope that the conference, like others before it, will lead to major policy improvements on behalf of children. To read more about the effort, visit http://www.house.gov/list/press/pa02_fattah/021408.html.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Recent Report Calls for Justice for Native Children & Families
Released this fall by the National Indian Child Welfare Association and Kids Are Waiting, Time for Reform: A Matter of Justice for American Indian and Alaskan Native Children explains the ways in which native children come into contact with the child welfare system. It also outlines federal child welfare funding inequities for native tribes, and how tribes should have more funding to offer preventative services and keep native children out of care. View or download the report at http://kidsarewaiting.org/tools/reports/files/0009.pdf or call 202-421-3578.
The recently proposed Tribal Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Act would help address these disparities.
The recently proposed Tribal Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Act would help address these disparities.
NACAC Seeks Support for the Adoption Equality Act
Originally introduced in May 2007 by Senator John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), the Adoption Equality Act (S 1462/HR 4091) gained a companion bill when Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN) introduced the House version on November 6. Aimed at promoting adoptions from care, the bill would remove the link between a birth family’s income and their child’s eligibility for federal Title IV-E adoption assistance. All children with special needs who are adopted from foster care would then be eligible for subsidies.
Tying federal assistance for children to the income of birth parents whose legal rights have been severed makes no sense. And as fewer children have access to federal subsidies, states will have to shoulder the burden of supporting adoptive families alone. In some cases, this will lead to more limited adoption assistance benefits, which may make a child less likely to be adopted or less likely to have the support she needs in a new adoptive family. When states receive reduced federal support it may also result in cuts to other necessary child welfare programs or services.
NACAC has long championed de-linking income from eligibility, and is seeking nationwide support for this legislation. If your agency, group, or organization would like to help ensure that more children receive federal adoption assistance, please contact Mary Boo at maryboo@nacac.org or 651-644-3036 to learn how you can help.
Tying federal assistance for children to the income of birth parents whose legal rights have been severed makes no sense. And as fewer children have access to federal subsidies, states will have to shoulder the burden of supporting adoptive families alone. In some cases, this will lead to more limited adoption assistance benefits, which may make a child less likely to be adopted or less likely to have the support she needs in a new adoptive family. When states receive reduced federal support it may also result in cuts to other necessary child welfare programs or services.
NACAC has long championed de-linking income from eligibility, and is seeking nationwide support for this legislation. If your agency, group, or organization would like to help ensure that more children receive federal adoption assistance, please contact Mary Boo at maryboo@nacac.org or 651-644-3036 to learn how you can help.
States Are Increasing Adoption Openness
A story in USA Today highlights a banner year for states that increased adoptees' access to their birth history.
Last year, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Jersey approved legislation that gave adoptees at least some access to their pasts. Massachusetts approved access to original birth certificates for adopted persons born before July 1974 (when records were sealed in that state) or after January 2008. North Carolina approved indirect access through a state-appointed intermediary. Beginning in January 2009, Maine will become only the eighth state to give adult adoptees full access to their birth records, including their birth parents' names.
The story quotes Darryl McDaniels (aka the rapper DMC) explaining why such access matters to adoptees like him: "This is really about identity and the truth of a human being's existence.... We never start a book from Chapter 2," he said. "As adoptees, we live our lives from Chapter 2."
The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute recently released "For the Records: Restoring a Right to Adult Adoptees," which examines issues related to states’ open records laws and supports the view that all states should allow adult adoptees to access their original birth information.
It's great to see states beginning to realize that adoptees have a right to understand their past. For more on NACAC's position on openness, visit our web site.
Last year, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Jersey approved legislation that gave adoptees at least some access to their pasts. Massachusetts approved access to original birth certificates for adopted persons born before July 1974 (when records were sealed in that state) or after January 2008. North Carolina approved indirect access through a state-appointed intermediary. Beginning in January 2009, Maine will become only the eighth state to give adult adoptees full access to their birth records, including their birth parents' names.
The story quotes Darryl McDaniels (aka the rapper DMC) explaining why such access matters to adoptees like him: "This is really about identity and the truth of a human being's existence.... We never start a book from Chapter 2," he said. "As adoptees, we live our lives from Chapter 2."
The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute recently released "For the Records: Restoring a Right to Adult Adoptees," which examines issues related to states’ open records laws and supports the view that all states should allow adult adoptees to access their original birth information.
It's great to see states beginning to realize that adoptees have a right to understand their past. For more on NACAC's position on openness, visit our web site.
Monday, December 17, 2007
House Tribal Bill Introduced
On Friday, December 14, Congressmen Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) introduced the Tribal Foster Care and Adoption Access Act of 2007 (H.R. 4688), which will provide Indian tribes with the same direct access to federal funding for foster care and adoption services that states currently receive. The legislation—a companion bill to the act of the same name introduced in the Senate by Senator Baucus—will provide federal funding that will allow tribes to establish independent foster care and adoption programs.
“Tribal adoption and foster care services should be on equal footing with states, and this bill will do just that,” Congressman Pomeroy said. “This bill will allow tribes to provide their children with the culturally appropriate care they deserve.”
The federal government currently reimburses states for eligible foster care and adoption assistance costs incurred as part of providing foster care or adoption assistance to children under their jurisdiction. However, under existing law, tribal spending on foster care and adoption may only be reimbursed through contracts with the states in which they are located. The Tribal Foster Care and Adoption Access Act will allow tribes to receive direct reimbursement for eligible costs related to foster care services, adoption assistance services, employee training and education, administrative costs related to case planning and case management, and establishment and operation of required data collection systems.
This legislation requires tribal adoption and foster care programs to meet the same federal performance requirements as states to ensure the safety of and accountability for children placed in tribal foster care programs.
Congressmen Weller (R-IL), Blumenauer (D-OR) and Camp (R-MI) joined Congressman Pomeroy as original co-sponsors of this bill.
“Tribal adoption and foster care services should be on equal footing with states, and this bill will do just that,” Congressman Pomeroy said. “This bill will allow tribes to provide their children with the culturally appropriate care they deserve.”
The federal government currently reimburses states for eligible foster care and adoption assistance costs incurred as part of providing foster care or adoption assistance to children under their jurisdiction. However, under existing law, tribal spending on foster care and adoption may only be reimbursed through contracts with the states in which they are located. The Tribal Foster Care and Adoption Access Act will allow tribes to receive direct reimbursement for eligible costs related to foster care services, adoption assistance services, employee training and education, administrative costs related to case planning and case management, and establishment and operation of required data collection systems.
This legislation requires tribal adoption and foster care programs to meet the same federal performance requirements as states to ensure the safety of and accountability for children placed in tribal foster care programs.
Congressmen Weller (R-IL), Blumenauer (D-OR) and Camp (R-MI) joined Congressman Pomeroy as original co-sponsors of this bill.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Proposed Legislation Would Eliminate Funding Lookback
In November, Representative Shelly Berkley (D-NV) introduced the important Partnership for Children and Families Act (H.R. 4207), which would expand the federal/state partnership for foster and adopted youth through the federal Title IV-E program.
Eliminating Income Links for Title IV-E
Under current law, a foster child is eligible for federal Title IV-E support only if his family meets the income test of the 1996 Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. Eligibility for Title IV-E adoption assistance is also linked to AFDC eligibility or eligibility for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. For both adoption assistance and foster care maintenance, the Partnership for Children and Families Act would eliminate the AFDC income eligibility restriction. It would also eliminate the SSI eligibility requirement for adoption assistance.
Now more than 10 years old, the AFDC standard has never been adjusted for inflation. Because of this lookback, thousands of abused and neglected children no longer receive support from the federal government—between 1998 and 2004 an estimated 35,000 fewer foster children were eligible for federal IV-E support. (Download detailed report on the lookback.)
During that same period, the decrease in IV-E-eligible children translated into an estimated $1.9 billion loss in federal support to the states. States must support all children in foster care, regardless of income. Thus, states have less funding for other services—such as family support and preservation services, programs to safely reunite children with their families, or efforts to find new adoptive or guardianship families.
Linking federal foster care support to AFDC also requires staff to spend time determining families’ incomes as of 1996. Precious time and money are wasted determining eligibility—resources that would be far better spent protecting children and ensuring that they leave foster care to permanent families.
Supporting Reinvestment
The bill would also allow states to reinvest saved federal foster care funds in other child welfare services if the state reduces its foster care population from an approved baseline. Currently federal funds are lost when states reduce their caseloads. With this bill, the federal and state dollars saved could instead be invested into services that children and families need, including:
▪Services that reduce the need for foster care entry, including family support and preservation services.
▪Intensive reunification services for children in foster care.
▪Services for children who leave care to return to their parents, live with relatives, or are adopted by new families so that children do not re-enter foster care.
This legislation is long overdue. It's time for the federal government to partner with states to support all children, not just those born to the poorest families.
Eliminating Income Links for Title IV-E
Under current law, a foster child is eligible for federal Title IV-E support only if his family meets the income test of the 1996 Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. Eligibility for Title IV-E adoption assistance is also linked to AFDC eligibility or eligibility for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. For both adoption assistance and foster care maintenance, the Partnership for Children and Families Act would eliminate the AFDC income eligibility restriction. It would also eliminate the SSI eligibility requirement for adoption assistance.
Now more than 10 years old, the AFDC standard has never been adjusted for inflation. Because of this lookback, thousands of abused and neglected children no longer receive support from the federal government—between 1998 and 2004 an estimated 35,000 fewer foster children were eligible for federal IV-E support. (Download detailed report on the lookback.)
During that same period, the decrease in IV-E-eligible children translated into an estimated $1.9 billion loss in federal support to the states. States must support all children in foster care, regardless of income. Thus, states have less funding for other services—such as family support and preservation services, programs to safely reunite children with their families, or efforts to find new adoptive or guardianship families.
Linking federal foster care support to AFDC also requires staff to spend time determining families’ incomes as of 1996. Precious time and money are wasted determining eligibility—resources that would be far better spent protecting children and ensuring that they leave foster care to permanent families.
Supporting Reinvestment
The bill would also allow states to reinvest saved federal foster care funds in other child welfare services if the state reduces its foster care population from an approved baseline. Currently federal funds are lost when states reduce their caseloads. With this bill, the federal and state dollars saved could instead be invested into services that children and families need, including:
▪Services that reduce the need for foster care entry, including family support and preservation services.
▪Intensive reunification services for children in foster care.
▪Services for children who leave care to return to their parents, live with relatives, or are adopted by new families so that children do not re-enter foster care.
This legislation is long overdue. It's time for the federal government to partner with states to support all children, not just those born to the poorest families.
Senators Seek to Improve the Adoption Process
by Mary Boo, NACAC assistant director
On November 19, Senators Clinton and Rockefeller introduced the Adoption Improvement Act (S. 2395), which is designed to speed the adoptions of children from foster care. The legislation would provide $50,000,000 in funding to retain prospective adopters as they go through the process of adopting from foster care.
“We have made important advances in the child welfare system since the Adoption and Safe Families Act was introduced a decade ago, but we still have work to do in order to increase the number of adoptions nationwide,” Senator Clinton said, “This initiative will help the tens of thousands of children still waiting for families find permanent, loving homes.” (Read full statement.)
The legislation is designed to address barriers to adoption that were identified in a recent study by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute in collaboration with Harvard University and the Urban Institute. The study found that each year, about 240,000 people in the United States will seek information about adopting a child from foster care. Only a very small fraction of these prospects end up actually adopting a foster child. As a result, thousands of needy children will remain in foster care and thousands of prospective parents will remain childless.
Research shows that prospective adoptive parents often face a number of barriers that discourage them from adopting children out of foster care, including difficulty in accessing the child welfare agency and unpleasant experiences during critical initial contacts with the child welfare agency, as well as ongoing frustration with the agency or aspects of the process.
To address these barriers, the act would provide funding to at least 10 child welfare agencies to enable them to implement projects to effect long-range improvements in the adoption process by increasing prospective adoptive parent access to adoption information and strengthening such agencies’ responsiveness to prospective adoptive parents.
This legislation would be a good first step to helping ensure that all 114,000 children waiting to be adopted have the best opportunities to find a forever family of their own. “I believe that success today is when we hear of a child who has found a loving home, and when we see a sad situation turn into an inspirational story of hope,” Senator Rockefeller said. “But success tomorrow will be when we reach each and every child – when not one is left wondering who is there to love them, when not one is left without a nurturing home.”
On November 19, Senators Clinton and Rockefeller introduced the Adoption Improvement Act (S. 2395), which is designed to speed the adoptions of children from foster care. The legislation would provide $50,000,000 in funding to retain prospective adopters as they go through the process of adopting from foster care.
“We have made important advances in the child welfare system since the Adoption and Safe Families Act was introduced a decade ago, but we still have work to do in order to increase the number of adoptions nationwide,” Senator Clinton said, “This initiative will help the tens of thousands of children still waiting for families find permanent, loving homes.” (Read full statement.)
The legislation is designed to address barriers to adoption that were identified in a recent study by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute in collaboration with Harvard University and the Urban Institute. The study found that each year, about 240,000 people in the United States will seek information about adopting a child from foster care. Only a very small fraction of these prospects end up actually adopting a foster child. As a result, thousands of needy children will remain in foster care and thousands of prospective parents will remain childless.
Research shows that prospective adoptive parents often face a number of barriers that discourage them from adopting children out of foster care, including difficulty in accessing the child welfare agency and unpleasant experiences during critical initial contacts with the child welfare agency, as well as ongoing frustration with the agency or aspects of the process.
To address these barriers, the act would provide funding to at least 10 child welfare agencies to enable them to implement projects to effect long-range improvements in the adoption process by increasing prospective adoptive parent access to adoption information and strengthening such agencies’ responsiveness to prospective adoptive parents.
This legislation would be a good first step to helping ensure that all 114,000 children waiting to be adopted have the best opportunities to find a forever family of their own. “I believe that success today is when we hear of a child who has found a loving home, and when we see a sad situation turn into an inspirational story of hope,” Senator Rockefeller said. “But success tomorrow will be when we reach each and every child – when not one is left wondering who is there to love them, when not one is left without a nurturing home.”
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Federal Funding and Culturally Competent Services Needed for Tribes
By Lisa Wilson, former foster youth, Montana
I am the oldest of 11 siblings. When I was born, neither of my parents had a drinking or drug problem. After having five children, my mom started using to relieve stress. My dad started using, and soon, he was using and selling meth. My mom and dad were good parents when they were clean, but when they were using, they turned into completely different people.
Social services became involved in 1995 and sent my brothers and sisters and me to four different foster families. I felt like my heart had been ripped out of me when they took us all away.
My mom was court ordered into drug treatment. She went to treatment, took a parenting class, attended AA meetings and looked for a job. My mom was going to do whatever they told her to do to get us back.
My dad attended a parenting class too. He was the only father in a class full of mothers because there weren’t any services for fathers. After my dad took that class, he never hit my mom again.
My dad was the bad guy in the eyes of my mother’s workers, who thought that getting rid of him would be the best thing for her. They never took into consideration the fact that she had never parented without my dad. The workers expected her to stay sober, attend all of her meetings, work full time, and raise eight children – all by herself.
My brothers and sisters and I were reunited with our parents for a while, but there were no supportive services for me or my siblings. Everything in our family had changed and we didn’t know how to handle it.
My dad continued to struggle with drugs and relapsed. He was ordered to stay away from our family. My mom made some poor choices, and my parents’ parental rights were subsequently terminated.
My siblings and I were separated into different foster homes and I aged out of foster care at the age of 18. Four of my brothers are now living with me and we are gradually healing together. I am married and have two children of my own. As I raise my own children, I am constantly reminded of what I missed as a child.
I believe that if federal child welfare funding was available to tribes in my state, there would have been more culturally competent supportive services for my family and we may never have had to be torn apart. My family has endured a lot of pain and suffering that could have been prevented had my parents received the help they needed to successfully raise my siblings and me.
I am the oldest of 11 siblings. When I was born, neither of my parents had a drinking or drug problem. After having five children, my mom started using to relieve stress. My dad started using, and soon, he was using and selling meth. My mom and dad were good parents when they were clean, but when they were using, they turned into completely different people.
Social services became involved in 1995 and sent my brothers and sisters and me to four different foster families. I felt like my heart had been ripped out of me when they took us all away.
My mom was court ordered into drug treatment. She went to treatment, took a parenting class, attended AA meetings and looked for a job. My mom was going to do whatever they told her to do to get us back.
My dad attended a parenting class too. He was the only father in a class full of mothers because there weren’t any services for fathers. After my dad took that class, he never hit my mom again.
My dad was the bad guy in the eyes of my mother’s workers, who thought that getting rid of him would be the best thing for her. They never took into consideration the fact that she had never parented without my dad. The workers expected her to stay sober, attend all of her meetings, work full time, and raise eight children – all by herself.
My brothers and sisters and I were reunited with our parents for a while, but there were no supportive services for me or my siblings. Everything in our family had changed and we didn’t know how to handle it.
My dad continued to struggle with drugs and relapsed. He was ordered to stay away from our family. My mom made some poor choices, and my parents’ parental rights were subsequently terminated.
My siblings and I were separated into different foster homes and I aged out of foster care at the age of 18. Four of my brothers are now living with me and we are gradually healing together. I am married and have two children of my own. As I raise my own children, I am constantly reminded of what I missed as a child.
I believe that if federal child welfare funding was available to tribes in my state, there would have been more culturally competent supportive services for my family and we may never have had to be torn apart. My family has endured a lot of pain and suffering that could have been prevented had my parents received the help they needed to successfully raise my siblings and me.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
New Report Supports Direct Funding for Tribes
A new report, "Time for Reform: A Matter of Justice for American Indian and Alaskan Native Children," found that American Indian and Alaskan Native children are overrepresented in the nation's foster care system at more than 1.6 times the expected level, according to a new report by the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) and the national, nonpartisan Kids Are Waiting campaign, a project of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Yet tribal governments are excluded from some of the largest sources of federal child welfare funding.
Federal support for child welfare services in tribal communities is a patchwork of funding streams, most of which are discretionary and provides extremely limited levels of support. As a result, tribal governments have limited ability to provide services, and find themselves managing crises rather than responding to the core issues that put children at risk.
The Tribal Foster Care and Adoption Access Act of 2007, introduced in Congress by Senator Max Baucus, recognizes the special needs of American Indian and Alaskan Native children in foster care. This bipartisan legislation would allow tribes direct access to federal foster care and adoption funds and would create accountability measures to ensure that tribes meet the needs of the children in their care. According to Senator Baucus, "This bill provides tribes with the ability to serve their children directly with culturally appropriate care and understanding."
Federal support for child welfare services in tribal communities is a patchwork of funding streams, most of which are discretionary and provides extremely limited levels of support. As a result, tribal governments have limited ability to provide services, and find themselves managing crises rather than responding to the core issues that put children at risk.
The Tribal Foster Care and Adoption Access Act of 2007, introduced in Congress by Senator Max Baucus, recognizes the special needs of American Indian and Alaskan Native children in foster care. This bipartisan legislation would allow tribes direct access to federal foster care and adoption funds and would create accountability measures to ensure that tribes meet the needs of the children in their care. According to Senator Baucus, "This bill provides tribes with the ability to serve their children directly with culturally appropriate care and understanding."
House Bill Seeks Adoption Assistance Equality
This month, Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN) introduced HR 4091, a companion bill to the Senate's Adoption Equality Act (S 1462). the bill, which has nine co-sponsors, would de-link Title IV-E adoption assistance eligibility from the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program requirements. By removing the link between a child's eligibility for adoption assistance from the child's biological parent's income, the legislation makes it easier for children to receive the support they need after they leave foster care to a permanent, loving adoptive family.
NACAC strongly supports this legislation and hopes to see it move quickly through Congress.
NACAC strongly supports this legislation and hopes to see it move quickly through Congress.
Adoptees Should Have Access to Birth Records
Earlier this month, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute released a report recommending that all states amend their laws to ensure that adoptees have access to their birth records. "For the Records: Restoring a Right to Adult Adoptees" found that:
• Prohibiting adopted people from having access to their personal information raises significant civil rights concerns and causes potentially serious, negative consequences for their physical and mental health.
• There is no evidence that, in those states that allow access, such access has caused problematic behavior by adoptees or harm to birth mothers.
• There is no rise in abortion rates and drop adoption rates in states with access (as some opponents feared); in fact, it appears just the opposite occurs.
The Institute recommends that:
• Every state should amend its laws to restore unrestricted access for adult adopted persons to their original birth certificates.
• Further research examine the experiences of adopted persons, birth parents, and adoptive parents in relation to access to records.
• Prohibiting adopted people from having access to their personal information raises significant civil rights concerns and causes potentially serious, negative consequences for their physical and mental health.
• There is no evidence that, in those states that allow access, such access has caused problematic behavior by adoptees or harm to birth mothers.
• There is no rise in abortion rates and drop adoption rates in states with access (as some opponents feared); in fact, it appears just the opposite occurs.
The Institute recommends that:
• Every state should amend its laws to restore unrestricted access for adult adopted persons to their original birth certificates.
• Further research examine the experiences of adopted persons, birth parents, and adoptive parents in relation to access to records.
Research Shows Importance of Post-Adoption Services
Two new articles highlight the need for ongoing support for children adopted from the foster care system. The first, "Adopted foster youths’ psychosocial functioning: a longitudinal perspective," in the November 2007 issue of Child & Family Social Work compared youth adopted from foster care with adopted non-foster children. Researchers asked parents to complete an inventory of behavioral problems at about two, four, and eight years after the adoption. The authors founds that "a striking number" of the former foster children had behavior problems, far exceeding those found in the general population.
The second article, "Influences of Risk History and Adoption Preparation on Post-Adoption Services Use in U.S. Adoptions," in the October issue of Family Relations, found the usage of post-adoption services (including casework, support groups, and clinical services) during the six-year study period. Those families who adopted children with special needs were more likely to use clinical post-adoption services. As the abstract notes, the study "[f]indings support the need for long-term post-adoption services for adoptive families, especially for families who adopt a child with special needs."
The federal government must dedicate new resources to enable states to create and maintain effective post-adoption services.
The second article, "Influences of Risk History and Adoption Preparation on Post-Adoption Services Use in U.S. Adoptions," in the October issue of Family Relations, found the usage of post-adoption services (including casework, support groups, and clinical services) during the six-year study period. Those families who adopted children with special needs were more likely to use clinical post-adoption services. As the abstract notes, the study "[f]indings support the need for long-term post-adoption services for adoptive families, especially for families who adopt a child with special needs."
The federal government must dedicate new resources to enable states to create and maintain effective post-adoption services.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
New Legislation Helps Youth Adopted as Teens
By Mary Boo, NACAC assistant director
On September 27, President Bush signed into law the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (HR 2669), which included the Fostering Adoption to Further Student Achievement Act amendment, making it possible for teens in foster care to be adopted without losing access to college financial aid. Under the law, youth who are adopted after their 13th birthday will not have to include their parents' income in the calculations for determining their need for financial aid.
As Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) explained when he first introduced the legislation in 2005, “[I]f a teenager is adopted, he or she can lose out on…college financial aid [due to] his or her adopted parents’ financial situation, but if the teen stays in the system and ‘ages-out’…he or she is probably eligible for all available loans and grants…. The benefits of family and education should go hand in hand, not stand in opposition to each other.”
NACAC has met foster youth who had to make the terrible choice between having a permanent family and pursuing a college education. As a teenager, Sheila lived in foster care with her aunt. She knew that if she remained in foster care, she would receive financial assistance that would enable her to go to college. “If my aunt adopted me,” Sheila explained, “I would lose my benefits. I mean adoption is great and everything, but you sacrifice a lot.”
We are delighted that Congress has reduced one barrier that would have forced some youth to choose between education and family, and hope that Congress goes even further to ensure that all former foster youth who are adopted as teens have full access to needed educational support.
On September 27, President Bush signed into law the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (HR 2669), which included the Fostering Adoption to Further Student Achievement Act amendment, making it possible for teens in foster care to be adopted without losing access to college financial aid. Under the law, youth who are adopted after their 13th birthday will not have to include their parents' income in the calculations for determining their need for financial aid.
As Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) explained when he first introduced the legislation in 2005, “[I]f a teenager is adopted, he or she can lose out on…college financial aid [due to] his or her adopted parents’ financial situation, but if the teen stays in the system and ‘ages-out’…he or she is probably eligible for all available loans and grants…. The benefits of family and education should go hand in hand, not stand in opposition to each other.”
NACAC has met foster youth who had to make the terrible choice between having a permanent family and pursuing a college education. As a teenager, Sheila lived in foster care with her aunt. She knew that if she remained in foster care, she would receive financial assistance that would enable her to go to college. “If my aunt adopted me,” Sheila explained, “I would lose my benefits. I mean adoption is great and everything, but you sacrifice a lot.”
We are delighted that Congress has reduced one barrier that would have forced some youth to choose between education and family, and hope that Congress goes even further to ensure that all former foster youth who are adopted as teens have full access to needed educational support.
Friday, September 21, 2007
It's Time to Support Kinship Caregivers
On September 10, the Center for Law and Social Policy released a response to Senator Gordon Smith's July 26, 2007 Call for Papers to Examine the Needs of Grandparent and Other Relative Caregivers. The paper highlights research that shows the value of kinship care:
• Children living with kinship foster parents are as safe or safer than other children in foster care.
• Children with kinship foster parents experience fewer moves while in care than children with non-relatives.
• Children with kin foster parents are more likely to live with their brothers and sisters.
• If they re-unify with their birth parents, children who live with kin in foster care are less likely to re-enter care than children who had been with non-relative foster parents.
• Children living with kinship foster parents have fewer behavior problems and feel better about being in foster care.
The report identifies obstacles that face kinship foster parents including lack of support they receive, the difficulties they may face making educational and medical decisions while their kin are in foster care, and a lack of information about available services. In conclusion, the report calls for federal support of subsidized guardianship stating:
"Few relative caregivers would ever describe raising their relative's child as providing a pubic service but, in fact, that is exactly what they are doing. ... Subsidized guardianship can support children in legal guardianships—just as adoption subsidies help children in adoptive families—and increase permanency for more children. Federal dollars are already used to provide assistance to foster and adoptive parents to aid them in providing for the children they are raising; it only makes sense that relative caregivers receive similar support." Specifically, the report calls on Congress to support the Kinship Caregiver Support Act.
We strongly agree.
• Children living with kinship foster parents are as safe or safer than other children in foster care.
• Children with kinship foster parents experience fewer moves while in care than children with non-relatives.
• Children with kin foster parents are more likely to live with their brothers and sisters.
• If they re-unify with their birth parents, children who live with kin in foster care are less likely to re-enter care than children who had been with non-relative foster parents.
• Children living with kinship foster parents have fewer behavior problems and feel better about being in foster care.
The report identifies obstacles that face kinship foster parents including lack of support they receive, the difficulties they may face making educational and medical decisions while their kin are in foster care, and a lack of information about available services. In conclusion, the report calls for federal support of subsidized guardianship stating:
"Few relative caregivers would ever describe raising their relative's child as providing a pubic service but, in fact, that is exactly what they are doing. ... Subsidized guardianship can support children in legal guardianships—just as adoption subsidies help children in adoptive families—and increase permanency for more children. Federal dollars are already used to provide assistance to foster and adoptive parents to aid them in providing for the children they are raising; it only makes sense that relative caregivers receive similar support." Specifically, the report calls on Congress to support the Kinship Caregiver Support Act.
We strongly agree.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
More support needed for grandparents and other kinship caregivers
by JJ Hitch, former foster youth, Michigan
My experience with foster care is considered a successful case all the way around. My three younger siblings and I had one kinship placement. We were able to stay together and were adopted by our grandparents. Though my story looks good on paper, in reality it was extremely difficult.
At age 10, I took on the role as the parent to my three younger siblings after my mother suffered a nervous breakdown. I was responsible for getting my siblings up in the morning and making sure they ate breakfast and brushed their teeth. I helped them make their lunches and walked them to school. When I returned home, I cooked dinner, did the dishes, helped my siblings with their homework and cleaned the house. I did this every single day for three years.
As the oldest child, I felt it was my duty to protect my younger siblings from the abuse my father inflicted, so I endured most of it. I blamed myself for not being able to completely protect my siblings. When my youngest sister was six, she packed her toys and clothes and ran away to our grandparents, who lived two blocks from our house. My nine-year-old brother soon followed.
When social services became involved, a caseworker told my family that if my siblings and I couldn’t stay with our grandparents, we would go into foster care and probably get split up. Out of all the tribulations I struggled with, nothing made my heart ache as much as that statement did. At the time, my siblings were like my own children. I did not suffer the things that were inflicted upon me for someone to uproot us from the only loving bond we had to other human beings.
When we moved in with our grandparents, I thought life would be simple. I thought I could finally relax. Reality soon hit us like a ton of bricks. My grandparents were told their house was too small, they had too many animals, they didn’t make enough money, they couldn’t sign fieldtrip permission slips … the list went on. We were forced to move to a bigger house and spent countless sleepless nights bringing the new house up to DHS’s standards before we could move in.
My grandparents’ income couldn’t handle a new mortgage, two car payments, four new mouths to feed, therapy bills for my siblings and me, medication, school clothes and supplies, and adoption costs. To be completely honest, my grandparents just couldn’t afford us.
There was almost no financial assistance available for my grandparents. After falling behind on house and car payments, my grandparents eventually had to file bankruptcy. I carry guilt inside me to this day. There simply wasn’t any help out there for us. Grandparents shouldn’t have to trade the love they have for their grandchildren for financial ruin and despair. Had my grandparents been provided with the supportive services they needed to raise my siblings and me, they would not have had to endure the heartbreak of losing everything to hold onto the ones that mattered most to them.
My experience with foster care is considered a successful case all the way around. My three younger siblings and I had one kinship placement. We were able to stay together and were adopted by our grandparents. Though my story looks good on paper, in reality it was extremely difficult.
At age 10, I took on the role as the parent to my three younger siblings after my mother suffered a nervous breakdown. I was responsible for getting my siblings up in the morning and making sure they ate breakfast and brushed their teeth. I helped them make their lunches and walked them to school. When I returned home, I cooked dinner, did the dishes, helped my siblings with their homework and cleaned the house. I did this every single day for three years.
As the oldest child, I felt it was my duty to protect my younger siblings from the abuse my father inflicted, so I endured most of it. I blamed myself for not being able to completely protect my siblings. When my youngest sister was six, she packed her toys and clothes and ran away to our grandparents, who lived two blocks from our house. My nine-year-old brother soon followed.
When social services became involved, a caseworker told my family that if my siblings and I couldn’t stay with our grandparents, we would go into foster care and probably get split up. Out of all the tribulations I struggled with, nothing made my heart ache as much as that statement did. At the time, my siblings were like my own children. I did not suffer the things that were inflicted upon me for someone to uproot us from the only loving bond we had to other human beings.
When we moved in with our grandparents, I thought life would be simple. I thought I could finally relax. Reality soon hit us like a ton of bricks. My grandparents were told their house was too small, they had too many animals, they didn’t make enough money, they couldn’t sign fieldtrip permission slips … the list went on. We were forced to move to a bigger house and spent countless sleepless nights bringing the new house up to DHS’s standards before we could move in.
My grandparents’ income couldn’t handle a new mortgage, two car payments, four new mouths to feed, therapy bills for my siblings and me, medication, school clothes and supplies, and adoption costs. To be completely honest, my grandparents just couldn’t afford us.
There was almost no financial assistance available for my grandparents. After falling behind on house and car payments, my grandparents eventually had to file bankruptcy. I carry guilt inside me to this day. There simply wasn’t any help out there for us. Grandparents shouldn’t have to trade the love they have for their grandchildren for financial ruin and despair. Had my grandparents been provided with the supportive services they needed to raise my siblings and me, they would not have had to endure the heartbreak of losing everything to hold onto the ones that mattered most to them.
Monday, September 10, 2007
The Oregonian gives national attention to Kinship Caregiver legislation
On August 17, 2007, the Oregonian published an editorial on the Kinship Caregiver Support Act (S.661/HR.2118). NACAC is delighted to see national attention being paid to this important issue. As the Oregonian points out:
“The Kinship Caregiver Support Act would benefit millions of children being raised by their grandparents or other relatives because their parents are unable to care for them. The act would also help an additional 20,000 children leave foster care to join safe, permanent, loving families of relatives who would be too poor to provide this care without government assistance.
For more than a decade, child welfare agencies have become increasingly reliant on relatives as the first and best option when foster care is needed for a child who has been neglected or abused. To address this powerful trend, the new legislation would create a Kinship Navigator Program that helps such caregivers take full advantage of the child welfare system and other support services, and it would give states the option to use federal funds for subsidized guardianship payments to qualifying low-income families.”
JJ's story posted above illustrates the need for additional services and funding for kinship caregivers. As JJ so eloquently states, "Grandparents shouldn’t have to trade the love they have for their grandchildren for financial ruin and despair."
“The Kinship Caregiver Support Act would benefit millions of children being raised by their grandparents or other relatives because their parents are unable to care for them. The act would also help an additional 20,000 children leave foster care to join safe, permanent, loving families of relatives who would be too poor to provide this care without government assistance.
For more than a decade, child welfare agencies have become increasingly reliant on relatives as the first and best option when foster care is needed for a child who has been neglected or abused. To address this powerful trend, the new legislation would create a Kinship Navigator Program that helps such caregivers take full advantage of the child welfare system and other support services, and it would give states the option to use federal funds for subsidized guardianship payments to qualifying low-income families.”
JJ's story posted above illustrates the need for additional services and funding for kinship caregivers. As JJ so eloquently states, "Grandparents shouldn’t have to trade the love they have for their grandchildren for financial ruin and despair."
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Key Legislation to Extend Foster Care Introduced
by Christina Romo, NACAC Program Assistant
On May 24, 2007, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), introduced legislation that would extend foster care for young adults over the age of 18. The Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act (S. 1512) would extend federal foster care funding for young adults 18 to 21, therefore improving services provided to youth making the transition from childhood to adulthood. As Senator Boxer said in an op-ed, "These are not just statistics – these are the lives of the young people who, without our help, have very limited options."
Each year, about 23,000 foster youth age out of care to a bleak future. No longer covered by foster care services, many have no one to turn to and no place to go. An alarming number of emancipated foster youth end up homeless or in jail. While turning 18 is exciting for most of America’s youth, it is a frightening prospect for those who are about to age out of foster care.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 50 percent of young adults age 18 to 24 are currently living at home (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March and Annual Social and Economic Supplements, 2006). With the knowledge that the average young adults in America are leaving home in their mid-20s, it is hard to expect 18-year-olds aging out of foster care to be ready for life on their own.
With the Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act, Senator Boxer’s hope is that federal IV-E funding will be provided to states so that essential foster care services such as housing, food, and legal services will be provided to youth over the age of 18. Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut, and Florida currently offer support for foster youth over the age of 18, but state and local monies are used to fund continuing foster care support for youth in these states. Boxer proposes that federal IV-E funding should match state and county funds to provide foster care payments and additional costs for foster youth 18 to 21. This will allow youth to voluntarily remain in foster care until the age of 21, thus providing them with the services and support needed to transition more successfully into adulthood.
In the words of Senator Boxer, “We must do more for these young adults who deserve much better.”
On May 24, 2007, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), introduced legislation that would extend foster care for young adults over the age of 18. The Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act (S. 1512) would extend federal foster care funding for young adults 18 to 21, therefore improving services provided to youth making the transition from childhood to adulthood. As Senator Boxer said in an op-ed, "These are not just statistics – these are the lives of the young people who, without our help, have very limited options."
Each year, about 23,000 foster youth age out of care to a bleak future. No longer covered by foster care services, many have no one to turn to and no place to go. An alarming number of emancipated foster youth end up homeless or in jail. While turning 18 is exciting for most of America’s youth, it is a frightening prospect for those who are about to age out of foster care.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 50 percent of young adults age 18 to 24 are currently living at home (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March and Annual Social and Economic Supplements, 2006). With the knowledge that the average young adults in America are leaving home in their mid-20s, it is hard to expect 18-year-olds aging out of foster care to be ready for life on their own.
With the Foster Care Continuing Opportunities Act, Senator Boxer’s hope is that federal IV-E funding will be provided to states so that essential foster care services such as housing, food, and legal services will be provided to youth over the age of 18. Illinois, Arizona, Connecticut, and Florida currently offer support for foster youth over the age of 18, but state and local monies are used to fund continuing foster care support for youth in these states. Boxer proposes that federal IV-E funding should match state and county funds to provide foster care payments and additional costs for foster youth 18 to 21. This will allow youth to voluntarily remain in foster care until the age of 21, thus providing them with the services and support needed to transition more successfully into adulthood.
In the words of Senator Boxer, “We must do more for these young adults who deserve much better.”
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