Wednesday, October 15, 2008

New Law Supporting Relative Guardianship

President Bush signed the bipartisan Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act into law.

The bill is widely viewed throughout the child-welfare community as a remarkable achievement by a Congress often incapacitated by partisanship.

James Brown, president of the Child Welfare League of America, said: "This is a historic moment for foster children and families," calling it the most significant foster-care legislation since 1980.

Among its major provisions, it will:

* Provide more financial incentives for adopting children out of foster care, especially older youths and those with special needs. One example: federal adoption assistance for special-needs children will no longer be limited to those who come from low-income families.

* Allow use of federal funds to assist children who leave foster care to live as legal guardians of relatives — a step which will help an estimated 15,000 children. In the past, such "kinship care" — which experts view as preferable to foster care — was generally not eligible for federal aid.

* Allow direct federal foster care funding to tribal governments, so more American Indian and Alaskan Native children can receive services while remaining in their own communities. Previously, the tribes had to go through state agencies to seek this funding.

* Allow states to provide federally subsidized foster care services to young people up to age 21, instead of 18.

* Require child-welfare agencies to make "reasonable efforts" to keep siblings together when they enter foster care, and work harder to ensure that foster children receive a stable education and proper health care.

Full Article and Source:
New law meant to improve stability for foster care

More on H.R. 6893:
Measure helps children move out of foster care

CWLA Cheers President Bush for Signing Child Welfare Legislation

See also:
New Legislation Passed

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Federal funding is the incentive to state agency "kidnapping" of children - removing them from their homes without due process of law.
The stories we hear from parents are heartbreaking, and in too many cases, the safety of the children is questionable after removal.

Funding without oversight is an invitation to wrongdoing.