About NCFA : 25 Years of Accomplishments

25 Years of Accomplishments

Federal Adoption Policy

NCFA has been a leader in setting adoption policy at the federal level. Among other accomplishments, NCFA

• Provided important facts and data about sound adoption policy that were relied upon by Congress in passing the 1980 "Draft Model State Adoption Act." As initially conceived, the Act would have ended the option of privacy in adoption; and expanded the right of putative fathers to interfere with a birthmothers’ decision to place a child for adoption.
• Endorsed Congress’ efforts in 1981, 1991, and 1994, to reauthorize the Adolescent Family Life Act, which, in part, promoted adoption as an alternative for adolescent parents.
• Served as resource for Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) on adoption policy as affected by the Lindbergh Statute. Congress amended the statute in 1994 to make the exemption from prosecution inapplicable to birthparents whose parental rights had been terminated.
• Contributed substantially in 1992 to the final content of the Uniform Adoption Act, as approved by the National Council of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, which included as part of its model provisions: the requirement of home studies in advance of placement; the availability of counseling for birthparents; the exchange of non-identifying background health and social information; the release of identifying information only after mutual consent of all parties; and birthparent consent to adoption only after an informed decision-making process.
• Provided expertise to Congress in the late 1980’s about the need to find permanent homes for infants abandoned in hospitals, especially those with AIDS. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH) sponsored and Congress passed legislation entitled the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act of 1988. The statute made grants available to assist in finding permanent homes for these vulnerable infants.
• Endorsed the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act of 1994. Sponsored by Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH), the statute prohibits racial discrimination in adoptive placements. The statute was designed to decrease the time that African American children spend in foster care due to the lack of available same-race placements.
• Coordinated closely with federal policymakers as part of enacting the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act.
• In 1997, provided adoption expertise used by lawmakers in amending a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt children adopted abroad from the Act’s requirement to receive a variety of immunizations.
• Endorsed the Adoption Awareness Act of 2000, which appropriates $9.9 million to develop and implement training programs for federal health center staff and others who counsel women with unplanned pregnancies.
• Endorsed the enactment of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act that grants automatic citizenship to children adopted from other countries by United States citizens.
• Endorsed the 2003 Adoption Promotion Act, which reauthorized the existing adoption incentives under the Adoption and Safe Families Act and established an additional, higher incentive for placing children age nine years and older in adoptive homes.
  
• Educated key Congressional offices on the need to ensure that federally funded maternity group homes be allowed to provide adoption option counseling , not only teaching parenting skills. (2003)

Federal Tax Credit Legislation

NCFA endorsed three major federal adoption tax credit bills enacted by Congress:

• A 1981 law that permitted an itemized deduction of up to $1,500 for a family adopting a "special needs" child.
• A 1986 statute, creating a $5,000 adoption tax credit for international and domestic adoptions, and $6,000 in the case of special needs adoptions.
• The 2001 Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act, which increased the available tax credit to $10,000, made the credit available for special needs adoptions regardless of ability to show qualified adoption expenses, increased the size of employer adoption assistance program credits, and extended the law’s "sunset" until 2010.
  
• Endorsed legislation introduced by Representative Jim DeMint, and a companion bill introduced by Senator Jim Bunning, to make permanent the adoption tax credit provisions of the 2001 Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act , which make adoptions more affordable. (2003)

Foster Care Adoption

NCFA has promoted sound foster care adoption policies and practices, and improved public understanding of and attitudes toward foster care adoption. Examples include:

• Endorsed the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act of 1994. Sponsored by Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH), the statute prohibits racial discrimination in adoptive placements. The statute was designed to decrease the time that African American children spend in foster care due to the lack of available same-race placements.
• Coordinated closely with federal policymakers as part of enacting the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act.
• Provided adoption expertise to legislative staff as part of Congress reauthorizing adoption incentives under the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. The Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 reauthorizes the 1997 legislation, adding to it an additional, higher incentive for placing children age nine years and older in adoptive homes. NCFA participated in the presidential signing of the new law, which took place in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. (2003)
• Supported the Bush administration’s 2004 budget proposal to increase funding for the Safe and Stable Families program to $505 million. The program adds to the states’ ability to strengthen families and to promote child safety, permanency, and well-being, including through adoption and post-adoption support services.
• Supported the Bush administration’s efforts in 2003 for Congress to introduce and pass flexible funding legislation to enable states to apply federal funding of foster care adoption in ways to meet the needs of their own residents and foster children, e.g., efforts to recruit adoptive parents.

Intercountry Adoption

NCFA has been looked upon as a diplomat for intercountry adoption and as a champion of sound intercountry adoption practice. Achievements include:

• In 1987, co-sponsored a worldwide adoption meeting held in Athens, Greece, to discuss adoption developments and perspectives, including the need for child-centered adoption policies and the issue of "openness" in adoption. As part of the meeting, the participants endorsed a statement to the Secretary General of the United Nations for circulation among Hague countries in conjunction with the UN’s Declaration on Social and Legal Principles Relating to the Protection and Welfare of Children, with Special Reference to Foster Placement and Adoption Nationally and Internationally.
• Hosted Dr. Alexandra Zugravescu, President of the Romanian Committee for Adoptions in 1991, for a ten-day visit to speak with experts and officials, adoptive parents, and children who have been adopted from Romania.
• Launched a joint project in 1992 with the Polish charity The Society of the Friends of Children to find families for special needs Polish children living in orphanages. Through the project, NCFA operates an "adoption exchange" or "adoption listing and referral service."
• Sent an expert to Albania in 1999 at the height of the Kosovo crisis to assess the needs of "unaccompanied" minors and rape victims.
• Participated in the Special Commission on the Practical Operation of the 1993 Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention, convened by the Hague Conference on Private International Law in the Netherlands.
• Was a key participant in the United States’ ten-year effort to enact the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, legislation that implemented the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. Upon the State Department’s publication of the proposed Hague regulations in 2003, spearheaded efforts within the adoption policy community to submit comments on behalf of respected national adoption advocacy and membership organizations for consideration by the State Department.
  
• Commenting on the State Department's proposed regulations to implement the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (Hague regulations). (2003)
• Bringing together the Hague Confederation , an assembly of national, nonprofit international adoption advocacy and membership organizations, to provide additional comments on the State Department's proposed Hague regulations. (2003)
• Hosting a dinner for the Director General Lu Ying of the China Center of Adoption Affairs and his delegation, attended by NCFA adoption agency members and Board members, and attending the Director General's meeting for China adoption agencies held in Denver, Colorado . (2003)
• Meeting with the Chinese ambassador and adoption officials from Brazil and Kazakhstan . (2003)
  

Privacy in Adoption

Since its founding, NCFA has demonstrated its commitment to protecting the option of privacy in adoption. Among other successes, NCFA:

• Repeatedly initiated efforts to educate state legislatures across the country about the harmful effects of legislation that would allow an unrestricted right of access to birthparent identifying information in lieu of requiring mutual consent of birthparents and adult adopted persons prior to release.
• As early as 1983, began to educate state legislators about the advantages of using mutual consent registry laws to safeguard privacy and enable mutually desired contact between adult parties to an adoption. The earliest public awareness efforts were launched in Texas, New York, and Oregon.
• Drafted a model mutual consent bill in 1983 that:
• Established the framework for mutual consent registry laws, now in place in about half the states.
• Was endorsed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws as sound adoption policy for balancing privacy rights against the right of consenting adults to exchange identifying information; and
• Promoted the need for unrestricted access to birthparent non-identifying health and genetic information for the benefit of their adopted child.
• Continued successful efforts to preserve the option of privacy across the United States, including in Georgia, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Louisiana, and Massachusetts. (2003)

Safe Haven Legislation

Following Texas’ passage of its 1999 Safe Haven law, NCFA endorsed the policy to promote enactment of Safe Haven laws in all states. Through these laws, mothers may confidentially place their child with a Safe Haven and avoid civil or criminal liability. State support of this policy is immediate. From 2000 to 2003, the number of states with Safe Haven laws rose from 15 to 46. NCFA's efforts to educate leaders and advocates regarding the benefits of infant Safe Haven laws include:

• Providing written testimony in New Hampshire and Hawaii on the importance of this child welfare measure. New Hampshire enacted a Safe Haven law. Hawaii passed its Safe Haven bill, which the governor then vetoed. (2003)
• Testifying before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Human Services and Elderly Affairs on its Safe Haven bill. (2003)

Putative Fathers

NCFA Filed amicus curiae, or "friend of the court," briefs in two putative father rights cases appealed to the United States Supreme Court: Jonathan Lehr v. Lorraine Robertson, et al. (1983), and McNamara v. County of San Diego Department of Social Services (1988).

Projects/Initiatives

NCFA’s projects and initiatives are many. They include:

• Adoption Hall of Fame: Annually, NCFA recognizes and honors those men and women who are champions of adoption by inducting them into the NCFA Adoption Hall of Fame. Known originally as the "Friend of Adoption" award, the first recipients in 1982 were Senator Jeremiah Denton (AL), Senator Edward Kennedy (MA), Senator Howard Metzenbaum (OH), and Deputy Assistant Secretary of HHS Marjory Mecklenburg. In 1987, NCFA changed the name to the Adoption Hall of Fame in 1987. The 2003 recipients were: Senator Larry Craig (ID) and Representative Jim DeMint (SC).
• "The Adoption Option": NCFA began work in 1991 on "The Adoption Option," a curriculum for pregnancy counselors supported by a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs.
• Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program(IAATP): NCFA was awarded a three-year grant from the Department of Health and Human Services in 2001, to conduct a national program to train counselors of women with unplanned pregnancies on how to counsel them about adoption. The IAATP helps pregnancy counselors learn to present adoption as a positive option for women with unplanned pregnancies.
• Kids at Heart FunRaiser: NCFA held its first Kids at Heart FunRaiser in New York, in 1992. The annual celebration is held each November as part of National Adoption Day. The 2003 Kids at Heart will be held in New York City’s historic Puck Building on November 23.
• AIDS Orphans Adoption Project: NCFA unveiled its AIDS Orphans Adoption Project in 1993 to: (1) encourage parents with AIDS to make permanent legal arrangements for their children through adoption; and (2) complement the AIDS Orphans Adoption Exchange through which families are matched with children, HIV positive and not, who are in need of a loving family. Through the project, NCFA launched an aggressive media campaign, using voice-overs, in English and Spanish, by Jamie Lee Curtis, Edward James Olmos, and other celebrities; shaped public policy around AIDS orphan issues by advocating the passage of "Stand-by Guardianship" laws; and served as an information clearinghouse and referral service for parents with HIV/AIDS.
• Ruby Lee Piester Heart for Adoption Award : NCFA created the Ruby Lee Piester Heart for Adoption Award in honor of NCFA's founder Ruby Lee Piester, who died in 2003, to be awarded at the annual Adoption Hall of Fame Awards Banquet periodically to recognize extraordinary lifetime service to the cause of adoption. NCFA cofounder and president of 20 years William L. Pierce received the first award at NCFA's Adoption Hall of Fame 2003 Awards Banquet. (2003)
• Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program (IAATP) : NCFA completed the hiring of 175 Master Trainers and began training in all 50 states. NCFA completed the training of 2,500 Adoption Specialists in 168 three-day trainings and 2,483 Adoption Liaisons in 180 one-day trainings, for a total of almost 5,000 trainees. (2003)

Publications

NCFA has served as a clearinghouse for factual adoption information, including as part of the following publications:

• Adoption Factbook (1st edition, 1985); (2nd edition, 1989); (3rd edition, 1999), which compiles a vast array of adoption statistics and serves as the only comprehensive source on which to base sound adoption policy.
• Ensuring the Survival of Families Who Adopt Special Needs Children (1989), which is a resource for families adopting special-needs children.
• Principles on Good Practice in Infant Adoption (1990), which defines ethical infant adoption practices, targeting adoption practitioners and policymakers.
• Foster Care: Too much, Too Little, Too Early, Too Late (1997), which details ways in which federal, state, and local policy can modified to improve the lives of at-risk children.

Public Awareness

NCFA has been instrumental in raising public awareness of adoption. Beginning in 1982, NCFA’s first national advertising campaign publicized its Adoption Hotline as a resource for women with unplanned pregnancies. Other successful public education efforts include:

• The "Toys For Adoptable Kids" campaign, a joint effort with the Hyatt Hotel, which raised awareness about the need to increase special needs adoptions. (1985)
• The "Adopted Children Have Great Expectations" media campaign, accepted by the Ad Council for inclusion in its public service advertising bulletins. The initial theme featured adult adopted persons, including President Gerald Ford, Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Greg Louganis, and Wilson Riles, using Meryl Streep as the voice over.
• NCFA’s Infant Awareness Adoption Training Program’s 2003 media campaign to underscore that adopted children are happy, well-adjusted, and just like other children. The massive public awareness campaign promotes infant adoption awareness through TV, radio, transit, and print public services advertising. Hits have included CNN, ABC, Lifetime, AOL, Telemundo, Univision, the largest billboard advertiser in the country, and many others. (2003)
• NCFA's new and improved www.adoptioncouncil.org - the website is more user friendly, attractive, and informative. (2003)
• NCFA's Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program improved website: www.infantadopt.org . (2003)
• NCFA's e-Memo , a monthly, electronic bulletin with timely adoption updates and developments, along with NCFA news, sent to subscribers free of charge. (2003)
• NCFA's electronic National Adoption Report . NCFA begins to circulate its informative quarterly newsletter online. (2004)
• US Census Bureau 2003 special report, Adopted Children and Step Children: 2000 , as part of which NCFA data and research are cited. NCFA was the only nongovernmental organization to which the Census Bureau report refers. (2003)

Media Relations

NCFA has been a resource for the media including:

• Electronic Media: ABC Evening News, CBS Evening News, NBC Evening News, Nightline, Post-Newsweek Television, CNN, CNN Headline News, CNN International, Larry King Live, National Public Radio, British Broadcasting Company, Sonya Live, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, 60 Minutes, Fox Morning News, NewsTalk Television, Black Entertainment Television, Good Morning America, Today Show, MSNBC, C-SPAN, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and many others.
• Print Media: New Yorker, Associated Press, United Press International, Time, Newsweek, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Reuters, Washington Post, Woman’s World, Ladies Home Journal, World Magazine, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, Cincinnati Enquirer, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald, Des Moines Register, National Review, New Republic, Weekly Standard, Dallas Morning News, Des Moines Register, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Boston Globe, People Magazine, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Town and Country, and many others.

White House Resource

NCFA has served as an adoption resource and expert to presidential administrations:

• Was the only adoption policy organization invited in 1990 to advise President George H.W. Bush in preparation for the World Summit on Children at the United Nations.
• Worked with the White House, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the Department of Health and Human Services in 1997 on a presidential initiative to double the number of adoptions of children from foster care.
• Briefed President George W. Bush on NCFA’s adoption policy priorities for thirty minutes in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on April 16, 2002. In town for NCFA’s 2002 Annual Conference, these adoption leaders from across the country thanked President Bush for his leadership and compassion in helping needy children in America and around the world through adoption

Employee Benefits

NCFA began efforts in the mid-1980’s to promote equitable treatment of adoptive families in the workplace as part of employee benefits packages. Among other efforts and accomplishments, NCFA:

• Launched an effort in 1986 to gain a "fair shake" for adoptive families in health insurance.
• Advocated successfully for inclusion of adoption benefits as part of benefits packages, setting the stage for this policy across the private sector; as of 1998, 450 companies, including 65% of the Fortune 500 companies, offered adoption benefits to their workers, the most common benefit being financial assistance with the costs of adoption.