NCFA Media : Press Releases

A Child Welfare Policy That Works. President Bush Signs the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003, Reauthorizing Adoption Incentives

WASHINGTON, DC - December 2, 2003 - Today, President George W. Bush signed the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003, reauthorizing the Adoption Incentives program, which was originally passed as part of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan introduced the House version and Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa introduced the Senate version. "The Adoption Incentive payments program is a child welfare policy that works. If ever there was a federal program worthy of reauthorization it is the Adoption Incentives," said Thomas Atwood, president of National Council For Adoption (NCFA).

The Adoption Incentives program has been instrumental in increasing the number of children adopted out of foster care from 31,000 in 1997, to 51,000 in 2002. Since the enactment of this program, an average of more than 13,000 additional children per year have been adopted out of foster care than would otherwise have occurred at the 1997 pace. More than 65,000 additional children in America are enjoying the benefits of loving, permanent families, thanks in large part to the Adoption Incentives program.

The Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 also establishes additional incentive payments for adoptions of children age nine and older. Data show that by age nine, the probability a child will continue to wait in foster care exceeds the probability that the child will be adopted. "Increased incentive payments for adoptions of older children will enable many more of these children to enjoy the safety, permanence, and well-being resulting from adoption," said Atwood.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 and the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 are significant steps in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go. At the end of FY 2002, the US Department of Health and Human Services reported that 532,698 children remained in foster care, and 116,653 of them had adoption as their permanent placement goal. According to NCFA analysis, other measures that can be taken to promote adoptions of these children include increased efforts to recruit and prepare parents to adopt foster children; performance-based measures to hold family courts accountable for processing child welfare cases more quickly; and allowing states greater flexibility to direct their federal IV-E dollars toward the particular needs of their foster care populations.

About NCFA

Since 1980, the NCFA has been a leading voice among national child adoption and welfare organizations. NCFA is a research, education, and advocacy nonprofit that provides adoption information, promotes ethical adoption practices, works to shape public policy and legislation regarding adoption issues, and serves as a continuing resource to women with unplanned pregnancies, adoptive families, and those seeking to adopt.

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