Adoptive Family Relief Act Policy Analysis

Some people believe that the price of adoption should not be lowered. They believe that with all the costs it helps keep the bad people from getting ahold of the children. The authorities need to make sure people will be good parents and would not be abusive or not able to provide for the child (WIASE?). This shows that the authorities are taking extra precaution with who they allow adopt a child. Also, the cost goes towards many court fees to make sure that child becomes fully and legally your child and it gives you a peace of mind (WIASE?). This shows that when you pay all that money you are paying so many different places, so that you know in the end that child is fully your child.

The adoption process strives to serve the best interests of children should be the main focus in deciding all issues of adoption policies and practices. The adoption policy should always focus on finding the best parents for children who are in need of homes. This process helps someone join another’s family and should not be a defining characteristic or lifelong process. People who are adopted as infants grow up as healthy and productive as people who are raised in their own biological families. In November of each year, the President of the United States issues a proclamation to announce National Adoption Month. This is a time that is dedicated to raising awareness for the need of adoptive families and to encourage citizens to become involved in the lives of children and youth that are in the foster care system.

The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (FCIA) was enacted to provide provisions to children who were being aged out of the foster programs. It received dual-party support from both the House and Senate, and acquired support from R-Tom DeLay of Texas (Mcmillan, 1999). FCIA was put into law law by President Clinton in December of 1999. The main push of FCIA is to increase the requirements for Independent Living Programs by doubling the funding for these programs (Graf, 2002, p. 2).

Foster Care and Adoption are the most multi-faceted areas of child welfare. Foster care consists of placing children outside of the custody of their parents or legal guardians. This out-of-home placement can be temporary or long-term. Adoption on the other hand, consists of the legal and permanent process that establishes a parent/child relationship between individuals not related biologically (Downs, Moore, & McFadden, 2009). These two areas of child welfare are constantly evolving and the decisions made on a child’s behalf can affect many areas of their biological, spiritual, social, and emotional wellbeing.

The implementation of the ASFA certainly carries many strengths with its amendments to the AACWA, including a title using “the term ‘safe families’ that few people would want to oppose legislation with this goal” (Jansson, 2008). One of the strengths of the new law was its movement away from bias favoring reunification that the AACWA once carried, and the placing of emphasis on child safety. Another strength was the change from selective provision of services to universal provision of services, where all special needs children would receive health coverage, regardless of whether or not they were a Title IV-E adoption. The switch to annual judicial permanency planning hearings was also an

Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 Before this bill was signed into law the Federal Government provided about $70 million per year to conduct programs for adolescents leaving foster care that are designed to help them establish independent living. Research and numerous reports from States conducting these programs indicate that adolescents leaving foster care do not fare well. As compared with other adolescents and young adults their age, they are more likely to quit school, to be unemployed, to be on welfare, to have mental health problems, to be parents outside marriage, to be arrested, to be homeless, and to be the victims of violence and other crimes (Cook, 1991). The need for special help for youths ages 18 to 21

The chosen policy is the Health Insurance for Former Foster Youth Act (S.1797). This federal level proposed law is intended to secure access to health care for youth who have aged out of foster care and did not have health coverage. The law requires the state to ensure insurance continuity for foster youth who move to one of the 37 states that do not now permit Medicaid benefits to travel to that state and remove the eligibility restriction tied to residency in Medicaid coverage to youth who age out in another state.

The National Adoption and Foster Care Home Study Act (H.R.1650/S.684) aims to improve and standardize child welfare practices across states by instituting a national home study assessment process and registry. H.R.1650 was introduced in March 2017 as a bipartisan bill and now sits in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. CWLA should not lobby Rep. David Price to increase support for H.R. 1650 given his voting record and memberships.

from the state, leading to revision of the state agency policies and regulations and also the initiation of the new program to create extra support for child welfare.

Consequently, the total costs of adoption alone sum up to roughly 15,800 dollars (Horin). Most parents don't have that money lying around because they have other children or a career they invest a lot in. In addition, they might not have money at all but know that the children need help and decide to make a difference. The government realized the problem, why many parents are not adopting is because it’s very expensive. Therefore, in order to promote adoption the government provided the adoptive parents a tax credit to help with their financial shortages. For parents adopting domestically, they would be able to claim a credit worth up to 11,700 dollars. The positive part of the credit is that within the same year of the adoption, parents can claim it (Block). Although it may take a chunk of the total cost off, parents would still have to pay 5,000 to 15,000 dollars that still remains of the whole cost. The costs should be lowered to more affordable amounts so the tax deduction would be more effective. Even though the tax credit

The second account of a changing stance toward children’s rights was evolution alongside women’s rights. Before this time, women and children were seen as unimportant under the law, whereas a father was given almost total control over all matters regarding his wife and children. If a father was violent or neglectful, society simply turned their shoulder to it. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, laws pertaining to the family system began to change. A new law recognized the equal rights of fathers and mothers with the mother’s rights reigning over the fathers in regards to the children. Also, the legal system began viewing children as important to the future of society, therefore “appropriate objects of the court’s

Adoption is a beautiful system that allows for families to raise a child that could have otherwise been in bad situations. These children are taken in by a family and are given a fresh start. Children can be adopted from birth until they are eighteen years old, but thousands of these children in need are not given the opportunity of adoption because of the extravagant cost. An adoption ranges anywhere from $6,000 to $50,000 and because of this Adopt Together says, “Cost is the number one reason families don’t adopt.” There is a long list of fees that rack up the price that include legal fees, home studies, agency cost, and many more. The extravagant cost of adoption can and should be lowered in order that more families can provide a loving home to children in need.

The necessity of adoption in the world is astounding. Currently, there is an estimated 143 million orphans worldwide (Wingert, vol.151). As of 2007, there were 513,000 children living in foster care within the United States alone (Rousseau 21:14). International adoption in the United States was jumpstarted post World War II as a way of helping those children who were left homeless, after war had taken their parents. Although there are thousands of healthy children awaiting adoption in the United States, several American couples still turn to foreign adoption when seeking potential children. Americans often fail to realize the need for intervention within their own country and their duty to take care of domestic affairs before venturing to

In the last four decades, the concept of the American family has undergone a radical transformation, reflecting society¡¯s growing openness. Among all segments of society, there is a greater acceptance of a variety of family structures ¨C from single parenting to blended families to same sex parenting of children. The introduction of openness into the process of adoption offers new opportunities for children in need of a parent or parents and prospective parents wishing to create or expand their families. Meeting the requirements to become eligible to adopt no longer means being constrained by the conventions of an earlier generation.

Moreover, there is a strategic interview and background check on those who wish to adopt. We do not let just anyone adopt a child, nor do we go without checking up on his or her history to predict the likelihood of that person being a good candidate for a parent. There are forms to be filled out, house inspection, and an overview of their income to make sure they are suitable to take in and care for this child. According to a study published by the Child Welfare League of America, despite