supporting foster care adoptions from beyond the beltway
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Supporting Foster Care Adoptions from Beyond the Beltway. Marci McCoy-Roth. Presented to Eighth Annual Adoption Policy Conference New York, NY March 4, 2011. www.childtrends.org Twitter/ childtrends www.facebook.com/childtrends :. Overview. Pew - Kids Are Waiting Campaign - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Supporting Foster Care Adoptions from Beyond the Beltway
Marci McCoy-Roth
www.childtrends.org Twitter/childtrends www.facebook.com/childtrends:
Presented to Eighth AnnualAdoption Policy Conference
New York, NYMarch 4, 2011
2From Beyond the Beltway Marci McCoy-Roth
Overview
Pew - Kids Are Waiting Campaign Child Trends - FosteringConnections.org Trends in foster care adoptions What the laws say about adoptions as a
permanency option Observations about political support for adoption
3From Beyond the Beltway Marci McCoy-Roth
Child Trends’ Mission
Child Trends seeks to improve outcomes for children by providing research and analysis to the people and institutions whose decisions and actions affect children: Programs that serve children and families Policy makers Foundations and philanthropists The media
4From Beyond the Beltway Marci McCoy-Roth …Please don’t turn your back on me.
2007 & the Kids Are Waiting Campaign
5From Beyond the BeltwayMarci McCoy-Roth
Pew’s goals
To address the federal financing incentives that contribute to children languishing in foster care, and
To increase court accountability for moving children more quickly to safe, permanent families
6From Beyond the Beltway Marci McCoy-Roth
Pew and the Kids Are Waiting campaign
7From Beyond the Beltway Marci McCoy-Roth
9From Beyond the Beltway Marci McCoy-Roth
FosteringConnections.org
FosteringConnections.org provides timely and reliable tools and information on all aspects of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act to ensure that state, tribal and local decision makers are well-informed and receive maximum support as they plan for and carry out its implementation.
10From Beyond the Beltway Marci McCoy-Roth
Adoption and Safe Families Act (1997)
• Response to growing concerns children were waiting too long in foster care for permanent families.
• Promoted adoption and other permanent living arrangements for children in foster care.
• Created Adoption Incentive Program to reward states for increasing adoptions
• New judicial time limits to govern decision making on foster care cases and move children toward permanency
• Authorized funding stream Promoting Safe and Stable Families to support reunification services AND adoption promotion and support services.
12
More Progress for Children and Families in 2008
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (P.L. 110-351): • Includes most significant
federal reforms for abused and neglected children in more than a decade
13From Beyond the Beltway Marci McCoy-Roth
Children Adopted with Public Involvement (1998-2009)
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37,000
47,00051,000 51,000 51,000 50,000 51,000 52,000 51,000 53,000 55,000
57,000
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Source: 1998-2001 data from “The AFCARS Report #12: Final Estimates for FY 1998 through FY 2002” (Children’s Bureau, 2006c); 2002-2009 data from “Trends in Foster Care and Adoption—FY 2002-FY 2009” (Children’s Bureau, 2010b).
14From Beyond the Beltway Marci McCoy-Roth
Children Waiting to be Adopted from foster care (1998-2009)
Source: 1998-2001 data from “The AFCARS Report #12: Final Estimates for FY 1998 through FY 2002” (Children’s Bureau, 2006c); 2002-2009 data from “Trends in Foster Care and Adoption—FY 2002-FY 2009” (Children’s Bureau, 2010b).
15From Beyond the Beltway Marci McCoy-Roth
But children still waiting a long time for adoptionAverage Length of Stay in Foster Care, for Children Adopted in 1998-2009 (months)
16From Beyond the Beltway Marci McCoy-Roth
Relationship of adoptive parents to children before adoption (1998-2009)
17From Beyond the BeltwayMarci McCoy-Roth
Adoption as a unifying issue• Bipartisan support• For example, FCA passed through unanimous consent• Adoption will always be part of a package of different
permanency options for kids, it is the best route for most children to have a safe, permanent family for the long run.
Marci [email protected]
202.572.6122
Fostering Connections through Adoptions, Trends in adoptions from foster care in the wake of child welfare reforms, by Kerry DeVooght, Karin Malm, Sharon Vandivere, and Marci McCoy-Roth
http://www.fosteringconnections.org/tools/assets/files/Connections_Adoption.pdf
www.childtrends.org Twitter/childtrends
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