Adoption And Safe Families Act Research Paper

4528 Words19 Pages
Austin Chavez Poli-Sci 102 11am Prof. Limer April 8 2014 Adoption and Safe Families Act 1997 The Adoption and Safe Families Act was originally created to raise the adoption rate of special needs kids by giving incentives such as health care to the adopted parents. It was introduced by Michigan House representative Dave Camp who still stands by the act today. He and many others still have good faith in the bill but many believe it needs to have much more work put into it. A statement by the Honorable Wade F. Horn, PH.D., Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says, [1]“ The passage of ASFA represented a landmark in child welfare reform, and while there is evidence of positive change…show more content…
This Title was created to keep a constant improvement of the act with the use of research and also keep strict rule on the regulations that the states need to abide by. [32]It requires that the secretary to choose up to ten states for welfare demonstration projects each year. These demonstration projects are to point out what [33]barriers are slowing down the child placement process, the impact that parental substance abuse has on the child placement process, and kinship care. The secretary is then expected to come up with results for these 3 situations in order to progress the Act further. [34]Title III goes over sections 302-308 of the Adoption and Safe Families Act. These sections regulate a few new services and a program that respects a foster child's accumulative assets paid for by the foster care. [35]The secretary is ordered to report to congress ans well as both committee and sub-committee on the number of foster kids placed in kinship care. This is useful so that congress can keep regulations on the states, making sure that the children are being properly handled. This Title also enforces [36]Independent Living Programs to be created for youth in foster accumulated up to 5,000 dollars in assets that can otherwise be used as resources. This is to respect foster cares expenses and federal eligibility to be in foster care. Even though a…show more content…
Did this law help the social problem that it was created for? What effects does it have on society, good and bad? And what can be done to improve the law if it is not holding up to its social problem? Well it's already clear that the Adoption and Safe Families Act has had an impact on the national adoption rate.[49] The adoption rate went from 31,000 kids being adopted in 1997, to 50,000 kids two years later in 2001. Although, it is unclear what the exact effect this Act had on this rate, [50]a 57% increase within 2 years is no coincidence. But although there is a significant increase in adoption rates, there has also been a significant increase in foster kids. The rate has of kids needing to be adopted has raised from[51] 21,000 kids in 1997, to 28,000 kids in 2001. So even though the Act has made the adoption rate better, the foster cares are gaining more and more kids each year. Be cause of this it makes the Act look balanced and unsuccessful. But the original intent of the Act was to gain more adoptions for special needs kids and improve the Child Welfare system all
Open Document