Child Welfare: Implementation of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Nov. 8, 2004 |
| Report Number |
RL30759 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Karen Spar and Matthew Shuman, Domestic Social Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
In response to rising numbers of children in foster care and concerns about the safety of children that remain with or return to their families after placement in foster care, the 105th Congress enacted the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA, P.L. 105-89) with two primary goals: (1) to ensure that consideration of children's safety is paramount in child welfare decisions, so that children are not returned to unsafe homes; and (2) to ensure that necessary legal procedures occur expeditiously, so that children who cannot return home may be placed for adoption or another permanent arrangement quickly. ASFA is considered the most sweeping change in federal child welfare law in nearly 20 years.
Most provisions in the 1997 law amended Titles IV-B or IV-E of the Social Security Act, which authorize grants to states for child welfare activities, including foster care and adoption assistance. In FY2004, Titles IV-B and IV-E received appropriations totaling $7.6 billion. As enacted in 1980 (P.L. 96-272), the underlying law requires states to make "reasonable efforts" on behalf of abused and neglected children or children at risk of abuse and neglect, to ensure that services are provided to their families so they can remain safely at home or return home if they have been placed in foster care. States also must conduct administrative and court hearings on every child's case according to a prescribed timetable and establish a permanent placement plan for each child.
Periodically since P.L. 96-272 was enacted, concern arose that some states and judges interpreted the federal child welfare laws as requiring family preservation and reunification at all costs, including in cases where the child's health or safety was in jeopardy. ASFA was intended to clarify federal policy to ensure safety for children who come into contact with the child welfare system. Moreover, ASFA was intended to expedite permanency for foster children and to promote adoption for those children who cannot safely return home.
Since 1997, all states have enacted their own laws to implement parts of ASFA, and the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued regulations to implement certain provisions of the 1997 law. Acting on a 1994 legislative directive (P.L. 103-432), HHS also initiated a review system in 2001 to monitor state compliance with federal child welfare laws, including the provisions of ASFA. HHS also issued several reports as mandated by ASFA.
Finally, ASFA authorized annual incentive payments to states that exceeded their highest previous number of foster child adoptions in a given year, with larger payments for adoptions of children with special needs. Congress reauthorized and revised this program in 2003 (P.L. 108-145), to create separate incentives for adoptions of older children. For adoptions in FY1998-FY2003, states "earned" a total of $178 million (of which $17.9 million were earned by 31 states and Puerto Rico for adoptions finalized in 2003). HHS data indicate approximately 52,500 children were adopted with the involvement of public child welfare agencies in 2002, for an increase of nearly 70% since 1997. This report will not be updated.
