Explanation State and Federal Laws
In 1993, Congress enacted the Family Preservation and Family Support Services Program
(P.L. 103-6) which provided additional funding for preventive services
and crisis services for children and families at-risk of entering the
foster care system. Implementation of these programs required active
involvement of a broad community of stakeholders to focus on needs and
services for children and families.
In response to
major concerns about the extended length of stay and poor outcomes for
minority children and the prevalence of using race to determine
placements for children in foster care, the Multienthnic Placement Act (P.L. 103-382) and the Interethnic Placement Provisions
(P.L. 104-188) were enacted. This legislation forbids the delay or
denial of a foster or adoptive placement based solely on the race,
color, ethnicity, or natutal origin of the prospectie foster parent,
adoptive parent or the child involed. It also compels states to make
diligent efforts to recruit and retain foster and adoptive families that
reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the children for whom foster
homes are needed.
The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997
(P.L. 105-89) was enacted to ensure that children's safety would be the
paramount concern of all child welfare decision-maing and to promote
the adoption of children who cannot return safely to their own homes.
This law has five key prinicipes: safety is the paramount concern that
must guide all child welfare services; foster care is temporary;
permanency planning efforts should begin as soon as a child enters care;
the child welfare system must focus on results and acountability; and
innovative approaches are needed to achieve the goals fo safety,
permanency, and well-being.
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act
was enacted on October 7, 2008. This legislation addresses some of the
most important needs affecting foster children, including extending
federal care payments up to 21 years old, providing federal support for
relatives caring for foster children, increasing access to foster care
and adoption services to Native American tribes, providing foster
parentswith the right to be heard, and improving oversight of hte health
and education needs of children in foster care.
Together,
these actions and policies have moved foster care into a new phase.
Foster care has become a complex system of services and placements that
are designed to ensure that children are safe, permanency is achieved
and the child's social, emotional and intellectual well-being is
addressed.