S 2395 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To establish an adoption process improvement pilot program.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

November 16, 2007

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself and Mr. ROCKEFELLER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To establish an adoption process improvement pilot program.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Adoption Improvement Act of 2007'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) Despite the dramatic increase in the number of adoptions out of foster care since the enactment of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-89; 111 Stat. 2115), there are still 114,000 children in foster care with the goal of adoption. Of these, only 13 percent are currently living in a preadoptive home. At the same time, in a given year, 240,000 people in the United States will call for information about adopting a child from foster care. Ultimately, however, only a very small fraction of prospective parents interested in adopting children in foster care will end up doing so. As a result, thousands of needy children will remain in foster care and thousands of prospective parents will remain childless.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) According to a recent study conducted by Harvard University and the Urban Institute in collaboration with the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, 78 percent of adults who call for information about becoming adoptive parents will not fill out an application or attend an orientation meeting. Only 6 percent of those who call for information actually complete the adoption home study, a requirement for all prospective parents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) Research shows that prospective adoptive parents often face a number of barriers that discourage them from adopting children out of foster care, including difficulty in accessing the child welfare agency and unpleasant experiences during critical initial contacts with the child welfare agency, as well as ongoing frustration with the agency or aspects of the process. The 2 primary ways people learn about adoption from foster care are the media and word of mouth. Negative experiences with the adoption process have resounding effects as 1 parent's frustration is expressed to friends, families, and acquaintances.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. CHILD WELFARE AGENCY DEFINED.

In this Act, the term `child welfare agency' means an entity of a State, regional or local area, or Indian tribe, that has primary responsibility in such a State, regional or local area, or Indian tribe for the facilitation of adoptions from the child welfare system.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this Act as the `Secretary') shall carry out, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, a pilot program of making not less than 10 grants to child welfare agencies that is designed to effect long-range improvements in the adoption process by increasing prospective adoptive parent access to adoption information and strengthening such agencies' responsiveness to prospective adoptive parents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. APPLICATION.

A child welfare agency that desires to receive a grant under this Act shall submit an application at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may require.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 6. SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.

(a) In General- In awarding grants under this Act, the Secretary shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) select grant recipients on the basis of criteria included in regulations promulgated by the Secretary; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) take into consideration--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the quality of the application;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) the demonstrated commitment of the applicant to achieving the goals of the pilot program carried out under this Act; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) the geographic diversity of the applicant.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Criteria- In establishing criteria under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall include the requirement that for a child welfare agency to be eligible to receive a grant under this Act, such agency shall comply with each of the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) The child welfare agency includes the active involvement of independent, legitimate, marketing and research firms in the design and implementation of the program that will be funded with a grant under this Act, in order to incorporate business and consumer product marketing techniques in the recruitment, training, and retention of adoptive parents. The involvement of academic institutions or nonprofit research institutions in the process and follow-up design may also be included.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) The child welfare agency intends to improve the first contact between prospective adoptive parents and the agency through the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) The establishment of a specialized adoption hotline for tracking incoming calls to better understand the adoptive parent attrition rate.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) The hiring of employees with a background in counseling and providing specialized adoption training so such employees answer callers' requests efficiently. Training shall emphasize the importance of customer service in addition to traditional counseling skills, address the particular needs of workers and supervisors, and stress the importance of reducing staff turnover.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) The establishment of a process to solicit and incorporate feedback from all prospective parents, including those who exit the process early on, in designing and improving the adoption process.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) The child welfare agency--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) will promote recruitment at the start of the process by providing prospective parents with clear, written guidelines about qualifications and grounds for being screened out; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) will ensure that all staff are trained in skills needed to engage a prospective parent in the adoption process and, when possible, will separate the recruitment and screening processes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) The child welfare agency coordinates all adoption sources to afford prospective parents immediate access to all children available for adoption.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) The child welfare agency offers an explicit explanation of the adoption process for all prospective families that includes the roles that various workers play, relationships among the different agencies, and the information necessary to navigate through the process. This information shall include the reasoning behind standard adoption procedures, such as home studies, criminal background checks, and psychological and health evaluations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) The child welfare agency shall provide clear information about the matching process, including expected timeline, to prospective parents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) The child welfare agency shall provide a clear overview of the adoption process for all prospective families, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the rewards and challenges of the process;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) the availability of and the process of accessing adoption assistance;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) the legal process of adoption; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) the availability of post-permanency services.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(8) The child welfare agency shall make every effort to involve successful adoptive parents in aspects of the adoption process, including designing recruitment strategies, training, and matching.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(9) The child welfare agency shall establish an adoption advisory committee for strengthening procedures for matching waiting children with adoptive parents. The committee shall be composed of adoption professionals, successful adoptive parents, and others with expertise in assessing a child's adoption needs for the purpose of improving the matching process.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(10) The child welfare agency shall develop a mentoring system linking prospective and established adoptive parents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(11) The child welfare agency agrees to comply with the evaluation procedures set forth by the agencies and research entity described in section 8.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS.

A child welfare agency that receives a grant under this Act shall use the grant funds only for activities that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) decrease the adoptive parent attrition rate, as described in section 6; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) build upon existing practices that have demonstrated effectiveness in improving the adoption process.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 8. STUDY.

(a) In General- In order to provide rigorous research utilizing appropriate, scientifically-based research standards, the Secretary shall carry out, through grant or contract, research into the successes and challenges of the programs established through the grants authorized in this Act. Such research shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) employ a standardized data collection tool in order to maximize the synthesis of data across disparate programs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) assess the success with which participating agencies implement the program components outlined in section 6(b);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) assess the impact, if any, of each program on--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the retention and attrition of prospective adoptive parents throughout the adoption process;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) the professionalization of child welfare professionals responding to adoption inquiries;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) the number of completed adoptions from foster care; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) the maintenance of completed adoptions, including the impact, if any, of the program on families' use of post-adoption services;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) synthesize the successes and challenges of each participating child welfare agency and make recommendations for an overall model of best practice; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) offer recommendations regarding improvements to the grant program.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Use of Expert Entity- The Secretary shall carry out the research described in this section through an entity, including a Federal agency, that has expertise in carrying out research studies relating to adoption, foster care, and child welfare issues, such as child welfare service provision and the adoption of children from foster care.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Consultation- In conducting the research described in this section, the expert entity described in subsection (b) shall consult with--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) researchers who are experts in studying child welfare services, particularly those focusing on best practices regarding the adoption of children from foster care;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) child welfare administrators and staff responsible for facilitating the adoption of children from foster care;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) representatives from national child welfare organizations promoting the adoption of children from foster care; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) parents who have adopted children from foster care.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Report to Congress- Not later than 2 years after the dissemination of funds under this Act, the expert entity described in subsection (b) shall submit a report to the Secretary containing the results of the research described in this section. The report shall also--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) be submitted to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) be made publicly available.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 9. NATIONWIDE REVIEW.

The Secretary shall include in the national annual review of child welfare agencies of the Secretary an examination of each State's progress regarding accessibility and responsiveness of child welfare agencies to prospective adoptive parents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $50,000,000.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink