April 8, 2003
State Lawmakers Seek Flexibility on Adoption, Foster Care Services
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The nation’s state lawmakers told a Congressional subcommittee today that while states have made great progress in the area of child adoption and foster care services since the enactment of the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), more could be done if Congress were to grant states more flexibility.
“The state - federal partnership fostered by the enactment of the Adoption and Safe Families Act has resulted in the timely and appropriate placement in permanent homes all across the country,” said Iowa Representative Dave Heaton, a vice-chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Human Services and Welfare Committee. “However, states’ progress is being limited by tight federal controls. States need flexibility so that their systems can focus on addressing the root causes of a child’s problems, not on following arbitrary rules and process requirements.”
At a hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources, Representative Heaton told members of Congress how ASFA had made a difference in the turnaround of the Iowa foster care system. Iowa’s adoptions have increased dramatically, from 280 in 1995 to 792 in 2002, Heaton said.
As the subcommittee evaluates the implementation of the historic legislation, Heaton, on behalf of NCSL, urged the subcommittee to consider several improvements to the current program:
- Reauthorization of the Adoption Incentive Fund with special consideration of any unintended consequences that may arise out of how incentives are apportioned;
- Flexibility to use federal foster care and adoption funds for a range of services including post-adoption child and family services such as mental health services, respite care, peer support and information and referral services;
- Increased waiver authority to allow for state innovations to better serve vulnerable children; and
- Increased funding for the Social Services Block Grant, a critical component of the success of current child welfare services including protective services.
Heaton, chairman of the Iowa House of Representatives Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, said ASFA has been a great success but the current state fiscal conditions pose distinct challenges to further improving child safety and permanency.
“ASFA was a great start, but there is more to do and in a time of severe budget shortfalls, state lawmakers will likely be asked for the funding and resources to make the necessary program improvements. Flexible federal funding is essential to address the changing needs of families and leverage our state program funding,” he said.
NCSL is the bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the states, commonwealths and territories. It provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues and is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of the states in the American federal system.
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