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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Contact: Jane Norris
(202) 401-9215
$14.5 Million Awarded to States for Increasing Adoptions
2,708 More Children Adopted
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) today announced $14.5 million in payments to 24 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico for increasing the number of children adopted from state-supervised foster care in fiscal year 2004.
“A permanent, loving home is important to helping children grow into healthier, happier adults,” HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said. “This administration is rewarding states for increasing the number of adoptions and helping states strengthen their programs so even more children can grow up in a permanent, loving home. Through these rewards, we are recognizing states’ efforts to increase adoptions and strengthen their programs to help children and families.”
ACF is providing an incentive payment to states that completed more adoptions in 2004 than in the baseline year, which is the higher year of 2002 or 2003. Payments are also given for increases in the adoption of older children, as well as for children with special needs. States receive $4,000 for every child adopted beyond its best year’s total, plus a payment of $4,000 for every child aged nine and older, and $2,000 for every special needs child adopted above the baseline year.
“These awards recognize the substantial progress states are making in finding permanent adoptive families for children in foster care,” said Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., HHS’ assistant secretary for children and families. “The incentives awarded for older children are particularly important, because about half the children in foster are at least nine years old and are at risk of aging out of foster care with no ties to a permanent, loving family.”
The adoption incentive awards were originally enacted as part of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, and more recently were extended and expanded to focus on older youth by the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003. Each year about 51,000 children nationwide are adopted from foster care.
President Bush’s efforts to promote adoption also include a Web site, www.adoptuskids.org, which links children in foster care with potential adoptive families across the country. Launched in July 2002, the web site features approximately 3,700 children in foster care and directs interested families to appropriate state agencies for more information. As of today, over 5,000 children from this site have been placed into permanent homes.
To view today’s awards to states, click here.
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news