Home > Laws & Policies > Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act as Amended by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
as Amended by the
Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003
SECTION II: ADOPTION OPPORTUNITIES
Sec. 201. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSE. [42 U.S.C. 5111]
[This section was amended by sec. 201 of P.L. 108-36.]
- FINDINGS.—
Congress finds that—
- the number of children in substitute care has increased by nearly 24
percent since 1994, as our Nation’s foster care population included more
than 565,000 as of September of 2001;
- children entering foster care have complex problems that require
intensive services, with many such children having special needs because
they are born to mothers who did not receive prenatal care, are born with
life threatening conditions or disabilities, are born addicted to alcohol or
other drugs, or have been exposed to infection with the etiologic agent for
the human immunodeficiency virus;
- each year, thousands of children are in need of placement in
permanent, adoptive homes;
- many thousands of children remain in institutions or foster homes
solely because of legal and other barriers to their placement in permanent,
adoptive homes;
-
- currently, there are 131,000 children waiting for adoption;
- such children are typically school aged, in sibling groups, have
experienced neglect or abuse, or have a physical, mental, or emotional
disability; and
- while the children are of all races, children of color and older
children (over the age of 10) are over represented in such group;
- adoption may be the best alternative for assuring the healthy
development of such children;
- there are qualified persons seeking to adopt such children who are
unable to do so because of barriers to their placement; and
- in order both to enhance the stability and love of the child’s home
environment and to avoid wasteful expenditures of public funds, such
children should not have medically indicated treatment withheld from them
nor be maintained in foster care or institutions when adoption is appropriate
and families can be found for such children.
- PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title to facilitate the elimination of
barriers, including geographic barriers, to adoption and to provide permanent
and loving home environments for children who would benefit from adoption,
particularly children with special needs, including disabled infants with lifethreatening
conditions, by providing a mechanism to—
- promote quality standards for adoption services, pre-placement,
post-placement, and post-legal adoption counseling, and standards to
protect the rights of children in need of adoption;
- maintain an Internet-based national adoption information exchange
system to bring together children who would benefit from adoption and
qualified prospective adoptive parents who are seeking such children, and
conduct national recruitment efforts in order to reach prospective parents for
children awaiting adoption; and
- demonstrate expeditious ways to free children for adoption for
whom it has been determined that adoption is the appropriate plan.
Return to Table of Contents