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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the President
For Immediate Release November 24, 1998
PRESIDENT CLINTON ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF THE INTERNET
TO INCREASE ADOPTIONS
November 24, 1998
Today, the President will issue a new directive to the Department of
Health and Human Services to expand the use of the Internet as a tool to
find homes for children waiting to be adopted from foster care. The
President will make the announcement with the First Lady at a White
House ceremony marking National Adoption Month and celebrating new
adoptions in the District of Columbia.
Creating an Internet Registry to Meet the President's Goals for
Adoption. In 1996, President Clinton set a goal of doubling, by the
year 2002, adoptions and other permanent placements from the public
child welfare system. Since then, adoptions have increased; from 1996
to 1997 alone, adoptions increased by over 10 percent, from 28,000 to
31,000. Today, the President is directing the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) to develop a plan to expand internet use to share
information about children who are legally free for adoption in order to
shorten the time needed to find them adoptive families. HHS estimates
that approximately 100,000 children in our nation's foster care system
cannot return to their birth families and need families to adopt them.
An effective national registry will help break down geographic barriers
to adoption and assist in meeting the President's adoption goal. HHS
Secretary Donna Shalala will report to the President within 60 days on a
plan to work with the states and other leaders to carry out this effort.
Building on a Strong Record. Today's announcement builds on a deep
commitment by the President, the First Lady, and the Administration to
facilitate adoptions and improve the child welfare system. Since taking
office, President Clinton has championed efforts to make foster care
work better for the children it serves, to find and assist adoptive
families, and to break down barriers, including high adoption costs and
complex regulations:
- Achieving Landmark Legislative Reform. On November 19, 1997, the
President signed the Adoption and Safe Families Act, reforming our
nation's child welfare system and making it clear that the health and
safety of children must be the paramount concerns of state child welfare
services. This landmark legislation was based in large part on the
recommendations of the Clinton Administration's Adoption 2002 report,
which the President requested by executive memorandum on December 14,
1996, to meet his goals of doubling adoptions and permanent placements
by the year 2002 and moving children more quickly from foster care to
permanent homes. The Act tightened time frames for making permanent
placement decisions for children and ensured health insurance coverage
for all special needs children in subsidized adoptions. Also, it
created new financial incentives for states to increase adoptions, and
continued funding for services to keep families together when it is
appropriate and safe.
- Making Adoption Affordable for Families. In 1996, President Clinton
signed into law the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, which
provides a $5,000 tax credit to families adopting children, and a $6,000
tax credit for families adopting children with special needs. This
provision has alleviated a significant barrier to adoption, helping
middle class families for whom adoption may be prohibitively expensive
and making it easier for families to adopt children with special needs.
Since President Clinton took office, the number of children with special
needs who were adopted with federal adoption assistance has risen by
over 60 percent. In the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, President Clinton
ensured more support for families who adopt children with the $500
per-child tax credit.
- Giving States Flexibility and Support. To test innovative strategies
to improve state child welfare systems, the Clinton Administration has
granted waivers to 18 states, giving them more flexibility in tailoring
services to meet the needs of children and families. In addition, the
Administration has provided states with enhanced technical support and
helped improve court operations. The President secured $10 million in
FY 1999 in new funds to support state efforts to implement the new
adoption law, and has, through the Adoption Opportunities program,
supported state and local innovative demonstration projects to promote
adoption, provide post-adoptive services, and build new public-private
partnerships. To prevent children from entering foster care in the
first place, in 1993 the Clinton Administration enacted and secured
federal funding for the Family Preservation and Support Program to help
states, local governments, and service providers develop effective
programs to serve children and families at risk.
- Breaking Down Racial and Ethnic Barriers to Adoption. New
inter-ethnic adoption provisions, passed as a part of the Small Business
Job Protection Act of 1996, ensure that the adoption process is free
from discrimination and delays on the basis of race, culture and
ethnicity by strengthening the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act which the
President signed in 1994.
- Providing Supports for Child Protection and Adoption. In 1993,
President Clinton signed into law the Family and Medical Leave Act,
enabling parents to take time off to adopt a child without losing their
jobs or health insurance. In addition, the welfare reform legislation
signed by the President maintained the guarantee of child protection and
adoption, and did not reduce funds for child welfare, child abuse, and
foster care and adoption services.
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