[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 141 (Wednesday, October 8, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9302-H9305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ADOPTION PROMOTION ACT OF 2003
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 3182) to reauthorize the adoption incentive payments program
under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3182
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Adoption Promotion Act of
2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) In 1997, the Congress passed the Adoption and Safe
Families Act of 1997 to promote comprehensive child welfare
reform to ensure that consideration of children's safety is
paramount in child welfare decisions, and to provide a
greater sense of urgency to find every child a safe,
permanent home.
(2) The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 also created
the Adoption Incentives program, which authorizes incentive
payments to States to promote adoptions, with additional
incentives provided for the adoption of foster children with
special needs.
(3) Since 1997, all States, the District of Columbia, and
Puerto Rico have qualified for incentive payments for their
work in promoting adoption of foster children.
(4) Between 1997 and 2002, adoptions increased by 64
percent, and adoptions of children with special needs
increased by 63 percent; however, 542,000 children remain in
foster care, and 126,000 are eligible for adoption.
(5) Although substantial progress has been made to promote
adoptions, attention should be focused on promoting adoption
of older children. Recent data suggest that half of the
children waiting to be adopted are age 9 or older.
SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF ADOPTION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS
PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 473A of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 673b) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
``(2)(A) the number of foster child adoptions in the State
during the fiscal year exceeds the base number of foster
child adoptions for the State for the fiscal year; or
``(B) the number of older child adoptions in the State
during the fiscal year exceeds the base number of older child
adoptions for the State for the fiscal year;''.
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and 2002'' and
inserting ``through 2007''; and
(C) in paragraph (5), by striking ``2002'' and inserting
``2007'';
(2) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (2) and
inserting the following:
``(2) Determination of numbers of adoptions based on afcars
data.--The Secretary shall determine the numbers of foster
child adoptions, of special needs adoptions that are not
older child adoptions, and of older child adoptions in a
State during each of fiscal years 2002 through 2007, for
purposes of this section, on the basis of data meeting the
requirements of the system established pursuant to section
479, as reported by the State and approved by the Secretary
by August 1 of the succeeding fiscal year.'';
(3) in subsection (d)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'';
(B) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) by inserting ``that are not older child adoptions''
after ``adoptions'' each place it appears; and
(ii) by striking the period and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) $4,000, multiplied by the amount (if any) by which
the number of older child adoptions in the State during the
fiscal year exceeds the base number of older child adoptions
for the State for the fiscal year.'';
(4) in subsection (g)--
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B)
and inserting the following:
``(A) with respect to fiscal year 2003, the number of
foster child adoptions in the State in fiscal year 2002; and
``(B) with respect to any subsequent fiscal year, the
number of foster child adoptions in the State in the fiscal
year for which the number is the greatest in the period that
begins with fiscal year 2002 and ends with the fiscal year
preceding that subsequent fiscal year.'';
(B) in paragraph (4)--
(i) in the paragraph heading, by inserting ``that are not
older child adoptions'' after ``adoptions''; and
(ii) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting
the following:
``(A) with respect to fiscal year 2003, the number of
special needs adoptions that are not older child adoptions in
the State in fiscal year 2002; and
``(B) with respect to any subsequent fiscal year, the
number of special needs adoptions that are not older child
adoptions in the State in the fiscal year for which the
number is the greatest in the period that begins with fiscal
year 2002 and ends with the fiscal year preceding that
subsequent fiscal year.''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
[[Page H9303]]
``(5) Base number of older child adoptions.--The term `base
number of older child adoptions for a State' means--
``(A) with respect to fiscal year 2003, the number of older
child adoptions in the State in fiscal year 2002; and
``(B) with respect to any subsequent fiscal year, the
number of older child adoptions in the State in the fiscal
year for which the number is the greatest in the period that
begins with fiscal year 2002 and ends with the fiscal year
preceding that subsequent fiscal year.
``(6) Older child adoptions.--The term `older child
adoptions' means the final adoption of a child who has
attained 9 years of age if--
``(A) at the time of the adoptive placement, the child was
in foster care under the supervision of the State; or
``(B) an adoption assistance agreement was in effect under
section 473 with respect to the child.'';
(5) in subsection (h)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'';
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) $43,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through
2008.''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by inserting ``, or under any other law for grants
under subsection (a),'' after ``(1)''; and
(ii) by striking ``2003'' and inserting ``2008'';
(6) in subsection (i)(4), by striking ``1998 through 2000''
and inserting ``2004 through 2006''; and
(7) by striking subsection (j).
(b) Report on Adoption and Other Permanency Options for
Children in Foster Care.--Not later than October 1, 2004, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a report on State
efforts to promote adoption and other permanency options for
children in foster care, with special emphasis on older
children in foster care. In preparing this report, the
Secretary shall review State waiver programs and consult with
representatives from State governments, public and private
child welfare agencies, and child advocacy organizations to
identify promising approaches.
SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO SUBMIT
AFCARS REPORT.
Section 474 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 674) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(f)(1) If the Secretary finds that a State has failed to
submit to the Secretary data, as required by regulation, for
the data collection system implemented under section 479, the
Secretary shall, within 30 days after the date by which the
data was due to be so submitted, notify the State of the
failure and that payments to the State under this part will
be reduced if the State fails to submit the data, as so
required, within 6 months after the date the data was
originally due to be so submitted.
``(2) If the Secretary finds that the State has failed to
submit the data, as so required, by the end of the 6-month
period referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection, then,
notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section and any
regulations promulgated under section 1123A(b)(3), the
Secretary shall reduce the amounts otherwise payable to the
State under this part, for each quarter ending in the 6-month
period (and each quarter ending in each subsequent
consecutively occurring 6-month period until the Secretary
finds that the State has submitted the data, as so required),
by--
``(A) \1/6\ of 1 percent of the total amount expended by
the State for administration of foster care activities under
the State plan approved under this part in the quarter so
ending, in the case of the 1st 6-month period during which
the failure continues; or
``(B) \1/4\ of 1 percent of the total amount so expended,
in the case of the 2nd or any subsequent such 6-month
period.''.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on
October 1, 2003.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Camp) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp).
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3182, the Adoption
Promotion Act of 2003, which was introduced with bipartisan support.
This legislation reauthorizes the Adoption Incentive Program, which was
created as part of the Adoption and Safe Families Act in 1997.
Since 1997 until 2002, we have seen adoptions increase by 64 percent.
Special-needs adoptions during that same period have increased by 63
percent. We are here today to reauthorize a successful program, while
making key improvements to that program. Adoption is about parents and
families opening their homes and hearts to children who need a family.
Growing up with a loving family is essential to every child, not only
emotionally but also intellectually. Just last week we held the Angels
in Adoption dinner put on by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption
Institute, which recognizes adoptive families throughout the country;
and hundreds of parents were there. I spent the night honoring a couple
from my district, Coleman, Michigan, Charlie and Gerry Brown, who began
with six biological children, began to expand their family when they
opened their home to a young foster girl in 1990. Today they have 14
adoptives, and they are in the process of adopting two more boys,
making them the proud parents of 22 children.
I think the Browns exemplify everything good about adoption, but we
need more families who will bring children into their homes.
Approximately 126,000 children currently are awaiting adoption, half of
whom are 9 years of age or older, and these are children who have the
least chance of being adopted and the greatest chance of spending the
rest of their childhood in foster care, which is unacceptable by
anyone's standards.
The Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 enhances the current incentive
program for adoption, which rewards States that increase the number of
children adopted by creating a new incentive for States that increase
the adoptions of children age 9 and older as well.
I thank the chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Resources, the
gentleman from California (Mr. Herger), and the ranking member, the
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin), for working on this important
measure in such a bipartisan effort which allows this bill to come to
the floor. I thank the staff of the Subcommittee on Human Resources for
their hard work.
There is nothing more special than seeing a parent, a mom or dad,
bringing a new son or daughter into their family through adoption. This
bill achieves this important goal, and I urge my colleagues to support
this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me congratulate the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Camp) for his strong support on this important issue. He has been
steadfast in helping families in the adoption arena, and this is just
one more chapter in his record in this area. I also thank the gentleman
from California (Mr. Herger) for the way in which this bill was handled
in our subcommittee. It was done in a bipartisan way involving the
views of administrators, advocates, and experts in the field; and we
have come up with an excellent bill which I encourage my colleagues to
support.
This bill deals with foster children. Obviously, the first goal of
placement for foster children is to try to reunite them with their
birth parents, but that is not always possible. When that is not
possible, we want to find a safe and permanent home as quickly as
possible for that foster child.
In 1997, we enacted the Safe and Stable Families Act. This
legislation, H.R. 3182, continues the record that we started in 1997.
It includes adoption incentive bonuses for payments to States that
increase the number of adoption of children out of foster care. And as
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) pointed out, since the enactment
of this legislation in 1997, we have seen a 64 percent increase in the
adoption of children out of foster care, and that number has held true
for children with special needs.
H.R. 3182 extends that program for 5 years. That is certainly our
goal, to reauthorize programs that work for a 5-year period; and this
bill does that. We also update the baseline. That is a very important
fact because it allows more States the opportunity to benefit from
these payments. We enhance payments for older children in foster care
that are adopted.
Mr. Speaker, over half of our children currently in foster care are
over the age of 9. They are the more difficult children to find
permanent homes through adoption. This legislation recognizes that and
rewards States that are able to find permanent placement adoptions for
children over the age of 9. Funds can be used for a variety of child
welfare services, including post adoptive services, so we are providing
the
[[Page H9304]]
wherewithal, particularly in these tough economic times, to our States
in order to move forward in this important program to help America's
most vulnerable children.
We also direct the agency to move forward with another option for
permanent placement, and that is subsidize guardianship where the
foster child is placed with a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other family
member. In many cases, that is the preferred option; and we are making
it easier for that option to become a reality.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation enjoys broad support. It is supported
by the Child Welfare League of America, the Children's Defense Fund,
the Center for Law and Social Policy, Voices for Adoption, and the list
goes on and on. It is a very important bill, and I encourage my
colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Herger), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Human
Resources.
Mr. HERGER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Camp) for his outstanding leadership in crafting this
bipartisan legislation, as well as commending the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Cardin), the ranking member, for his work on it as well.
I am very pleased to be a cosponsor of this legislation.
As chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human
Resources, I appreciate the dedication and commitment of the gentleman
from Michigan (Mr. Camp) to children's issues. Nationally, more than
18,000 children have been adopted since Congress created the Adoption
Incentive Program in 1997. In my home State of California, adoptions
have more than doubled. This is tremendous progress. As a result,
States have received almost $160 million they can use to support
families and children in distress. Despite this progress, there are
still 126,000 children waiting to be adopted. This legislation will
encourage States to find adoptive families for these children by
continuing and improving the Adoption Incentive Program for 5 more
years.
I am pleased this legislation adds a new incentive to promote
adoption of children age 9 or older, as the Bush administration
proposed. These children are most at risk to spend their childhood in
foster care and never find an adoptive family, so they deserve our
special attention.
I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support of
this legislation. I look forward to working with them to promote safe
adoptive placements for children in foster care. This bill is certainly
a worthy step in that direction. I urge all Members to support this
excellent legislation.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Davis).
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this
legislation. I want to commend the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp)
and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) for the leadership that
they have demonstrated and continue to demonstrate in this area.
As chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus' Child Welfare Brain
Trust, and also coming from a community where I have a very active
advisory committee on child welfare issues, and also coming from a
community where there is one of the greatest needs for adoption that
exists in the country, much of the inner city of Chicago, this
legislation is tremendously important.
The idea of providing an opportunity for children who could not
experience family life, to give them the opportunity to have the well-
being, the nurturing of a family rather than being institutionalized or
as a ward of the State is of tremendous value. I simply want to add my
voice in support of it. Again, I commend the gentlemen for their strong
leadership and the articulation of a need that exists.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I appreciate the gentleman's comments and again thank all of the
Members for this bipartisan effort here. I also want to note that the
majority leader did have an impact on this bill and required that there
be penalties on the Health and Human Services Agency if they do not
submit timely and complete adoption and foster care data. This will
help us track exactly where children are, how long they are spending in
foster care, and what their needs are. This is an important provision,
and I wanted to highlight that for the Members as well.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the
Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 (H.R. 3182). This bipartisan bill would
amend and reauthorize the Adoption Incentives Program and add necessary
provisions to strengthen this important program.
I am particularly encouraged by provisions to enhance the adoption of
older children in foster care. In addition to incentives for the
adoption of special needs children, H.R. 3182 would create a third
incentive payment equal to $4,000 for each increased adoption of foster
children who are age 9 or older at the time of adoption.
As I stand before you today there are approximately 588,000 children
in the foster care system in the United States. The average age of
children in foster care is 10 years. We know that the longer children
are in foster care the more challenging their lives become. It is also
less likely that these children will be adopted. Most children waiting
to be adopted are school-aged or in a sibling group that needs to stay
together. Many have emotional disabilities; others have physical,
mental or developmental disabilities. All need the love of a permanent
family.
Serious disparities in the racial and ethnic breakdown of children in
foster care compound the problems faced by children in protective
services. In 1980, 47 percent of the children in foster care were
children of color. By 2000, 66 percent of children in foster care were
children of color. Minority children are disproportionately represented
in the foster care system by a margin of more than two to one. Health
disparities that face minority children further exacerbate the problems
that they face as children in foster care.
In addition to supporting H.R. 3182, I urge my colleagues to take
time to review and act on comprehensive child service reform measures
that maintain a strong Federal responsibility to our most vulnerable
children and families. This bipartisan legislation is a step in the
right direction of Federal responsibility to participate fully with the
States in meeting this fundamental obligation. Real reform, including
new investments, is required to respond to the needs of the over
500,000 abused and neglected children currently in foster care and to
keep all children safe from harm. Recent research shows that:
Children who received ``services'' from Child Protection Services
died as a result of abuse 16 times more often than children in the
general population.
Last year, in the 18th District of Texas, 8,039 in protective
services were in investigation of child abuse and neglect.
Children were abused and neglected 3 times more often by State
caregivers than by parents (and children are eleven times more likely
to be sexually abused in State care than they are in their own homes).
The Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services reports that in 2002, there were an estimated 560,000 children
in foster care across the U.S. and an estimated 3 million children
involved in investigations by child protective services of abuse or
neglect. In the States reporting, an average of 11.8 children were
victims of abuse or neglect for every 1,000 children in the population.
In my own State of Texas the number of children who died as a result
of abuse or neglect recently increased and child protection services
was involved with 36% of those children who died.
It is urgent that we stabilize the lives of our children by promoting
adoption and other permanency options for our children. They are at
risk in the child welfare system as it stands. All children deserve and
thrive best when they are in stable, permanent loving homes. We, as a
country, must commit ourselves to doing a better job of protecting and
caring for our children. The Adoption Promotion Act, H.R. 3182, is a
step in the right direction.
Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, since we first passed the Adoption and Safe
Families Act in 1997, adoptions out of foster care have increased 64
percent.
That's thousands of children in permanent homes who, before this law
was enacted, were wandering through the foster care system unprotected,
unloved, and sometimes forgotten all together.
But not anymore. The tide has turned in this fight for the hope of a
generation of American children.
We've made American foster care a priority and made the decision, as
a Nation, to no longer focus on the system, but the children
themselves.
The next step in this pivot away from despair and toward hope is to
ensure States stay
[[Page H9305]]
focused on their responsibilities to foster children.
After a GAO report--requested by Senator Grassley and me--revealed
that some State governments are failing to adequately keep and provide
information about foster children in their care, I worked with Chairman
Herger and lead sponsor Mr. Camp to add a new provision to this bill.
The new provision imposes penalties on those States that do not keep
up their records, and thereby let their foster children slip through
the cracks.
Every new phase in a foster child's journey through the system can be
the wrong turn that makes the difference between happiness and despair.
How can we expect them to work hard in school, stay optimistic about
their future, and never lose hope if we can't even keep track of their
address?
These kids start out in life facing adversity before they even know
what the word means. They carry doubt and fear around on their backs
like crosses. This provision and this bill will give America's foster
children hope, and a better chance at finding the unconditional love
they all deserve, but so few have ever known.
I thank the gentlemen for all their hard work in this legislation,
and I urge all my colleagues to vote in favor of it.
Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3182, the
Adoption Promotion Act of 2003, which continues to reward states for
their efforts to promote adoption of children in need of loving
families.
I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation as it reauthorizes
the Adoption Incentives program. This program was created as part of
the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, which was signed into law
while I was the Chairman of the Ways and Means' Human Resources
Subcommittee. This law has resulted in moving thousands of children out
of hopeless foster care situations and into loving adoptive families.
The current Adoption Incentives program rewards states that make
gains in the number of children adopted and provides additional
incentives for the adoption of foster children with special needs.
Between 1997 and 2002, adoptions increased by 64 percent, and adoptions
of children with special needs increased by 63 percent. However, more
work needs to be done to assist the 542,000 children who remain in
foster care, and the 126,000 who are eligible for adoption.
Research suggests that many older children still linger in foster
care, so we must do more to encourage states to find adoptive families
for these children. The Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 takes the
necessary steps to enhance the current incentive program, by creating a
new incentive for states that increase adoptions of children age 9 or
older. Our children do not deserve to be languishing in foster care or
living in dangerous situations. This bill will take a big step towards
righting that wrong.
I would like to commend my colleagues on the Committee on Ways and
Means, Representatives Dave Camp and Ben Cardin, for their commitment
to improving the Adoption Incentives program by the introduction of the
Adoption Promotion Act of 2003. Their work on this legislation will
assure that states continue to find safe, permanent homes for America's
children.
Mr. Speaker, it's important that we continue to reward states for
their good work in making adoptive matches and add additional incentive
for those children still waiting for a home and loving family. With
this in mind, I urge my colleagues to support America's foster children
who are waiting on adoption by voting for this important bill.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 3182.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________