Congressional Record, Volume 159 Issue 148 (Tuesday, October 22, 2013)

[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 22, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6651-H6658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

{time} 1730
PROMOTING ADOPTION AND LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP FOR CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE
ACT

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3205) to reauthorize and restructure the adoption incentives
grant program, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 3205

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 ``Promoting Adoption and Legal
Guardianship for Children in Foster Care Act''.

SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.

TITLE I--ADOPTION INCENTIVES GRANT PROGRAM

Sec. 101. Extension of program through fiscal year 2016.
Sec. 102. Improvements to award structure.
Sec. 103. Renaming of program.
Sec. 104. Limitation on use of incentive payments.
Sec. 105. Increase in period for which incentive payments are available
for expenditure.
Sec. 106. State report on calculation and use of savings resulting from
the phase-out of eligibility requirements for adoption
assistance; requirement to spend 20 percent of savings on
post-adoption services.
Sec. 107. Preservation of eligibility for kinship guardianship
assistance payments with a successor guardian.
Sec. 108. Effective dates.

TITLE II--EXTENSION OF FAMILY CONNECTION GRANT PROGRAM

Sec. 201. Extension of family connection grant program.

TITLE III--UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

Sec. 301. Improving the collection of unemployment insurance
overpayments through tax refund offset.

TITLE I--ADOPTION INCENTIVES GRANT PROGRAM

SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF PROGRAM THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 2016.

Section 473A of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673b) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ``2008 through 2012''
and inserting ``2013 through 2015''; and
(2) in each of paragraphs (1)(D) and (2) of subsection (h),
by striking ``2013'' and inserting ``2016''.

SEC. 102. IMPROVEMENTS TO AWARD STRUCTURE.

(a) Eligibility for Award.--Section 473A(b) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673b(b)) is amended by striking
paragraph (2) and redesignating paragraphs (3) through (5) as
paragraphs (2) through (4), respectively.
(b) Data Requirements.--Section 473A(c)(2) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 673b(c)(2)) is amended--
(1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``numbers of
adoptions'' and inserting ``rates of adoptions and
guardianships''; and
(2) by striking ``the numbers'' and all that follows
through ``section,'' and inserting ``each of the rates
required to be determined under this section with respect to
a State and a fiscal year,''.
(c) Award Amount.--Section 473A(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
673b(d)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``paragraphs (2) and (3)'' and inserting
``paragraph (2)''; and
(B) by striking subparagraphs (A) through (C) and inserting
the following:
``(A) $2,000, multiplied by the amount (if any) by which--
``(i) the number of foster child adoptions in the State
during the fiscal year; exceeds
``(ii) the product (rounded to the nearest whole number)
of--

``(I) the base rate of foster child adoptions for the State
for the fiscal year; and
``(II) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year;

``(B) $4,000, multiplied by the amount (if any) by which--
``(i) the number of pre-adolescent child adoptions in the
State during the fiscal year; exceeds
``(ii) the product (rounded to the nearest whole number)
of--

``(I) the base rate of pre-adolescent child adoptions for
the State for the fiscal year; and
``(II) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year who have attained 9 years of age but not 14 years
of age; and

``(C) $8,000, multiplied by the amount (if any) by which--
``(i) the number of older child adoptions in the State
during the fiscal year; exceeds
``(ii) the product (rounded to the nearest whole number)
of--

``(I) the base rate of older child adoptions for the State
for the fiscal year; and
``(II) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year who have attained 14 years of age; and

``(D) $1,000, multiplied by the amount (if any) by which--
``(i) the number of foster child guardianships in the State
during the fiscal year; exceeds
``(ii) the product (rounded to the nearest whole number)
of--

``(I) the base rate of foster child guardianships for the
State for the fiscal year; and
``(II) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year.''; and

(2) by striking paragraph (3).
(d) Definitions.--Section 473A(g) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
673b(g)) is amended by striking paragraphs (1) through (8)
and inserting the following:
``(1) Foster child adoption rate.--The term `foster child
adoption rate' means, with respect to a State and a fiscal
year, the percentage determined by dividing--
``(A) the number of foster child adoptions finalized in the
State during the fiscal year; by
``(B) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year.
``(2) Base rate of foster child adoptions.--The term `base
rate of foster child adoptions' means, with respect to a
State and a fiscal year, the lesser of--
``(A) the foster child adoption rate for the State for
fiscal year 2007; or
``(B) the foster child adoption rate for the State for the
then preceding fiscal year.
``(3) Foster child adoption.--The term `foster child
adoption' means the final adoption of a child who, at the
time of adoptive placement, was in foster care under the
supervision of the State.
``(4) Pre-adolescent child adoption rate.--The term `pre-
adolescent child adoption rate' means, with respect to a
State and a fiscal year, the percentage determined by
dividing--
``(A) the number of pre-adolescent child adoptions
finalized in the State during the fiscal year; by
``(B) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year, who have attained 9 years of age but not 14
years of age.
``(5) Base rate of pre-adolescent child adoptions.--The
term `base rate of pre-adolescent child adoptions' means,
with respect to a State and a fiscal year, the lesser of--
``(A) the pre-adolescent child adoption rate for the State
for fiscal year 2007; or
``(B) the pre-adolescent child adoption rate for the State
for the then preceding fiscal year.
``(6) Pre-adolescent child adoption.--The term `pre-
adolescent child adoption' means the final adoption of a
child who has attained 9 years of age but not 14 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

[[Page H6652]]

``(B) an adoption assistance agreement was in effect under
section 473 with respect to the child.
``(7) Older child adoption rate.--The term `older child
adoption rate' means, with respect to a State and a fiscal
year, the percentage determined by dividing--
``(A) the number of older child adoptions finalized in the
State during the fiscal year; by
``(B) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year, who have attained 14 years of age.
``(8) Base rate of older child adoptions.--The term `base
rate of older child adoptions' means, with respect to a State
and a fiscal year, the lesser of--
``(A) the older child adoption rate for the State for
fiscal year 2007; or
``(B) the older child adoption rate for the State for the
then preceding fiscal year.
``(9) Older child adoption.--The term `older child
adoption' means the final adoption of a child who has
attained 14 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.
``(10) Foster child guardianship rate.--The term `foster
child guardianship rate' means, with respect to a State and a
fiscal year, the percentage determined by dividing--
``(A) the number of foster child guardianships occurring in
the State during the fiscal year; by
``(B) the number of children in foster care under the
supervision of the State on the last day of the preceding
fiscal year.
``(11) Base rate of foster child guardianships.--The term
`base rate of foster child guardianships' means, with respect
to a State and a fiscal year, the lesser of--
``(A) the foster child guardianship rate for the State for
fiscal year 2007; or
``(B) the foster child guardianship rate for the State for
the then preceding fiscal year.
``(12) Foster child guardianship.--The term `foster child
guardianship' means, with respect to a State, the exit of a
child from foster care under the responsibility of the State
to live with a legal guardian, if the State has reported to
the Secretary--
``(A) that the State agency has determined that--
``(i) the child has been removed from his or her home
pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement or as a result of
a judicial determination to the effect that continuation in
the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child;
``(ii) being returned home or adopted are not appropriate
permanency options for the child;
``(iii) the child demonstrates a strong attachment to the
prospective legal guardian, and the prospective legal
guardian has a strong commitment to caring permanently for
the child; and
``(iv) if the child has attained 14 years of age, the child
has been consulted regarding the legal guardianship
arrangement; or
``(B) the alternative procedures used by the State to
determine that legal guardianship is the appropriate option
for the child.''.

SEC. 103. RENAMING OF PROGRAM.

(a) In General.--The section heading of section 473A of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673b) is amended to read as
follows:

``SEC. 473A. ADOPTION AND LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP INCENTIVE
PAYMENTS.''.

(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 473A of such Act is amended in each of
subsections (a), (d)(1), (d)(2)(A), and (d)(2)(B) (42 U.S.C.
673b(a), (d)(1), (d)(2)(A), and (d)(2)(B)) by inserting ``and
legal guardianship'' after ``adoption'' each place it
appears.
(2) The heading of section 473A(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
673b(d)) is amended by inserting ``and Legal Guardianship''
after ``Adoption''.

SEC. 104. LIMITATION ON USE OF INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.

Section 473A(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
673b(f)) is amended in the 1st sentence by inserting ``, and
shall use the amount to supplement, and not supplant, any
Federal or non-Federal funds used to provide any service
under part B or E'' before the period.

SEC. 105. INCREASE IN PERIOD FOR WHICH INCENTIVE PAYMENTS ARE
AVAILABLE FOR EXPENDITURE.

Section 473A(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
673b(e)) is amended--
(1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``24-month'' and
inserting ``36-month''; and
(2) by striking ``24-month'' and inserting ``36-month''.

SEC. 106. STATE REPORT ON CALCULATION AND USE OF SAVINGS
RESULTING FROM THE PHASE-OUT OF ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTION ASSISTANCE;
REQUIREMENT TO SPEND 20 PERCENT OF SAVINGS ON
POST-ADOPTION SERVICES.

Section 473(a)(8) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
673(a)(8)) is amended to read as follows:
``(8)(A) A State shall calculate the savings (if any)
resulting from the application of paragraph (2)(A)(ii) to all
applicable children for a fiscal year, using a methodology
specified by the Secretary or an alternate methodology
proposed by the State and approved by the Secretary.
``(B) A State shall annually report to the Secretary--
``(i) the methodology used to make the calculation
described in subparagraph (A), without regard to whether any
savings are found;
``(ii) the amount of any savings referred to in
subparagraph (A); and
``(iii) how any such savings are spent, accounting for and
reporting the spending separately from any other spending
reported to the Secretary under part B or E.
``(C) The Secretary shall make all information reported
pursuant to subparagraph (B) available on the website of the
Department of Health and Human Services in a location easily
accessible to the public.
``(D) A State shall spend an amount equal to the amount of
the savings (if any) in State expenditures under this part
resulting from the application of paragraph (2)(A)(ii) to all
applicable children for a fiscal year, to provide to children
of families any service that may be provided under this part
or part B, and shall spend not less than 20 percent of any
such savings on post-adoption services. Any such spending
shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, any Federal or
non-Federal funds used to provide any service under part B or
E.''.

SEC. 107. PRESERVATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR KINSHIP
GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS WITH A
SUCCESSOR GUARDIAN.

Section 473(d)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
673(d)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Eligibility not affected by replacement of guardian
with a successor guardian.--In the event of the death or
incapacity of the relative guardian, the eligibility of a
child for a kinship guardianship assistance payment under
this subsection shall not be affected by reason of the
replacement of the relative guardian with a successor legal
guardian named in the kinship guardianship assistance
agreement referred to in paragraph (1) (including in any
amendment to the agreement), notwithstanding subparagraph (A)
of this paragraph and section 471(a)(28).''.

SEC. 108. EFFECTIVE DATES.

(a) In General.--Except as otherwise provided in this
section, the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on
October 1, 2013.
(b) Restructuring and Renaming of Program.--
(1) In general.--The amendments made by sections 102 and
103 shall take effect on October 1, 2014, subject to
paragraph (2).
(2) Transition rule.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, the total amount payable to a State under section
473A of the Social Security Act for fiscal year 2014 shall be
an amount equal to \1/2\ of the sum of--
(A) the total amount that would be payable to the State
under such section for fiscal year 2014 if the amendments
made by section 102 of this Act had not taken effect; and
(B) the total amount that would be payable to the State
under such section for fiscal year 2014 in the absence of
this paragraph.
(c) Preservation of Eligibility for Kinship Guardianship
Assistance Payments With a Successor Guardian.--The amendment
made by section 107 shall take effect on the date of the
enactment of this Act.

TITLE II--EXTENSION OF FAMILY CONNECTION GRANT PROGRAM

SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF FAMILY CONNECTION GRANT PROGRAM.

Section 427(h) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
627(h)) is amended by striking ``2013'' and inserting
``2016''.

TITLE III--UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

SEC. 301. IMPROVING THE COLLECTION OF UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
OVERPAYMENTS THROUGH TAX REFUND OFFSET.

(a) In General.--Section 303 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 503) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(m) In the case of a covered unemployment compensation
debt (as defined under section 6402(f)(4) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986) that remains uncollected as of the date
that is 2 years after the date when such debt was first
incurred, the State to which such debt is owed shall take
action to recover such debt under section 6402(f) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall take effect on October 1, 2015.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Reichert) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.

General Leave

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
to include extraneous material on the subject of the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Washington?
There was no objection.
Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today to urge support for H.R. 3205, the Promoting Adoption
and Legal Guardianship for Children in Foster Care Act.

[[Page H6653]]

Obviously, I look old enough to be a grandfather, and I am a proud
grandfather of six. Two of my grandchildren are adopted grandchildren.
I was a foster grandfather. My daughter and her husband were foster
parents for a while, and they ended up finding two children that they
really wanted to include as part of their family.
These two children today are 9 and 10, and soon to be 10 and 11 here
in the next few months. They were 3 months old when they came into the
house as foster kids and now are adopted and a part of not only my
daughter and her husband's family, but a part of the entire family. The
Reichert household has been blessed with their presence, and they have
a hope for a successful future with a loving family. This is what this
bill is all about, to encourage parents across this country to adopt
foster children.
I also had the opportunity, as the sheriff in King County and as a
detective in King County, to watch from a very close view of what
foster homes looked like. As I walked into those homes as a police
officer and as a detective, I questioned how some of these places could
even be foster homes. There were foster kids running away from home and
ending up on the street and not having a place to call their own, not
having a place where they could go to have Thanksgiving, to have
Christmas, bouncing from one foster home to the next, not knowing who
to call Mom or Dad. We have got to fix that. We need to encourage
parents across this country to adopt our foster children, to give them
that opportunity.
The other good thing about this bill is it is bipartisan. In fact, I
can't think of a more important or more bipartisan topic than promoting
adoption for our children. That is why we are here today. This is an
area where both parties have worked together to improve outcomes for
children, and it has been working.
In the 10 years from 1987 through 1997, the number of children in
foster care rose dramatically, climbing from 300,000 to 537,000. That
surge in foster care caseloads is one of the reasons Congress, led by
current Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, passed the Adoption and Safe
Families Act in 1997. That law was designed to ensure more foster
children were quickly adopted when they couldn't return and live safely
with their parents.
The Adoption Incentives program, created as a part of that law, was
one key measure to encourage more adoptions of children from foster
care. In short, it rewards States if they increase the number of
children living in foster care for adoptive homes. It worked. Since the
passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act, foster care caseloads
have fallen dramatically. After peaking at 567,000 in 1999, foster care
caseloads have fallen almost 30 percent. At the same time, adoptions
from foster care increased in the late nineties and remained much
higher than before the 1997 law's passage.
Today, we are here to support H.R. 3205, the Promoting Adoption and
Legal Guardianship for Children in Foster Care, which will build upon
the successes of the Adoption Incentives program. This legislation
extends that program and improves the way we reward States that help
more children leave foster care for loving, adoptive homes.
First, it improves the formulas behind these awards to make sure that
even as foster care caseloads continue to come down, States continue to
get awards for moving children into adoptive homes.
Second, it continues to promote the type of adoptions that have
proven hardest to achieve by adding a special award for the adoption of
teenage children. We should never give up on trying to find lifelong
homes for these children, and this legislation steps up the incentives
for States to do just that.
Third, we add a new award for guardianship, which is an important
development in the child welfare world that is allowing thousands of
children to leave foster care and live safely with relatives. This bill
also requires States to focus funds on post-adoption services, which
help children and families after adoptions have been finalized.
Finally, the bill would extend for 3 years the Family Connection
Grant program that is focused on helping children in foster care
reconnect with family members. Because funding for that program needs
to be offset, we included a commonsense pay-for, which builds on a
current procedure for recovering overpayments of unemployment insurance
benefits. Under current law, States may offset Federal income tax
refunds to collect these overpayments, and two-thirds of States do that
today. This legislation would require all States to use this procedure,
which will increase overpayment recovery and results in this
legislation reducing the deficit by $24 million over the next 10 years.
As chairman of the Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee with
jurisdiction over this program, I am pleased to report that the process
behind developing this bill has been totally bipartisan and open.
First, we held a subcommittee hearing in February featuring nonpartisan
experts on adoption and child welfare. We then worked together with our
colleagues on the other side of the aisle to develop draft legislation,
which was made publicly available in early August. We then worked
together to incorporate that public feedback, improving in many ways
the legislation that Chairman Camp and I and Ranking Members Levin and
Doggett introduced on September 27.

I want to thank the subcommittee's ranking member, Mr. Doggett, who
joins me on the floor this evening, as well as Chairman Camp and
Ranking Member Levin, for their support of this legislation and for
their help throughout this development. This will move us a step
forward and closer to ensuring that more children living in the United
States live in permanent, loving homes, and receive the support they
deserve.
I invite all Members to join us in supporting this important
bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Thank you, Chairman Reichert and Chairman Camp.
Mr. Speaker, abused and neglected children in the foster care system
are among the most vulnerable children in our communities. These
children have the same needs, desires, and dreams as all young people.
They need a safe and loving home. They want and deserve the opportunity
to learn, to grow, and to fully experience life. A successful adoption
provides foster children with these necessities and gives them the
opportunity to achieve their full God-given potential.
Investing in the success of our foster children is not only good for
them; but in so many communities, it is the difference between those
young people becoming a community asset and a community liability. It
is about reducing future unemployment, homelessness, teen pregnancy,
and incarceration.
This bill contributes to our continuing efforts to address these
issues and to provide permanent homes for abused and neglected
children. I am pleased that Mr. Levin and I could work with Chairman
Camp and Chairman Reichert to develop this bipartisan legislation to
not only extend some important programs, but to make a number of
positive changes. Mr. Reichert has outlined some of these. I would add
attention to a provision that I authored to help ensure that children
don't lose assistance simply because their guardian dies.
As a longtime member of the Congressional Coalition of Adoption and a
member of the Foster Youth Caucus, I am pleased that we could take
these steps in the right direction on a bipartisan basis to help these
young people. The legislation both continues and improves the
incentives now provided to the States when they increase the rate at
which foster children, who cannot return home, find an adoptive family.
These new incentives will now be even more focused on the promotion of
adoption of older foster children, who are sometimes a bit more
difficult to place and who have found difficulty in securing a
permanent home.
Additionally, for the first time, the bill will reward States for
helping youth leave foster care to live with a permanent legal
guardian. Recognizing the importance of maintaining the link between
family and children in foster care, the legislation also extends a
relatively new, but expiring, program known as the Family Connection

[[Page H6654]]

Grants. These grants go out on a competitive basis to local
organizations and State agencies to support various approaches for
improving connections between foster families and their children,
including linking grandparents to supports and services when they
become the primary caregivers for children who would otherwise be in
foster care.
Another provision that I care about greatly is strengthening of the
requirement that adoption funding be spent on promoting adoption rather
than being diverted to other purposes. Most notably, this legislation
requires States to fully reinvest the funds into post-adoption services
and other child welfare activities when these amounts were made
available by an increase in Federal funding for adoption support.
In total, this legislation will continue the progress we have made
over the last 15 years in moving foster children into permanent homes.
In my home State of Texas, San Antonio has been viewed as a particular
model of success for adoption. Each month, Bexar County hosts an
adoption day event that allows families to complete their adoptions in
a single day. These are proceedings that have allowed children to have
shorter stays in foster care and to move more quickly into stable
homes. Judges in Bexar County understand that they are responsible for
getting children who experience abuse and neglect into a safe foster
environment and are responsible for placing that child with a permanent
family if it does not become safe for the child to return home.
These improvements in the local adoption system have been encouraged
and utilized by important local child advocates like District Judge
Peter Sakai and CASA San Antonio. They have allowed for faster and more
efficient placement of foster youth into permanent families.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this
bipartisan effort, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp), the chairman of the Ways and
Means Committee.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman of the Human
Resources Subcommittee for yielding and for his leadership on this very
important issue.
I rise in support of this legislation, which is designed to encourage
the adoption of more children from foster care.
I spent much of my career promoting adoption of children by loving
parents because every child deserves a loving and safe home. As an
attorney in private practice, I worked with parents and children in the
foster care system. Those sorts of experiences provided much of the
background for changes in landmark adoption legislation I and my
colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee crafted in 1997 called the
Adoption and Safe Families Act. That legislation streamlined the
adoption process to help more children in foster care quickly move into
permanent adoptive homes. It also for the first time offered incentives
to States to safely increase the number of children adopted from foster
care.
It worked. In the decade following that legislation, the number of
U.S. children adopted from foster care increased by 71 percent. In the
years since, adoptions have continued to remain higher even as the
foster care caseload started to decline.

{time} 1745

Overall, almost 300 children have been adopted as a result of the
increases in adoptions since 1997. One study even estimated that the
Federal Government saved $1 billion over 8 years by ensuring children
were adopted instead of remaining in foster care.
That is the successful incentive program this legislation extends and
updates. We add a new award for States that increase adoptions of older
children, who are the hardest to adopt and have the worst outcomes if
they ``emancipate'' from foster care without a family to call their
own. We also add a new award for increases in guardianship, when family
members step up to care for their nieces and nephews, grandsons and
granddaughters. And this bill ensures States maintain their commitment
to post-adoption and related services so that children may truly have a
family forever.
I note that this legislation is fully paid for by a simple and real
reform requiring States to reduce Federal income tax refunds when
someone wrongly gets an overpayment for unemployment benefits. Those
savings not only cover the cost of this legislation, but reduce the
deficit by $24 million over the next 10 years. That is a win-win for
children, for families, and for taxpayers alike.
The bottom line is this: children in foster care deserve a place to
call home, not just for a few months or years, but for good. We have
already seen great progress in increasing adoptions since the Adoption
Incentives program was created in 1997, and it is our hope that we can
continue this progress with this bill.
I thank my colleagues who joined me in introducing this legislation:
Mr. Levin of Michigan, Mr. Reichert of Washington State, and Mr.
Doggett of Texas. They are all leaders on this issue in the committee
and this House, and I value their help in developing and advancing this
legislation.
I would also like to recognize the public comment we received in
crafting this bill. A draft bill was posted on the Ways and Means
Committee Web site in August, and the public was given a month to
provide their thoughts on how to ensure more children are adopted. The
bill we are considering today incorporates many of those suggestions,
and we are grateful for the public's comments and their participation
in this process.
I encourage all of my colleagues to join us in supporting this bill
in the House, and I hope the Senate will act as soon as they can so we
can continue to move even more children from foster care into
permanent, loving homes.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, surely no Member of the House has expressed
more interest in this subject than the founder of the Foster Youth
Caucus, our colleague from California (Ms. Bass), to whom I yield 3
minutes.
Ms. BASS. Thank you, Ranking Member Doggett.
I rise today in support of the Promoting Adoption and Legal
Guardianship for Children in Foster Care Act.
First, I would like to commend Chairman Camp and Chairman Reichert
and Ranking Members Levin and Doggett for their great work on this
legislation and their ongoing commitment to our Nation's foster youth.
As the cochair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth and the
Congressional Caucus on Adoption, I sincerely appreciate your
leadership and partnership on this issue.
Since 1997, when the Adoption Incentives legislation became law, we
have seen a significant reduction of the number of kids in foster care
and, more importantly, an increased number of kids in forever families;
yet there are still over 400,000 children in our Nation's child welfare
system, many awaiting the stability and love of a permanent family.
Unfortunately, studies show that foster youth, especially those who
``age out,'' are much more likely to experience poverty, unemployment,
homelessness, incarceration, and compromised health after they leave
foster care. Each year, nearly 30,000 teenagers age out of foster care
without a permanent family. We know that this is unfair and
unacceptable. We must strengthen policies that help to find forever
families for our Nation's foster children, especially our older youth.
I would like to focus my remarks on one of the noteworthy aspects of
the bill--the enhanced support for legal guardianship. By making this
investment, we will ultimately help more kids find permanent families,
often with relatives.
Today's foster care system looks much different than the child
welfare system of previous decades. While children continue to be
placed in foster homes with strangers or in group homes, more than half
are placed with a relative caregiver, a grandmother, aunt, uncle, or
older sibling. In fact, in my district in Los Angeles, relative
caregivers are the largest foster care providers. Research shows that
foster placement with relatives is good for children. They often allow
children to stay in their schools, receive continued support from their
community and culture, and feel connected to families that continue to
love them.

[[Page H6655]]

Despite the importance of relative caregivers, they face unique
obstacles. Becoming a caregiver changes lives in every way--physically,
emotionally, and financially. Stable middle class families or seniors
who live on their life savings are often pushed to the brink of poverty
because they have accepted the unexpected financial burden of caring
for a child. As a Nation, we should take the extra steps needed to
support family members that heroically step up to care for children in
times of need.
Additionally, I strongly support the Family Connection Grants
reauthorized in this bill. These grants help to strengthen families,
support kinship care, and prevent youth from entering or reentering
foster care.
Before my time in elected office, I was honored to advocate for
kinship and guardianship resources alongside relative caregivers at the
Community Coalition's Kinship in Action program. Today, I am greatly
encouraged that the bill before us encourages permanent families of all
kinds, supporting both adoption and guardianship throughout the Nation.
I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bipartisan legislation.
Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Indiana (Mr. Young), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means
Committee.
Mr. YOUNG of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, nearly 3,000 Hoosier children are
currently eligible for adoption while living in foster care. Now, I
know all of us can agree that these children and the over 100,000
children in the United States eligible for adoption deserve a stable,
permanent, and loving home. While there is no doubt our foster care
programs provide an essential service, I strongly believe, as a proud
father of four young children and as someone who used to provide free
legal services to those wanting to adopt, that there can be no
substitute for the care a loving family can provide.
Whether it is living with a family member or being adopted into a new
family, we must do everything in our powers to see that children
everywhere receive the best upbringing possible. This legislation
represents a step forward in finding these children caring and
supportive homes. By extending the Adoption Incentives program, we
effectively encourage and incentivize States to help adopt more
children out of foster care so these children can lead happy, healthy,
and successful lives.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
(Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend
her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the managers of this bill, the
gentleman from Washington and the gentleman from Texas, my colleague
from, we would say on the floor, the great State of Texas.
This is a very important measure that I have had an opportunity to
engage in. A couple of years back--I would say more years than I would
like to remember--former Congressman Mike Andrews and myself were
cochairs of the Foster Grandparents Program in Houston, and it drew me
to the importance of both foster care and adoption.
I have also spent some time with Senator Mary Landrieu, who, as many
know, is a very strong advocate of the idea of adoption and legal
guardianship for children in foster care.
One of the new phenomenons that we are seeing more and more is the
phenomenon of aging out for foster care children; and so I rise today
to support H.R. 3205 and compliment the cochairs of the Foster Care
Caucus, of which I am a member, Congresswoman Bass and cochair Marino,
and really ask my colleagues to support this important initiative. I am
very proud to cosponsor this legislation; and as a cochair and founder
of the Congressional Childrens Caucus, now almost 20 years, I would
like to say I strongly support it.
The more times that we can say something positive about children in a
bipartisan way on the floor of the House, the more of a national
statement and commitment is seen by those who are in the various venues
in our States and county government and city government who work every
day to protect our children. Foster care serves our children and
families in a temporary placement by providing suitable, permanent
living. Most children are placed in foster care temporarily due to
parental abuse and neglect.
In Harris County, my county in Texas, 2,388 children were taken into
protective custody in 2011. The average number of children in foster
care each month in Harris County is 5,300. 2,440 children in Child
Protective Service custody were placed in permanent living in Harris
County in 2011.
This is the right direction to go. As of September 30, 2012, 1,740
children in the Houston region are still waiting to be adopted; and, on
average, children stay in the system for almost 3 years before either
being reunited with their families or adopted.
What a wonderful statement to know that there are families or adults
that love you. Many times, those adoptions are amongst family members.
Many times, the grandparents take the children. Let's thank them,
because that was the program I was involved in, to give R and R, rest,
to the grandparents who foster care for many, many children.
Frequent moves, different schools, our children need loving care.
They need stability. Many times these foster parents provide that kind
of stability. Many foster children have been separated not only from
their parents, but from their siblings, and this can be very
detrimental socially, emotionally, and psychologically.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. DOGGETT. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. So this legislation, which reauthorizes and
restructures the Adoption Incentives Grant Program, will help enhance,
cultivate, and advance the foster care system by making it a program
that is beneficial.
Mr. Speaker, I was not able to come to the floor for H.R. 2083. I
also, as a cochair of the Congressional Childrens Caucus, focusing on
the abuse of children, want to salute and support the Protecting
Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act and ask this floor to
support both of these initiatives, because when we speak for children,
we speak for America.
I hope that we will also see, soon, antibullying and prevention
legislation on the floor, Mr. Speaker, to make that public statement.
I thank the gentleman for his yielding, and I want to salute Little
Audrey's in Houston for the work they have done for the children in
Houston, Texas. Thank you, Alma, very much for the work you have done.
Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Congressional Adoption and Foster
Care Caucuses and as Chair of the Congressional Childrens Caucus, I
rise in strong support of H.R. 3205, the ``Promoting Adoption and Legal
Guardianship for Children in Foster Care Act.''
I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this bill because it promotes
adoption, protects children and provides grant funding for the foster
care system.
Foster care serves our children and families as a temporary placement
until a suitable permanent living arrangement is made that best fits
the child.
Most children are placed in foster care temporarily due to parental
abuse or neglect. In Harris County, 2,388 children were taken into
protective custody in 2011. The average number of children in foster
care each month in Harris County is 5,300.
In addition, 2,440 children in Children's Protective Service (CPS)
custody were placed in a permanent living arrangement in Harris County
in 2011. With court approval, 28.3 percent of the children were
returned to their own families, 26.5 percent were placed with
relatives, and 34.4 percent were placed in adoptive homes.
As of September 31, 2012, 1,740 children in the Houston Region are
still waiting to be adopted (1,503 in Harris County).
On average, children stay in the system for almost three years before
either being reunited with their families or adopted. Children have on
average three different foster care placements.
Frequent moves in and out of the homes of strangers can be profoundly
unsettling and quite difficult for children, and it is not uncommon to
hear of children who have been in 20 or 30 different homes during their
time in foster care.
Many foster children have been separated not only from their parents,
but from their siblings, which can be very detrimental to a child
socially, emotionally and psychologically.
Many children in foster care unfortunately have to undergo multiple
placement changes several times while in foster care due to a wide
range of factors such as licensing standards violations, court rulings,
behavioral

[[Page H6656]]

issues, or changes in the foster home or facility.
In my home city of Houston, CPS does a remarkable job increase in
providing placement options that will better match the needs of each
individual child that goes through the foster care system.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3205 reauthorizes and restructures the adoption
incentives grant program. These grant funds will help enhance,
cultivate, and advance the foster care system by making it a program
that is beneficial while effectively serving children. These resources
will give children in foster care the opportunity to flourish in
whatever living placement they are given.
Adoption is more than just a legal process, it is an emotional,
social and psychological process in which children who have been
removed from their biological parents become full and permanent legal
members of another family. Adoption has many facets and touches people
in different ways.
This bill promotes adoption and will help ensure that people who are
willing and able to serve will have the necessary information and means
to become legal guardians of foster children in need of placement.
Mr. Speaker, children are our hope for a better tomorrow, but it is
up to us to promote adoption so that children may have legal guardians
who will properly care for them and help them know the joy and security
that comes with being a member of a loving family.
For these reasons, I strongly support H.R. 3205. I urge my colleagues
to join me in support of this important legislation.
Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, hopefully the Senate will respond to our
strong show of bipartisan support by moving this legislation this year.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I will insert in the Record letters of
support for this legislation from Christian Heritage, Center for Family
Finding and Youth Connectedness, Seneca Family of Agencies, The
Donaldson Adoption Institute, Hillside Family of Agencies, and Voice
for Adoption.
I want to echo the words of Mr. Doggett. I hope the Senate does act
on this.
There are three things that I would like to just highlight as we wrap
up this evening's discussion on foster care, three things that this
bill does: one, it cuts the deficit; two, amazingly, in this time of
partisanship, this is a true bipartisan moment that we all ought to
stop, pause, and take recognition of.
This is about children. It cuts the deficit, and this is one that we
can all come together and support. Why? Because it is for our kids. It
is for the kids across America who need a home.
I mentioned two of my grandchildren who are foster children, were
foster children, are now adopted, but they were even more special. They
were drug-addicted babies, crack cocaine, heroin, and meth, and these
kids today have a home.
As a grandparent, standing on the sidelines of a soccer game watching
Emma and Briar play soccer, knowing where they came from, the moms
lived on the streets, drug-addicted moms, these kids have hope. They
have a future. When the game is over, they run to the sidelines and
they yell, ``Papa.'' It is the greatest feeling in the world.
We owe that kind of life to every foster child.
I yield back the balance of my time.

Christian Heritage,

September 30, 2013.
Chairman Dave Camp,
House of Representatives,
Washington DC.
Dear Chairman Camp: I am writing in support of the
Fostering Connections Grants that support Family Finding
research and the Adoptions Incentives program.
Kevin Campbell, founder of Family Finding; the State of
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services; and
Christian Heritage, a nonprofit, faith-based organization,
have been working together in a collaborative effort to find
permanency for children who have been languishing in
Nebraska's foster care system.
The principles of Family Finding are: 1. Every child has a
family and they CAN be found, 2. Loneliness can be
devastating, even dangerous, and is experienced by most
children, 3. A meaningful connection to family helps a child
develop a sense of belonging. and 4. The single factor most
closely associated with positive outcomes for children is
meaningful, lifelong connections to family.
Mr. Campbell began working with the Nebraska Department of
Health and Human Services and Christian Heritage in April of
this year. We have already learned the following: 1. Families
for Nebraska's children in foster care are larger than we had
initially believed. 2. More family members are willing to
offer relationships of support than previously believed. 3.
More fathers are willing to come forward and offer support to
their children than originally anticipated, and 4. Family
members have been willing to make offers of legal permanency
EVEN for youth with the most complex needs.
How effective are the Family Finding services in Nebraska?
To date, 100 percent of the children whose cases have
completed Phase Three (of six phases) now have a Lifetime
Network of Unconditional Support consisting of five or more
family members, and 82 percent of the children who have
completed Phase Three have at least one person identified who
is willing to provide permanency. This program is
tremendously successful and we urge your support of continued
funding for the Fostering Connections grants
Respectfully yours,
Gregg Nicklas,
Co-CEO.
____

Family Finding,

Oakland, CA, September 30, 2013.
Ways and Means Committee Office,
Longworth House Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Dave Camp and Honorable Members of the
Committee on Ways and Means: I am writing to lend my support
to the Promoting Adoption and Legal Guardianship for Children
in Foster Care Act, which would reauthorize the existing
program as well as provide more resources and flexibility for
states working toward improved permanency for children in the
foster care system.
As I outlined in my recommendations to the United States
Senate Committee on Finance in April, the Adoption Incentive
Grants and other fiscal rewards have clearly increased the
number of adoptions from and reduced the number of children
in foster care. This suggests that incentives made available
to states that reward results have significant impact. A
focus on adoption rates will incentivize states to work
toward adoptions and legal guardianships in an environment of
declining foster care caseloads.
Extending the Family Connection Grants is also a critical
component of the Act. Family Connections Grants are currently
supporting the development of innovative practice models
which incorporate Family Finding with trauma-informed
practices--models that attend to grief and the multiple
losses that children experience by entering and remaining in
care, and other key family involvement strategies such as
Family Group Decision Making and Safety Organized Practice--
to better serve children in foster care. These investments
serve as incubators which promote innovation and are
necessary to advance practice, as current funding does not
allow for or support such experiments. As Brian Samuels,
Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and
Families, stated, two of the primary keys to attaining
safety, permanence and well-being for children and youth in
foster care are the promotion of healthy relationships and
the prioritization of kinship care. The Family Finding
approach squarely targets and successfully achieves these
goals.
In my work across the county providing training,
consultation, and technical assistance to local child welfare
agencies, statewide child welfare entities, and private, non-
profit organizations, I am convinced that there is urgent
need to continue to invest in innovations in practice that
respond to the continued growth in the presence of older
adolescents in the out-of-home care system as well as the
increase in the number of youth aging out of care.
Significant progress in learning has come about through the
original discretionary grants, This is not the time to stop
our efforts on behalf of these youth and families.
Thank you for considering reauthorizing the Promoting
Adoption and Legal Guardianship for Children in Foster Care
Act. Every day that a child is in care is a crisis for that
child, and legislative efforts that work toward reducing
length of time in care, improving adoption and legal
guardianship rates, and connecting children and youth to
family members are of utmost importance.
Sincerely,

Kevin A. Campbell,

Founder, Center for Family
Finding and Youth Permanency.
____

Seneca,

[[Page H6657]]

environments and relationships that promote their healing
from histories of dramatic trauma and loss. Each year our
agency serves thousands of children and families, with the
mission to help children and families succeed through their
most difficult times.
As our agency and both state and federal policy have
evolved, our practice of unconditional care has grown to
include many of the services that are supported with the
Promoting Adoption and Guardianship for Children in Foster
Care Act, including post-adoption support services and Family
Finding efforts. Most recently, our agency has been the
recipient of a federal Family Connections Grant to provide
integrated Family Finding and Family Group Decision Making
services in collaboration with the San Francisco Human
Service Agency. This grant has been an integral component of
efforts to further promote stable and permanent placements of
youth with parents and relatives system-wide. Still in the
early stages of implementation, the project has already
elicited important lessons on how to effectively embed
permanency-focused services within large public systems of
care. These lessons have influenced practice within our
agency and San Francisco County more broadly. Dissemination
of this information to the national human service community
has already begun. Projects funded by the Family Connections
grants, such as these, have important potential to test
innovative practices and influence the national community
with practices that promote permanency and youth wellbeing.
We appreciate the value the Committee on Ways and Means has
placed on supporting the wellbeing and stability of foster
youth. The Promoting Adoption and Guardianship for Children
in Foster Care Act encourages the alignment of resources with
widely embraced values and goals that every child deserves to
be loved and cared for by safe and stable families and we are
pleased to offer our support of this important bill.
Sincerely,

Ken Berrick,

CEO/President,
Seneca Family of Agencies.
____

The Donaldson Adoption Institute,

New York, NY, September 30, 2013.
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Members of the Committee on Ways and Means: The
Donaldson Adoption Institute is delighted to support the
Promoting Adoption and Legal Guardianship for Children in
Foster Care Act (H.R. 3205). The Adoption Institute is an
independent, nonpartisan policy and education nonprofit
organization that conducts research and analysis in order to
improve federal and state adoption-related laws, policies and
practices. Our ``Keeping the Promise'' initiative, for
instance, aims to expand an essential tool to enable children
in foster care to join, and remain in, permanent, safe and
loving families: adoption support and preservation services.
The Adoption Institute is pleased that H.R. 3205
reauthorizes the Adoption Incentives program through FY2016,
restructures awards to incentivize increasing adoptions of
pre-adolescent and older children, and establishes a new
award for increases in the rate of children leaving foster
care for legal guardianship. We also applaud the mandate that
states report savings resulting from the adoption assistance-
income eligibility de-link and reinvestments in child
welfare, as well as spend a minimum of 20 percent of savings
on post-adoption services for children adopted from care.
We appreciate the Committee's bipartisan efforts,
solicitation of expert testimony, and consideration of
comments on the August draft proposal that it notes
``informed several changes made to the bipartisan legislation
introduced.'' We also are glad to see that the House schedule
indicates that the Promoting Adoption and Legal Guardianship
for Children in Foster Care Act may be considered this week
on the House Floor.
We are communicating the Institute's support of H.R. 3205
to our stakeholders and asking them to contact their Members
for their support as well.
Thank you for your leadership; it is truly a testament to
the Committee's commitment to the over 100,000 children still
waiting in temporary care for permanent families. Please feel
free to contact us if you would like additional information.
Sincerely,

Adam Pertman,

Executive Director,
Donaldson Adoption Institute.

Ruth McRoy,

Board Member,
Senior Research Fellow.
____

Hillside,

Rochester, NY, October 7, 2013.
Hon. Dave Camp, Chairman,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Hon. Sander Levin, Ranking Member,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Hon. Dave Reichert, Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Hon. Lloyd Doggett, Ranking Member,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Representatives Camp, Levin, Reichert, Doggett:
Hillside Family of Agencies is pleased to extend our support
and appreciation to members of the Ways and Means Committee
for your recent bipartisan bill, the Promoting Adoption and
Legal Guardianship for Children in Foster Care Act (H.R.
3205). Thank you for your joint effort to reauthorize and
improve the federal Adoption Incentives Program. The
Committee has a long history of bipartisan leadership on
child welfare issues and we commend you for your continued
work on behalf of vulnerable children and families.
Hillside Family of Agencies is a leading provider of child
welfare, mental health, youth development, juvenile justice,
special education, and developmental disabilities services,
including more than 120 services to children and families at
more than 40 locations across Western and Central New York
and in Prince George's County, Maryland.
In the United States today, more than 102,000 children in
foster care are waiting to be adopted. At the same time,
thousands of families across the country are willing to open
their hearts and homes to adopt children from the child
welfare system. Hillside Family of Agencies works to bring
children and families together through our Adoption and
Family Finding efforts. We operate under the philosophy that
all children deserve permanency and that each child has the
right and potential to have a safe, loving, forever family.
We are committed to building collaborative relationships with
families, professionals, and communities to create a sense of
urgency in providing permanence so that every child is able
to know and grow within a family of their own.
The long term success of families who adopt this nation's
waiting children is dependent upon their ability to meet the
needs of those who have experienced prior abuse and/or
neglect. Families must have access to community resources
that enable them to meet the significant emotional and
behavioral challenges that children who have suffered from
early and repeated trauma often bring to their families. For
this reason, Hillside Family of Agencies has been a strong
advocate for increased investments into permanency efforts
children and youth in foster care, and for accessible,
comprehensive post adoption services for all adoptive
families. We have had considerable experience and success in
finding adoptive families for children in foster care and in
supporting those families when funding is available for post
adoption services.
Hillside Family of Agencies is especially grateful for the
Committee's recent actions to: Reauthorize the program and
include a greater emphasis on adoption rate increases;
Establish a greater incentive for states who increase
permanency for older youth in foster care; Establish, for the
first time, an incentive for increased guardianship
placements; Require HHS and states to calculate savings from
the Title IV-E adoption assistance ``de-link,'' resulting
from the Fostering Connections Act of 2008; Require not less
than 20 percent of states adoption assistance ``de-link''
savings be invested into post adoption services; Extension of
the Family Connection Grants.
We appreciate the process that the Committee undertook over
the past several months to identify potential areas of
improvement, both through the holding of oversight hearings
and the solicitation of public feedback on the draft proposal
that was shared in August 2013. We applaud your work to
incorporate improvements suggested by thoughtful and
concerned stakeholders.
Adoption is permanent, irrevocable, and lifelong. Hillside
Family of Agencies is committed to supporting families and
keeping them intact throughout their lifetimes. On behalf of
the children and families we serve, we thank you.
Sincerely,

Dennis Richardson,

President and CEO,
Hillside Family of Agencies.
____

Voice for Adoption,

Washington, DC, September 30, 2013.
Hon. Dave Camp, Chairman,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Dave Reichert, Chairman,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Sander Levin, Ranking Member,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Lloyd Doggett, Ranking Member,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representatives Camp, Levin, Reichert, Doggett: Voice
for Adoption (VFA) is pleased to extend our support and
appreciation to members of the Ways and Means Committee for
your recent bipartisan bill, the Promoting Adoption and Legal
Guardianship for Children in Foster Care Act (H.R. 3205).
Thank you for your joint effort to reauthorize and improve
the federal Adoption Incentives Program. This Committee has a
long history of bipartisan leadership on child welfare issues
and we commend you for your continued work on behalf of
vulnerable children and families.
VFA is an advocacy organization whose mission is to raise
awareness of the needs of the 102,000 children in foster care
who are waiting to be adopted and the families that adopt
from public child welfare. We believe that every child
deserves a family; as a nation we must ensure that children's
safety and permanency is always paramount. Secondly, we must
ensure that families who commit to loving and raising
children who have experienced prior abuse and/or neglect are
equipped to meet the significant emotional and behavioral
needs that their children can sometimes present. For these
reasons, VFA has been a strong advocate for

[[Page H6658]]

both, increased investments into permanency--especially for
the longest waiting children and older youth in foster care--
and for greater post-adoption services.
VFA's members are especially grateful for the Committees
recent actions to: Reauthorize the program and include a
greater emphasis on adoption rate increases; Establish a
greater incentive for states who increase permanency for
older youth in foster care; Establish, for the first time, an
incentive for increased guardianship placements; Require HHS
and states to calculate savings resulting from the title IV-E
adoption assistance ``de-link'', resulting from the Fostering
Connections Act of 2008; Require not less than 20 percent of
states adoption assistance ``de-link'' savings be invested
into post-adoption services; Extension of the Family
Connections Grants.
We would also like to thank you for the process that the
Committee took over the past several months to hear about
ways that this program could be improved, both through
holding oversight hearings and soliciting public feedback on
the draft proposal that was shared in August 2013. We applaud
your work to incorporate improvements suggested by
stakeholders and we look forward to working with you going
forward.
Sincerely,
Nicole Dobbins,
Executive Director.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Reichert) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3205.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

____________________