First National Report on Foster Care Adoption Released
Foster Care Adoption in the United States: A State by State Analysis of Barriers & Promising Approaches provides a complete picture of the adoption of foster children in the United States. Casey Family Services and the other six Adoption Day Coalition partners commissioned the Urban Institute to conduct this groundbreaking analysis as part of the 2004 celebration of National Adoption Day.
The report identified common barriers to foster care adoption such as the complexity of the process, difficulties terminating parental rights and the challenge of recruiting adoptive homes. Promising effort to improve foster care adoption - including child welfare case management and permanency hearings - were also described.
Based on the research, the National Adoption Day Coalition made five key recommendations that are included in the report. These recommendations are to:
- direct future adoption opportunities grants toward addressing identified barriers;
- use national child welfare resource centers to provide technical assistance;
- focus attention on coordination between the child welfare agencies and the courts;
- ensure workforce issues have a place on the agenda for improvement; and
- encourage peer-to-peer learning.
The report received extensive coverage. Stories about National Adoption Day and Foster Care Adoption in the United States appeared in The New York Times, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press and National Public Radio.
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