New Study Shows State Lawmakers Active on Foster Care Adoption; Yet Raises Doubts About Whether Barriers to Adoption Are Being Adequately Addressed

A study released on November 16, 2006, shows that between January 2002 and June 2006, legislatures have been active on foster care adoption issues; however, many states have not introduced legislation to address identified barriers to foster care adoption. While states may have taken non-legislative actions to address barriers, the study raises questions about whether states are considering all available actions to move children out of foster care and into permanent families.

Trends in U.S. Foster Care Adoption Legislation: A State by State Analysis is the first research report to provide an in-depth, 50-state analysis of legislative trends on foster care adoption. The study, conducted by the Urban Institute in partnership with the National Conference of State Legislatures, and commissioned by the National Adoption Day Coalition, was released in recognition of National Adoption Day – Saturday, November 18.

“We are pleased that lawmakers are paying attention to foster care adoption but ask them to work more closely with experts to ensure that their efforts are addressing the most pressing needs in each state,” said Rita Soronen, Executive Director of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. “Every year on National Adoption Day, we help connect thousands of children with permanent families in almost every state across the country, and we are calling on legislators to become active partners in the effort by ensuring that the state agencies, the social workers and adoptive families receive the critical supports they need.”

According to the report, between January 2002 and June 2006 state lawmakers introduced 1,000 bills on foster care adoption issues, with one in four bills being passed. During that time, every state introduced at least one bill addressing foster care adoption, and at least 39 states introduced legislation that addressed issues related to key stages of the adoption process.

While the report shows promising legislative activity throughout the stages of the adoption process, only a small percentage of the states that identified specific barriers to adoption have introduced legislation to address them. For example, only about 20 percent of the states that identified barriers in the areas of adoption recruitment and approving adoptive homes introduced legislation to address them.

Resources
For more information on National Adoption Day and to access a copy of Trends in U.S. Foster Care Adoption Legislation: A State by State Analysis, please visit the National Adoption Day Web site (www.nationaladoptionday.org) or the Urban Institute Web site (www.urban.org). To download the full National Adoption Day press release, click here.

About National Adoption Day
Every year, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the National Adoption Day Coalition sponsors National Adoption Day to finalize the adoptions of thousands of children in foster care and to celebrate all families that adopt. On National Adoption Day 2006 – Saturday, November 18 – hundreds of courts and communities across the nation will come together to finalize thousands of adoptions of children from foster care. The day brings together hundreds of judges, attorneys, adoption agencies, adoption professionals and child advocates who are dedicated to creating forever families for waiting children.

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