Fostering Connections Act |
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (PL 110-351) is the first comprehensive, federal landmark legislation with far-reaching implications for children and youth in foster care since the passage of the Adoptions and Safe Families Act in 1997. Signed on October 7, 2008, the Act increases the likelihood that permanence and equity will be achieved for more vulnerable children and youth by promoting family connections and child well-being. The Act offers states the option of subsidizing kinship care placements through Title IV-E, makes grant funds available to help connect families, and extends foster care benefits beyond age 18 for older youth in care. Among others, it mandates provisions for the placement of siblings, for the preservation of educational stability for young people, and for health plan oversight and coordination.
Casey Family Services has led implementation efforts for the Fostering Connections Act in several of its states. In Connecticut, it cosponsored the first educational stability forum in December 2008 to facilitate a dialogue between the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Education. In Vermont, it cosponsored, along with Voices for Vermont’s Children and the Department of Children and Families, a legislative luncheon in April 2009 that focused on supports for relative-caregiver families as provided by the Act.
Learn More
- Download “New Help for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives: Questions and Answers About the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008” (PDF), a document prepared by a number of collaborating organizations, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation/Casey Family Services.
- Download a presentation on the Fostering Connections to Success Act (PDF) prepared in February 2009 by policy staff at Casey Family Services.
- Review materials from a forum on educational stability in Connecticut from December 2008.
- View information on the child welfare policy luncheon held in Vermont in April 2009 to promote the Fostering Connections Act.