In 2001, the U.S. Congress passed a bill that increased the tax credit for adoption from $5,000 to $10,000. This credit has been adjusted several times for inflation and now stands at $12,170. But the original bill is set to expire at the end of this year, and the credit will return to 2001 levels.

With the average domestic adoption costing $20,000 to $25,000 and international adoption costing $25,000 to $45,000 this tax credit makes it possible for many couples to adopt. Without it some couples simply would not be able to afford adoption. ...

A bill called the Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act was introduced in 2009 to make the tax credit from the Reconciliation Act a permanent benefit. It is still in the first steps of the legislative process and has not yet reached the House or Senate. [Source: Christa Singleton, Associated Content, March 21]

Labels: adoption_costs, legislation

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A member of the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a bill that would limit federal funding to states whose adoption or foster care rules discriminate on the basis of marital status or sexual orientation.

An Oct. 19 Washington Blade article by Chris Johnson provided the following details about the efforts of U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.):

Stark said in an interview that he introduced the legislation, H.R. 3827, in part because thousands of children each year "age out" of the child welfare system without finding homes.

"We got 25,000 kids a year maturing out of the welfare system without permanent foster care or adoptive care, and the prospects of those children having a successful adult life are diminished greatly," he said. "These are kids who end up in the criminal justice system, or end up homeless."

States with explicit restrictions on adoption that the pending legislation would affect are Utah, Florida, Arkansas, Nebraska and Mississippi. Florida, for example, has a statute specifically prohibiting gays from adopting, and in Arkansas, voters last year approved Act 1, which prevents unmarried co-habitating couples, including same-sex partners, from adopting children.

The legislation, Stark said, also would restrict funds for states where restrictions are put in place by agencies, individual social workers or judges, or where restrictions are part of the common law of the state.

Labels: legislation, adoption rights, same-sex couples

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The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would provide paid parental leave for up to four weeks for either the birth or adoption of a child.

A similar bill was also passed by the House last year, but died in the Senate. However, a June 9 article on the Government Executive website indicates that the Senate may be more likely to pass a parental leave bill this year:

Proponents of the current bill said the political climate in 2009 is more favorable to passage because of Democratic control of Congress, and a president who co-sponsored similar legislation as a senator. "It's going to really help our chances in the Senate," said Randy Erwin, legislative director for the National Federation of Federal Employees.

Though the bill is not yet on the Senate calendar, Government Executive writer Alex M. Parker reported that a companion bill has been put before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs federal workforce subcommittee.

Labels: adoptive parents, legislation

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In a May 15 article on the Advocate website, Julie Bolcer reported on an effort by Louisiana legislators to ban adoptions by gay and lesbian couples:

The Louisiana house voted overwhelmingly [May 12] to pass a bill that would prohibit the issuance of birth certificates that list the names of two unmarried parents who adopt a Louisiana-born child in another state.

The legislation, which passed by a vote of 77-18, stems from a December ruling in which U.S. district judge Jay Zainey sided with two California men seeking a joint birth certificate for the Shreveport-born child they adopted in New York in 2006.

Though the Louisiana effort is designed to outlaw adoption by gay adults, Bolcer notes that, as currently written, the legislation may not accomplish what its supporters intended.

"Single adults and married couples would qualify as adoptive parents, but unmarried couples would not, regardless of their sexual orientation," she wrote. "Presumably, single gay people could still adopt."

Labels: legislation, adoption rights, same-sex couples

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An adoption bill that had already passed in the Kansas state House has now been endorsed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and will be sent to the full Senate for a vote. The bill amends adoption agency requirements.

"The bill says anybody advertising about dealing in adoptions must include whether they are licensed and if so, in what profession and who issued the license. The bill also says people can't promise a pregnant woman such things as child placement through adoption for using their services."

Though these kinds of issues have not been widespread in Kansas, they do occur. If the measure is passed, Kansas will join 17 other states that have similar laws.

Labels: legislation, adoption_laws, adoption_agencies

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Nebraska enacted a safe haven law that took effect on July 18th, and in so doing became the final state to implement such a law.

"Passed in February by the state's nonpartisan Legislature, the law specifies that no person can be prosecuted for leaving any child in the custody of any on-duty hospital employee."

What makes Nebraska's law unique is that it defines a "child" as anyone 19 years old or younger. The unusual amendment was passed because opposing legislators felt the risk to babies far outweighed the likelihood that someone would drop off a teenager. Source: InfoZine

Labels: legislation, safe-haven, safe_houses

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Since 1997, when the Adoption and Safe Families Act was passed, the adoption of foster care children has increased from 31,000 to 51,000 per year. While the adoption of special needs children is encouraged, financial subsidies are only available to adoptive parents if the child's biological parents qualified for welfare. Senator Susan Collins from Maine would like to change that.

"I am a cosponsor of the bipartisan Adoption Equality Act introduced by Senator Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., to correct this situation and ensure that no child adopted from foster care is denied federal support strictly on the basis of the birth family's income."

The Adoption Equality Act would also require states to reinvest surplus foster care dollars back into child abuse and neglect programs. Source: Seacoast Online

Labels: legislation, special_needs, financial_assistance

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Fort was already a teenager when he moved from Tanzania to Iowa. Though the adjustment was hard, he has managed to learn to speak English almost fluently and now looks like a typical American teen. But his life in America isn't secure.

"[Robin] Barber officially adopted Fort in Tanzania last summer and in Iowa in December, only to learn that at 17 he's too old to become a U.S. citizen as her son. And his student visa expires next month."

Barber and the rest of her family aren't sure how to resolve their situation, which is the result of what she calls "really poor advice." She has appealed to Iowa senators to write a law specific to Fort's case, but they're hesitant. Fort's biological family already approved the adoption, which Barber hopes will work in her - and her new son's - favor. Source: The Leaf Chronicle

Labels: legislation, citizenship, adoption_rights

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Legislators in Connecticut have been presented with a bill that would change disclosure laws related to adoption. The bill would give adult adoptees the option of obtaining their original birth certificate.

"It also would allow birth parents to designate whether they eventually want to be contacted by the child, an intermediary or not at all."

A similar bill was vetoed two years ago by the state's governor, who feared the bill could potentially violate privacy rights of birth parents. Read more at WWLP.com.

Labels: legislation, birth_parents, adoption_rights

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The sponsor of the bill says it's a common-sense measure to help children of single parents. Focus on the Family says the bill is a back-door effort to legalize adoption by gay couples. Read more online.

Labels: legislation, adoption rights, parents

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Senate bill 140 has recently been passed by the House Health and Welfare committee, and will go to the full House for consideration. It is a revised version of Senate bill 141.

"In the revised legislation, [Kentucky State Rep. Tom] Burch calls for a panel of top state child-protection officials to carefully review every recommendation to terminate parental rights before that recommendation is sent to a judge."

The bill addresses concerns that child in foster care are too quickly removed from their homes and parental rights are too quickly terminated.

Read more online.

Labels: legislation, foster_care

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