Adoption & Foster Care

Adoption subsidies are perhaps the single most powerful tool by which the child welfare system can encourage adoption and support adoptive families. The federal Adoption Assistance Program was created by Congress in 1980 to ensure that families adopting foster children with special needs could do so without reducing or exhausting their resources.

Prepared by: Barbara Dalberth, Deborah Gibbs, and Nancy Berkman RTI International RTI Project Number 07578.006

Contents Research Questions and Methods Key Findings Foster homes are a critical resource within the child welfare system, with more than 260,000 children in non-relative foster care at the end of FY 2001.

Background Adoption subsidies are perhaps the single-most powerful tool by which the child welfare system can encourage adoption and support adoptive families. Yet little is known about the factors associated with the receipt and amount of subsidies.

Content Background Research Questions and Methods Key Findings Background Since the establishment of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, much attention has been given t

Contents Introduction Agency Administration and Staffing Screening and Intake Investigation and Alternative Response Collaboration with Other Agencies Changes in CPS Practice

National Study of Child Protective Services Systems and Reform Efforts