On October 7, 2008 the President signed into law the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (H.R. 6893/P.L. 110-351). This new law will help connect foster children with their relatives, promote permanent families through relative guardianship, and improve education and health care. It is a significant recognition of the contribution grandparents and other relatives make in raising the nation’s children and we look forward to all of the new state legislation and programs it will encourage.
This new law will promote permanent families for children by providing:
Subsidized guardianship to enable children in the care of grandparents and other relatives to exit foster care into permanency
Kinship navigator programs to help link relative caregivers to a broad range of services and supports that will help meet their needs and the needs of the children in their care
Notice be given to adult relatives of a child if he or she is placed in foster care
States the option to waive non safety related licensing standards for relative foster parents
The law also supports children and families by:
Extending direct Title IV-E funding to tribal government
Reauthorizing the Adoption Incentives Program, a critical tool in helping children become adopted
Allowing states the option to receive federal reimbursement for support provided to foster youth up to age 21
Requiring reasonable efforts to keep siblings together or if not placed together to visit regularly
Promoting educational stability for children and youth in foster care, guardianship and adoption
Requiring health care coordination for children and youth in foster care
Extending federal support for training of professionals and caregivers working with children in the child welfare system
The National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators (NAPCWA) The Fostering Connections Act Implementation Reportswww.napcwa.org/Legislative/LG.asp
