Fostering Connections to Success Act

Throughout 2008, the National CASA Association was very active in Congress, working with advocates throughout the CASA network and child welfare organizations, to push for passage of landmark foster care reform legislation. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (P.L. 110-351) was signed into law in October 2008.

The act, which passed both houses of Congress by unanimous, bipartisan support, provides a series of building blocks that will help hundreds of thousands of children and youth in foster care. 

Representative Jim McDermott (pictured at microphone with Rep. Dennis Cardoza to his left), was a major House sponsor of the legislation.

The goals and major provisions of the legislation follow.

• Promote Permanent Placement with Relatives. Grandparents and other relatives who are willing to become legal guardians for their relative children may be eligible to receive federal assistance, at a rate similar to that provided for foster parents. This will result in more permanent, loving homes for children whose family members would have had a financial hardship to provide for their care on a permanent basis.
• Maintain Connections with Siblings and Family. If it is in the child’s best interest, states must make reasonable efforts to keep sibling groups together in foster, family or adoptive placements. A new Family Connection grants program is established, providing funding for programs that provide information and resources to kinship families; intensive family-finding efforts; family group decision-making; and family substance abuse services.
• Increase the Number of Adoptions for Waiting Children. An estimated 127,000 children are waiting for adoptive families. The legislation provides incentive payments to states for every child that is adopted above the baseline of 2007 adoption numbers. 
• Improve Outcomes and Transition for Older Youth. Research demonstrates that outcomes for youth who remain in care to age 21 are significantly improved over youth who leave the system at age 18. Beginning October 1, 2010, federal funding becomes available to reimburse states that choose to support foster youth beyond the age of 18, provided that the youth is involved in school, vocational training or employed at least 80 hours per month. 
• Improve Outcomes for American Indian/Alaska Native Children. Federal foster care assistance has not been available to support foster care services for children on tribal lands, unless the tribe had a special agreement with the state. Now federally recognized tribes are able to directly access federal funding to support children in care on tribal lands, as well as a proportionate amount of Chafee Foster Care Independence Program funds. 
• Improve Competencies of Individuals Working with Children Involved in the Child Welfare System. Federal funding will be extended to states to support training of court personnel, attorneys, guardians ad litem and court appointed special advocates. 
• Improve Education Stability and Coordination of Medical Needs. The child welfare agency should ensure that a child remains in the same school at the time of his/her placement in foster care, if it is in the child’s best interest.   States must also develop a plan for ongoing oversight and coordination of health care services for every child in foster care, in collaboration with pediatricians and other experts. 

National CASA played a significant role in educating members of Congress about the legislation, and the importance of supporting youth in care up to age 21 so that they can pursue education and training opportunities and gain a foothold toward becoming productive young adults. US Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), House sponsor of the legislation, explained “No parent I know abandons their children at age 18, and yet that is what our federal policy for foster care does.” 

The new law provides the opportunity for states to change that, beginning October 1, 2010. In addition to McDermott, the legislation was championed by Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL), Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

Fostering Connections Resource Center

National CASA is a collaborating organization to the Fostering Connections Resource Center, a new initiative designed to advance implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success Act across the country. The website provides state-specific policy information on implementation of the Fostering Connections to Success Act, as well as featuring key contact individuals for each state.   

A coalition of foundations have joined to underwrite the costs of establishing the Resource Center: Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Family Programs, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Duke endowment, Eckerd Family Foundation, Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, Sierra Health Foundation, Stuart Foundation and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation.  Child Trends and The Finance Project are responsible for managing the center.