Adoption Promotion Legislation in the 105th Congress

Publication Date: November 1997

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Social conditions

Type:

Abstract:

President Clinton signed the Adoption and Safe Families Act into law on November 19, 1997, after the House and Senate approved final versions of the legislation on November 13. The new law (P.L. 105-89) is intended to promote adoption or other permanent arrangements for foster children who are unable to return home, and to make general improvements in the nation’s child welfare system. The legislation responds to concerns that children are remaining in foster care unnecessarily long, that their adoption rate is low, and that additional safeguards are needed to ensure their safety. The House initially passed legislation (H.R. 867) on April 30 by a vote of 416-5, and the Senate passed an amended version on November 8. A compromise version was passed on November 13, by a vote of 406-7 in the House and by unanimous consent in the Senate. This report discusses the final version of the legislation, as enacted into law