By Judith Sandalow, Executive Director, Childrens Law Center
Children do best when they are raised in stable homes. Sadly, too many children in the District are stuck in the foster care system. Even worse, current DC law sometimes results in children remaining in foster care when a family is willing to adopt. Fortunately, new legislation recently introduced in the DC Council could help turn this around.
The Adoption Reform Amendment Act of 2009 (B18-547), introduced by Councilmembers Tommy Wells, Michael Brown, and Phil Mendelson, is an effective way to help get children out of the foster care system by encouraging more adoptions.
Families that adopt children or provide temporary care as foster parents receive financial assistance from the District to help with the additional costs of raising a child. But adoption assistance ends when the child turns 18, while foster care assistance continues until the child turns 21. This disparity sometimes leads caring families to forgo adoption, keeping children in foster care, because the family needs the continued financial support to adequately raise their children.
The new bill would end this disparity by extending adoption assistance until the child turns 21. The bill would also extend assistance for another form of permanent placement known as guardianship, which is a form of legal custody for foster children. These changes will make it easier for families that want to adopt children to do so. In fact, a study of DC’s foster care system found that the proposed changes would lead to 110 to 190 more children being adopted or permanent guardianships every year.
That alone is great news. But not only does the bill benefit children in foster care, it also would save the District money ‘ up to $3.9 million over the next four years. How?
- Children in the foster care system are in the care of the Child and Family Services Agency; this means costs for social workers and supervisors from CFSA.
- There are a number of legal costs when a neglect case is kept open, including salaries for judges, lawyers and court personnel.
- There a number of costs the District must pay for foster children that live outside of DC such as education, health care and mental health care.
Once a child lives with a permanent family, through either guardianship or adoption, these costs no longer exist. Especially in the midst of a terrible budget crisis, the District must act swiftly to achieve these cost savings.
The bottom-line is simple: Permanency pays, both for children and for the District’s budget.
