safe family act of 1997

The following is (part of) the info from the National Association of Social Workers RE: The Adoption and Safe Families Act 0f 1997 Please note the additional funds and efforts made for reunification. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Adoptions and Safe Families Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-89) was signed into law by President Clinton on November 19, 1997. The new law, which amends the 1980 Child Welfare Act (P.L. 96-272), clarifies that the health and safety of children served by child welfare agencies must be their paramount concern and aims to move children in foster care more quickly into permanent homes. Among the new laws provisions: Shortens the time-frame for a childҒs first permanency hearing; offers states financial incentives for increasing the number of adoptions; sets new requirements for states to petition for termination of parental rights; quote: ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- reauthorizes the Family Preservation and Support Program. ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- NASW POSITION The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) did not take an official position on the Adoptions and Safe Families Act, but strongly supported the reauthorization of the Family Preservation and Support Program, the expansion of medical insurance coverage for children with special needs, and development of state standards to ensure quality services. NASW did endorse an earlier version of the legislation, the Safe Adoptions and Family Environments Act (S.A.F.E. Act; S. 511), sponsored by Senators John H. Chafee (R-RI) and John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV). Unlike the Adoptions and Safe Families Act, the S.A.F.E. Act included additional funding for: Family reunification services; training and retention of agency staff and cross-agency training; and residential substance abuse treatment programs for parents and their children. SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS TITLE I: REASONABLE EFFORTS AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION PLACEMENTS Child Health and Safety. The new law clarifies that the childs health and safety must be of paramount concern when making decisions about removal of a child from the home, reunification, and implementation of any aspect of the case plan for children in foster care. "Reasonable Efforts" to Preserve and Reunify Families. States must continue to make reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify families. However, the reasonable effort requirement does not apply in all cases. The exceptions include cases in which a court has found that: A child has been subjected to "aggravated circumstances" as defined in state law (including, but not necessarily limited to, abandonment, torture, chronic abuse, and sexual abuse); a parent has killed or assaulted another of their children or has assaulted the child; or a parentҒs rights to a sibling have been involuntarily terminated. In cases when reasonable efforts to reunify are not required, states are required to hold a permanency hearing within 30 days and to make reasonable efforts to place the child for adoption, with a legal guardian, or other permanent placement. Termination of Parental Rights (TPR). States are required to file a petition to terminate parental rights immediately and, concurrently to identify, recruit, process and approve a qualified adoptive family, in the case of: a child who has been in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months; a child who the court has determined to be an abandoned infant (as defined in state law); or a court has determined that the parent assaulted the child or killed or assaulted another of their children. In addition, states may file for termination of parental rights earlier than 15 months or for other reasons. TITLE III: ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS AND REFORMS Reauthorization and Expansion of the Family Preservation and Support Program. The Family Preservation and Support Program, renamed "Promoting Safe and Stable Families," is reauthorized through FY 2001 at the following levels: $275 million in FY 1999; $295 million in FY 2000; and $305 million in FY 2001 (increases of about $20 million each year over the current baseline). Also reauthorized are existing allocation provisions, including a one percent reserve for Indian tribes, and set-asides for court improvement grants and for evaluation, training, research, and technical assistance. State plans are required to contain assurances that in administering and conducting programs, the safety of the children to be served will be of paramount concern. States are required to devote significant portions of their expenditures (after spending no more than 10 percent of their allotment for administrative costs) to each of the following four categories of services: community-based family support services; family preservation services; time-limited family reunification services; and adoption promotion and support services. Time-limited family reunification services are defined as services and activities provided to children (and their parents) who have been removed from the home and placed in foster care, for up to 15 months, beginning on the date of their removal from the home. Such services and activities may include: individual, group, and family counseling; inpatient, outpatient, or residential substance abuse treatment; mental health services; assistance to address domestic violence; temporary child care services and therapeutic services for families, including crisis nurseries; and transportation. Permanency Hearings. States are required to hold a first dispositional hearing, reanamed a "permanency" hearing, within 12 months (formerly 18 months) of the date the child is considered to have entered foster care. Entrance is defined as the earlier of the date of the first judicial finding of child abuse or neglect or 60 days after the childs removal from the home. The purpose of the hearing is to determine the childҒs permanency plan, which would include the timetable for: returning home; being placed for adoption; being placed with a relative; being referred for legal guardianship; or being placed in another planned, permanent living arrangement. TITLE IV: MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Coordination of Substance Abuse and Child Protection Services. The Secretary of HHS is required to submit a report to the Committees on Ways and Means and Finance on substance abuse services. The report must be based on information from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Administration for Children and Families and include: the scope of the problem of substance abuse in families served by child welfare agencies; the types of services provided to such families; the outcomes resulting from the provision of such services; and any recommendations for legislation to improve coordination in providing services to families. Standby Guardianship. It is the sense of Congress that states should have laws and procedures permitting a parent who is chronically ill or near death to designate a standby guardian for their minor child, without surrendering their own parental rights. The standby guardians authority would take effect upon the parentҒs death, mental incapacity or physical debilitation and consent. Preservation of Reasonable Parenting. Nothing in this legislation is intended to disrupt the family unnecessarily or intrude inappropriately into family life or prohibit the use of reasonable methods of parental discipline or to prescribe a particular method of parenting. NASW Contact: Cynthia Woodside, Government Relations Associate; National Association of Social Workers, 750 First Street, NE, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20002-4241; Telephone: (800) 638-8799, ext. 324; Fax: (202) 336-8311;