FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-1025
March 31, 1997
No. HR-5
Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr., (R-FL), Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on H.R. 867, the "Adoption Promotion Act of 1997." The hearing will take place on Tuesday, April 8, 1997, in room B-318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 3:00 p.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be heard from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include the Administration and representatives of child welfare and adoption organizations. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
On February 27, 1997, Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), Rep. Barbara Kennelly (D-CT), and Chairman Shaw, introduced H.R. 867, the "Adoption Promotion Act of 1997."
The major provisions of the legislation would promote adoption by: allowing States to define cases of severe abuse or neglect in which States could move more quickly to adoption; providing for earlier permanency hearings; allowing foster parents to be heard at hearings and reviews; requiring States to move toward adoption in many cases in which children have been in foster care for 18 months; allowing States to use a large federal data base to locate fathers for purposes of notifying them of an impending proceeding to terminate parental rights; providing funds to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help States implement the new procedures to promote adoption; and providing cash bonuses to States that increase the number of adoptions of children in foster care. In announcing the hearing on the Camp-Kennelly legislation, Chairman Shaw noted: "The purpose of this bipartisan legislation is to help States do a better job of protecting maltreated children, while moving these children toward adoption, when appropriate, in a more timely fashion. Both Representatives Camp and Kennelly have worked for many months on this legislation, and have met tirelessly with a wide range of advocates, interested parties, and child welfare administrators to perfect their proposal."
"When children are in danger of continued abuse, safety must be the paramount concern of social workers, judges, and all who come into contact with the child and family. This means there are some circumstances where efforts to keep the child with the family will endanger the child's life," Camp said. Camp further stated: "The legislation would require States to initiate proceedings to move young children who have spent 75 percent of the past two years in the foster care system into suitable families. This provision is intended to ensure that children do not languish in foster care having neither a rehabilitated family nor a chance for a permanent adoptive home."
Kennelly added: "Of the half a million children in foster care, HHS estimates that 100,000 will not return to their biological families. Yet only about 20,000 children a year are adopted. Our legislation will move us toward the President's goal of doubling the number of adoptions out of foster care by the year 2002 by providing for a per child adoption bonus to each State that increases its annual number of finalized adoptions from the foster care system. States that qualify will be eligible to receive $4,000 for each foster child and $6,000 for a child with special needs. This provision will help move increasing numbers of children into safe, loving and permanent homes."
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) copies of their statement and a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format, with their address and date of hearing noted, by the close of business, Tuesday, April 15, 1997, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Human Resources office, room B-317 Rayburn House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on a 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or ASCII format.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-225-1904 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.