FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 20, 1997
No. HR-3
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 making adoption more frequent. The hearing will take place on Thursday, February 27, 1997, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be heard from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include a representative from the U.S. General Accounting Office, state child welfare administrators, foundation officials, legal scholars, and child advocates. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Subcommittee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND
Last November, Chairman Shaw asked Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) and Rep. Barbara Kennelly (D-CT) to work on a bipartisan basis to develop a legislative proposal to promote adoption. After developing a preliminary list of proposals, Reps. Camp and Kennelly met with a wide range of advocates, interest groups, and child welfare administrators to get their reactions to the existing proposals as well as entertaining additional ideas. Reps. Camp and Kennelly, along with several colleagues, will soon introduce adoption legislation based on this effort. The President has also shown his support for encouraging adoption by incorporating an adoption proposal in his Fiscal Year 1998 Budget.
In announcing the hearing Chairman Shaw observed: "There is now widespread agreement that adoption is too rare and that Federal legislation can help States do a better job of protecting maltreated children while moving toward adoption in a more timely fashion. Given the remarkable level of agreement that we should enact legislation this year, I want the Subcommittee and then the full Committee to build toward a consensus bill in an orderly and deliberate manner. Dave Camp and Barbara Kennelly have gotten us off to a good start. We will initiate the public phase of our work with this first hearing."
"For too many children, foster care has become a way of life, putting children in foster care limbo. There is bipartisan concern about the fate of these children and an emerging consensus that cooperative action between Federal, State, and local governments can greatly increase the number of these children being adopted," Camp said. "I have no doubt that our hearings will begin to show the public that there are several actions we can take at the Federal level that will actually lead to more adoptions."
Kennelly added that the current child welfare system neither provides adequate protection for children nor moves them quickly to permanent living arrangements. Rep. Kennelly declared: "We look forward to working with the President to protect children and promote adoption. No child should have to wait endlessly for a permanent, loving home." Both Reps. Camp and Kennelly stated that, beginning with the Subcommittee public hearing next week, they are looking forward to building a broad consensus for legislation that will increase the number of adoptions.
FOCUS OF THE HEARING
The Subcommittee will receive testimony discussing innovative State practices in promoting adoption and the emerging issues in the promotion of adoption.
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, March 13, 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.