Public
Policy

Recent News and
Pending Legislation

September 2011

The Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act (H.R. 2883/S. 1542) is a bipartisan bill that amends Title IV part B of the Social Security Act to reauthorize the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program and the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program through 2016. PSSF is a federal program that provides funding to states for adoption promotion and support, among other things. Many states use these Title IV-B2 funds to provide post-adoption services.

H.R. 2883/S. 1542 would require states to report on how they spend any funds resulting from the increased federal investment in adoption assistance that was part of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. NACAC is particularly pleased to see this reporting requirement and hopes states will spend a significant portion of the funds on post-adoption support.

If you would like to support this important reauthorization, please ask your Representative to support H.R. 2883/S. 1542 by:

• Calling the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your Representative's office. Tell your representative's staff that you are a constituent and you want them to pass H.R. 2883. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your first Senator’s office. Tell the Senator's staff that you are a constituent and you want them to pass S. 1542.
• Call the switchboard again and ask for your other Senator. Tell the Senator's staff that you are a constituent and you want them to pass S. 1542.

You can also e-mail your Representative by visiting http://house.gov/ (then enter your zip code in the top right corner and follow the link to the respresentative's web site).You can find and e-mail your Senator at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

For more information about the bill, visit http://geoffdavis.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=259454.