Resources

Leadership and Child Welfare Systems: The Role of State Legislators
From the National Conference of State Legislators, a guide to working with elected officials for child welfare system improvement.

Child Welfare Information Gateway: Laws and Policies by State

New Bill to Improve Educational Stability for Foster Children in New Jersey
To help improve the experiences of foster children and support educational stability, earlier last month New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a new bill into law providing thousands of foster children in the state with access to a more stable education. Visit the First Focus website for further information on the new law.

New NYS Law Allows Unmarried Couples to Jointly Adopt
Chapter 509 of the Laws of New York State was passed into law on September 17, 2010, allowing unmarried couples (including same sex couples) to adopt jointly in New York State. Visit the New York State Citizens’ Coalition for Children website to read the text of the new legislation and the Governor's approval memo.


California Assembly Bill No. 665 – provides for Fostering Connections Money to fund Child Welfare
CHAPTER 250
An act to amend Section 16131.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to children.
[Approved by Governor October 11, 2009. Filed with
Secretary of State October 11, 2009.] legislative counsel’s digest
AB 665, Torrico. State adoption services: investment.
Existing law provides for child welfare services, which are public social services directed toward, among other purposes, protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, including those in foster care placement.
Under existing law, the State Department of Social Services may provide state adoption services in a county that has not established a county adoption agency. Existing law requires the state to reinvest incentive payments, received through the implementation of specified provisions of federal law, into the child welfare system, in order to provide adoption services for older children.
This bill would, instead, require the state to reinvest adoption incentive payments, received through the implementation of specified provisions of federal law, into the child welfare system, in order to provide legal permanency outcomes for older children, as specified.
This bill would require the adoption incentive payments, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be allocated to counties, and the department for a county in which the department serves as an adoption agency, based on documented legal permanency outcomes for older children achieved by each county for the purpose of improving legal permanency outcomes for older children, as specified.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 16131.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
16131.5. (a) The state shall reinvest adoption incentive payments received through the implementation of the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-351) into the child welfare system, in order to provide legal permanency outcomes for older children, including, but not limited to, adoption, guardianship, and reunification of children whose reunification services were previously terminated.
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(b) The incentive payments received pursuant to subdivision (a), upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute, shall be allocated by the State Department of Social Services to the counties, and the department for a county in which the department serves as an adoption agency, based on documented increases in legal permanency outcomes for older children achieved by each county, as determined by the department, in consultation with counties, for the purposes specified in this section.
(c) A county, or the department when it acts as the adoption agency for
a county, shall use adoption incentive payment funds to improve or sustain legal permanency outcomes for older children.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supplant funds currently being spent on programs to provide legal permanency outcomes.