Philosophy
NACAC recognizes the important role of national governments in providing policy leadership and financial support to child welfare programs. NACAC supports the creation of adequate and targeted federal funding streams for public child welfare programs that preserve safe and stable families, or when necessary find and support alternative permanent families for children and youth, through the implementation of best practices. NACAC also encourages states, provinces, territories, tribes, and aboriginal authorities to adequately fund child welfare best practices in order to provide the full array of services from prevention through post placement.
Policy Recommendations
Fiscal Incentives
NACAC recommends that national governments develop a policy of fiscal incentives that encourage the permanent placement (including reunification, adoption, and permanent placement with a relative, or guardian) of a child or youth, ideally within two years., State, provincial, territorial, tribal, and local governments should additionally be required to devote adequate resources to permanently place any child or youth who has been in care longer than two years.
Adoption Incentive Program
NACAC supports reauthorization of the U.S. federal adoption incentive program with the following changes:
- The baseline should be based on the percentage rate of the jurisdiction’s foster children and youth who achieve permanence through adoption.
- Incentive payments should be used solely for post-placement services and adoption promotion.
- States should be allowed two full federal fiscal years to spend the adoption incentive awards.
- Tribes should be directly eligible for the adoption (including customary adoption) incentive program.
- Customary adoptions under tribal law should be eligible for inclusion in each jurisdiction’s adoption incentive statistics.
- As part of reporting finalized adoptions for this program, states must provide data on adoptions that are dissolved after finalization.