Positions

Philosophy NACAC’s position statements often refer to the best interests of a child or youth, so below we detail what we believe should be included in assessments of a child’s or youth’s best interests. NACAC acknowledges that such determinations are extremely challenging and that workers and judges often must balance competing best interests such as… Read more

Philosophy   Children should not be denied a permanent family because of the sexual orientation of potential parents.   Practice and Policy Recommendations All prospective foster and adoptive parents, regardless of sexual orientation, should be given fair and equal consideration. NACAC opposes rules and legislation that restrict the consideration of current or prospective foster and… Read more

Philosophy NACAC recognizes the important role of national governments in providing policy leadership and financial support in encouraging permanent placements for children in foster care. The US adoption and guardianship incentive program has become an important source of funding for adoption and guardianship support services, and should be maintained and enhanced. Policy Recommendations NACAC supports… Read more

Philosophy Research has demonstrated that abuse, neglect, in-utero exposure to drugs and alcohol, and multiple placements in foster care all have damaging effects on children and youth, and that special services are often required to ensure the healthy development of children and youth who have spent time in foster care. Children and youth in foster… Read more

Philosophy NACAC believes that effective permanency planning for children and youth is best done if there are accurate accountability systems that track the number of children in foster care and other out of home placements, as well as systems that assess and track each child’s well-being and permanency outcomes. Practice Recommendations Agencies with responsibility for… Read more

Philosophy Children in foster care are more likely than children and youth who are not involved in child welfare to have been exposed to trauma, more likely to have changed schools, more likely to have moved from one home to another, and less likely to have access to comprehensive assessments. As a result of these… Read more

Philosophy Children and youth should not be denied a loving family due to restrictions on particular types or categories of prospective foster or adoptive parents. Limitations that prevent classes of individuals or groups from becoming foster or adoptive parents hurt children and youth who are in need of loving families. Experience and research have shown… Read more

Every child or youth, birth family member, and adoptive family has the right to ethical adoption practice focused on the best interests of the child or youth. All parties to the adoption have the right to honest and complete information about the adoption. All actions and payments by parties to the adoption must be legal… Read more

Philosophy Although there are legitimate costs in providing adoption services, financial issues should never be the deciding factor in matching a child or youth with adoptive parent(s). Rather, placement decisions must be based on each family’s ability to meet an individual child or youth’s needs, including his or her cultural needs. Unfortunately, adoption fees and… Read more

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… Read more

Philosophy   NACAC supports a system of safeguards and cooperation to protect the best interests of children, birth parents and adoptive parents in intercountry adoption.   Policy Recommendation   NACAC supports ratification and implementation of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, which provides for high quality, accessible services, and expediency of process. NACAC supports the… Read more

Philosophy NACAC recognizes that children and youth have a right to be connected to kin and to other significant family and community members. NACAC encourages kinship foster care as a preferred alternative placement when the kinship care provider is able to ensure the child or youth’s safety and well-being. NACAC also supports placing children or… Read more

Philosophy NACAC believes children and youth in the foster care system who are—or who are perceived to be—lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender*, and questioning (LGBTQ) deserve loving and permanent families and should be afforded the same rights, services, and protections as those who are [or are perceived to be] heterosexual. Statistics show that, at a minimum… Read more

Philosophy NACAC recognizes that children and youth of Native American tribes, First Nations bands, and recognized aboriginal communities have an inherent right to continued and positive contact with their tribe or band. Such contact is in the child’s best interest. All child protection and child welfare decisions should be made by officials of tribes, bands… Read more

Philosophy NACAC believes that openness is in the best interest of adopted persons. Open adoptions are one effective way to reduce the complications that adoptees face. By definition, adopted children are connected to both the family into which they were born and the family into which they have been adopted. Since those two families now… Read more

Philosophy NACAC believes, and decades of research affirm, that children and youth fare better in families than in orphanages. Families are best suited to advocate for their children, teach them about culture, care for them when they are sick, and support them into adulthood. In families, children learn family skills, including how to parent the… Read more

Philosophy NACAC believes that every child and youth—regardless of age, special needs, or length of time in foster care—has a right to a permanent, legal connection to a caring family. The child welfare system has an ethical obligation to ensure that no child or youth leaves foster care without a real opportunity to achieve permanency… Read more

Philosophy NACAC recognizes that each child is an individual and therefore each situation requires careful evaluation, looking at the best interests of each child. In all placements, consideration of a child’s well-being must be paramount. The family should be selected based on the child’s needs and acknowledgment that age, race, and cultural considerations are necessarily… Read more

Philosophy NACAC recognizes that adoption creates a dynamic of its own that requires the commitment of families and communities alike. Children and youth adopted from foster care or from other countries have often experienced abuse, neglect, and abandonment, which may lead to unique post-adoption needs. In addition, throughout an adopted child’s life, there are expected… Read more