Adoption and Safe Families Act 1997

Adoption and Safe Families Act 1997
Tayna Franklin
Capella University
Social Welfare History, Policy and Practice
August 21, 2020
Introduction
The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 is certainly the essential piece of federal child welfare legislation in America for the last twenty-plus years. The act focus to create safer, secure, and stable settings for abused children by quickly moving them through the foster care system as well as incentivizing adoptions when reunification with their family members is considered unacceptable (Edwards & Few-Demo, 2014) (Phagan-Hansel, 2018,). ASFA, by all accounts, was envisioned to combat overcrowded and overburdened child welfare system, particularly the foster care system by terminating parental rights and allowing for permanent adoptions (Curtis & Denby, 2004).
On the flip side, the prevailing faith of stability in this act is misplaced and have been challenged by many researchers – not because maltreated children do not benefit from a safe, secure and stable environment, but because the reformers and policymakers’ idea are often mistaken that permanence resolves concerns of child welfare malpractices. Therefore, this study will explore Adoption and Safe Families act development, goals, effectiveness, practicability, implications and constraints and possible solutions for improvements.
Development of Adoption and Safe Families Act
Over the years, the United States federal government has been known to be a strong advocate of family institutions and the privileges of family members, including parents and children. In this respect, the federal government has developed laws such as the Adoption and Safe Families act to protect and enhance the welfare of family members (Stern, 2018). The Adoption and Safe Families Act was formed and signed into law by President Clinton in 1997 to reduce the rising number of children who stayed in the foster care for long or suffered from multiple placements – and were unsafe to be returned into their biological environments (Phagan-Hansel, 2018).
During the course of the 1990s, the number of children in foster care rose to unprecedented levels – reaching the highest number of 567,000 children in 1998 (Phagan-Hansel, 2018). The rise was significantly impacted by the increased crack of drugs, including cocaine epidemic, HIV/ AIDS, and parental incarnation amidst the ill-equipped welfare systems that did not support families remain together (Swann & Sylvester, 2006). Similarly, thousands of children remained in the foster care system for years without going home (Phagan-Hansel, 2018). In reality, these children languished in the foster care system and often bounced through multiple families without having one they would call their own. For example, in 1997, over 30% of all children in foster care had been in these systems for at least three years (Phagan-Hansel, 2018). It is in this respect that the state was desperate to find an alternative home for such children thus the formation of Adoption and Safe Families act.
This landmark legislation stresses that timely permanency planning and safety and security for mistreated children is paramount for their well-being. As such, the act clarifies the meaning of having a safe and secure environment for the children explicitly. The law allows the states to file for parental rights termination once the children have been in foster care for fifteen of the twenty-two months (Phagan-Hansel, 2018). Alternatively, the government can revoke parent rights for specific reasons, including children who have suffered from severe or chronic abuse or neglect, parents with long-term mental illness, parent enduring alcohol or drug-induced incapacity, and failure to maintain and contact with the children (Leslie, 2000). However, the act appreciate the importance of the biological connection of a child and as a result it gives first preference of adoption to parents, relative caregivers who meet all applicable national safety standards.
Adoption and Safe Families Act goals
Adoption and Safe Families Act builds on previous laws -and collates many state-of-the-art policies and practices that tried to address the myriad and often intricate necessities of the families. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, families and children's needs became multifaceted, and the child welfare structures in place to help navigate these challenges – mainly community-based and public agencies – were hard-pressed unable to address the complex needs of families (Edwards & Few-Demo, 2014). As such, it became evident among the lawmakers and policymakers that more strong laws address the ever-changing needs of the families. For this reason, ASFA was created to shorten children’s stay in the foster care system by encouraging adoptions through cash incentives. Similarly, the law accelerated permanency by instituting time-limited reunification as well as the termination of parental rights (Curtis & Denby, 2004) (Edwards & Few-Demo, 2014). With this mandate, families receive timely and appropriate opportunities for reunification or termination.
Effectiveness and implications of Adoption and Safe and Families act
Since its establishment, the Adoption and Safe Families Act has achieved substantial achievement. The primary goals and objectives that were anticipated by the Adoption and Safe and Families Act, including more adoptions and less foster care, have been achieved. For example, the number of youths adopted from care foster care has progressively increased to 60,000 children in 2017, from 38,000 recorded in 1998 (Phagan-Hansel, 2018). The gradual change in adoptions can be explained by the reduced stay in foster care, as previously registered in the 1990s. For instance, in 1998, the average stay was 32.6 months with over 30% of the children remaining in the care units for three or more years – by 2018, the average stay in foster care has decreased to less than a year – with less than 15% living in foster care for more th...