"Child Welfare Outcomes 2002-2005: Report to Congress" (Child Welfare Outcomes Report) is the seventh in a series of annual reports from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the Department). The reports are developed in accordance with section 479A of the Social Security Act (as amended by the Adoption and Safe Families Act…

Reviews chapters of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption which establish requirements for intercountry adoption, provide for a system of adoption authorities in contracting states, establish procedures to be adopted by the authorities, and provide for recognition of adoptions made under the convention. Notes that the convention guarantees…

In this report, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs reports favorably on Senate Bill 569 to amend the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978 and recommends its passage with an amendment. In enacting ICWA, Congress sought to: (1) protect the relationship between Indian children and their parents; (2) affirm the tribal right to participate…

This testimony by the Executive Director of the National Black Child Development Institute on the implementation of The Adoption Opportunities Act of 1978 discusses the implications of the act for black children and the need for minority input in the implementation process. It is argued that the success of programs in the act relevant to black…

Offers information on the 1977 law passed by the Minnesota legislature which supported adoptive parents' right to open the sealed birth certificates of their adopted children. (CM)

This document presents testimony from a congressional hearing examining the Child Abuse Prevention, Adoption, and Family Services Act. In response to the General Accounting Office's (GAO's) concerns about the ability of the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) to perform its leadership role in identifying, preventing, and treating…

Statements and papers presented to the U.S. Senate during 3 days of hearings on the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act Amendments of 1983 are included in this document. Witnesses include physicians, psychologists, human services administrators, parents, heads of social service agencies, and organizations advocating…

This hearing provided a forum for witnesses testifying about the Anti-Fraudulent Adoption Practices Act of 1984 (S. 2299) and the issues the bill was designed to address. Testimony focuses on the nature and incidence of fraudulent adoption scams; the need for Federal legislation to address the problem; the experiences of victimized families;…

This document provides witness testimony and prepared statements from two Congressional hearings called to consider the reauthorization of the Adolescent Family Life Demonstration Projects. Testimony is presented from two officials of the Department of Health and Human Services who are responsible for administering the law, representatives from…

Laws of the 12 states which permit access to records of adoption proceedings without a court order are summarized. Statutes on access to adoption records for all 50 states are presented in tabular form and two recent court cases concerning adoption record access are described. (JMB)

This document is designed to fill major information voids in the field of adoption and to provide prospective adoptive parents with reliable data on which to base decisions. The factbook contains four major types of new information: (1) a frank discussion of the issues concerning adoption -- including costs; tax regulations; transracial adoption;…

This report discusses the Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Adoption and Family Services Act of 1991. Section I provides background information on child abuse, family violence, and adoption opportunities, and addresses the need for reauthorization legislation. Section II provides a list of witnesses from relevant hearings, and briefly describes the…

The provisions of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-272 of the 96th Congress) are delineated in this legislative bulletin. The primary purposes of the Act are (1) to establish a program of adoption assistance; (2) to strengthen the program of foster care assistance for needy and dependent children; and (3) to…

Laws regulating adoption are varied and complex in countries that offer children for international adoption (IA), while United States Immigration laws pose additional obstacles to Americans wishing to adopt foreign-born children. Declarations by the United Nations and the development of a convention on IA by the Hague Conference offer some hope…

The booklet presents the report of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor regarding the 1983 Child Abuse Amendments to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978. The Amendment expands the definition of child abuse to include abuse by…