The Adoption and Safe Families Act was passed by United States Congress in order to improve the current state of the adoption of children with special needs. The Adoption and Safe Families Act was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1997. This Act addressed children not being able to receive the proper placement that they need. The Adoption and Safe Families Act provided some necessary funding for the process of adoption in order to ensure that a child would be adopted into the right family.

One of the major obstacles that was most commonly faced before this Adoption and Safe Families Act was the fact that the focus of a previous bill, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act, gave heavy implications that a child should be placed with a biological family member if the option was available. The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 worked to expand these options so that children can be placed in a loving family, whether a biological relative or not.

One of the improvements that the Adoption and Safe Families Act made was to encourage states to authorize adoption in those cases where it was proven that an adoption placement was right for a child, without automatically giving priority to a relative of the child. The Act offered a financial incentive for states that were able to offer placement for children. If a state exceeded the average number of adoptions that were expected to be made, it would be entitled to financial compensation for the additional number of adoption placements made.

Another major improvement that the Adoption and Safe Families Act made was to enforce documentation of the adoption process. It was already a requirement that the process be accounted for in written copy, but the Adoption and Safe Families Act was able to reinforce and strengthen this requirement.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act also made some rather significant changes for the standard of care for children with special needs. One of the more specific efforts that was made was to require that every state supply health insurance for children with special needs in state custody.

In addition, the Adoption and Safe Families Act adjusted the time frame in which a child should be offered permanent placement. Instead of a child’s permanency hearing being scheduled within a period of 18 months of being in state custody, it was reduced to a year to best serve displaced children.

The Foster Care Independence Act, also known as the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, is a legislative Act that extends healthcare provisions to foster children.
The Act states that foster children can be covered under Medicaid until they
turn 21 years of age. It was passed to proliferate the fostering of
children.

Due to the fact that foster children were eligible to be
covered by Government–funded healthcare, families unwilling or unable to adopt
could foster a child for a minimal cost. In addition, the Foster Care
Independence Act prompted the doubling of Federal funding for the assistance of the health and
welfare of foster children, from $70 million to $140 million.

Aside from easing the
financial burden of families who engage in fostering children, the Foster Care
Independence Act allows for funds to be specifically allotted in order to assist emancipated children. As a result of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services instituted a
change in the amount a child in foster care is allowed to save before being
penalized. Under the law, children are allowed to save as much as $10,000
before it negatively impacts their eligibility or the eligibility of their
foster parents to receive assistance from the Government.

This bill was an attempt to reform criticisms
that such children were unprepared to face the challenges of adulthood. By
extending the eligibility for assistance from the age of 18 to 21, it strove to
reflect the continued support that children raised by birth parents often
receive.