THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the First Lady

FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON ANNOUNCES NEW EFFORTS TO SUPPORT TRANSITIONING FOSTER CARE YOUTH

January 29, 1999

Today at the White House, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, accompanied by Mrs. Tipper Gore and Secretary Donna Shalala, announces that the President's FY 2000 budget will include $280 million over five years in new support for young people who leave our nation's public foster care system at age 18 without an adoptive family or other permanent relationship.

Foster Care Youth Reaching Adulthood Face Tough Challenges. Nearly 20,000 young people leave foster care each year having reached the age of 18 without an adoptive family or other permanent relationship. Today, federal financial support for these young people ends just as they are making the critical transition to independence. Without the emotional, social and financial support that families provide, many of these youth are not adequately prepared for life on their own. Studies show that within two to four years of leaving foster care, only half have completed high school, fewer than half are employed, one-fourth have been homeless for at least one night, 30 percent did not have access to needed health care, 60 percent of the young women have given birth, and less than one-in-five are completely self-supporting.

New Support For Youth Leaving Foster Care. The President's FY 2000 budget will include $280 million over five years to provide a framework for enhanced federal support to these young people:

Increasing the Federal Independent Living Program by 50 Percent. The Independent Living Program, run through the States, assists older foster care children to prepare for independence by helping them to earn a high school diploma, participate in vocational training or education, and learn daily living skills such as budgeting, career planning and securing housing and employment. Since 1992, the program's funding has been frozen at $70 million. The President's budget will increase the program by 50 percent, investing $175 million over five years in these services.

Offering Time Limited Economic Support. Young people often transition from foster care with no economic support. The President's budget will include $50 million over four years to create new competitive grants to States to complement the Independent Living program services by providing time-limited financial support for these young people as they develop the skills and education needed to move into the workforce. Providing Health Insurance. Today, when young people emancipate from foster care, they face numerous health risks, but too often lose their health insurance. The President's budget will propose that these young people remain eligible for Medicaid up to age 21. His budget will include $50 million over five years for this purpose.

Increasing the Transitional Living Program. The President's budget will include a 33 percent increase in the Transitional Living program, which provides competitive funds to local community-based organizations for residential care, life skills training, and other support services to homeless adolescents, ages 16-21. The program is currently funded at $15 million; the President's budget will increase that funding by $5 million for FY 2000.

                  CLINTON ADMINISTRATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS
                        ON FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION
                             January 29, 1999

Today's announcement builds on a deep commitment by the President, the First Lady, and the Administration to facilitate adoptions and improve the child welfare system. Since taking office, President Clinton has championed efforts to make foster care work better for the children it serves, to find and assist adoptive families, and to break down financial, racial, geographic and bureaucratic barriers to adoption:

• Achieving Landmark Legislative Reform. On November 19, 1997, the President signed the Adoption and Safe Families Act, reforming our nation's child welfare system and making it clear that the health and safety of children must be the paramount concerns of state child welfare services. This landmark legislation was based in large part on the recommendations of the Clinton Administration's Adoption 2002 report, which the President requested by executive memorandum on December 14, 1996, to meet his goals of doubling adoptions and permanent placements by the year 2002 and moving children more quickly from foster care to permanent homes. The Act tightened time frames for making permanent placement decisions for children and ensured health insurance coverage for all special needs children in subsidized adoptions. Also, it created new financial incentives for states to increase adoptions, and continued funding for services to keep families together when it is appropriate and safe.
  • Making Adoption Affordable for Families. In 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, which provides a $5,000 tax credit to families adopting children, and a $6,000 tax credit for families adopting children with special needs. This provision has alleviated a significant barrier to adoption, helping middle class families for whom adoption may be prohibitively expensive and making it easier for families to adopt children with special needs. Since President Clinton took office, the number of children with special needs who were adopted with federal adoption assistance has risen by over 60 percent. In the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, President Clinton ensured more support for families who adopt children with the $500 per-child tax credit.
  • Giving States Flexibility and Support. To test innovative strategies to improve state child welfare systems, the Clinton Administration has granted waivers to 18 states, giving them more flexibility in tailoring services to meet the needs of children and families. In addition, the Administration has provided states with enhanced technical support and helped improve court operations. The President secured $20 million in FY 1999 in new funds to support state efforts to implement the new adoption law. In addition, through the Adoption Opportunities program, the President has supported state and local innovative demonstration projects to promote adoption, provide post-adoptive services, and build new public-private partnerships. To prevent children from entering foster care in the first place, in 1993 the Clinton Administration enacted and secured federal funding for the Family Preservation and Support Program (renamed in 1997 the Preserving Safe and Stable Families Program) to help states, local governments, and service providers develop effective programs to serve children and families at risk.
  • Using the Internet to Promote Adoption. In November, 1998, the President issued a new directive to the Department of Health and Human Services to expand the use of the Internet as a tool to find homes for children waiting to be adopted from foster care. Effective use of the Internet will help to meet the President's goal of doubling, by the year 2002, adoptions and other permanent placements from the public child welfare system.
  • Breaking Down Racial and Ethnic Barriers to Adoption. New inter-ethnic adoption provisions, passed as a part of the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, ensure that the adoption process is free from discrimination and delays on the basis of race, culture and ethnicity by strengthening the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act which the President signed in 1994.
  • Providing Supports for Child Protection and Adoption. In 1993, President Clinton signed into law the Family and Medical Leave Act, enabling parents to take time off to adopt a child without losing their jobs or health insurance. In addition, the welfare reform legislation signed by the President maintained the guarantee of child protection and adoption, and did not reduce funds for child welfare, child abuse, and foster care and adoption services.