Governor Rell: Connecticut Gains in Adoption

Placements Rewarded with Federal Funding

            Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that the federal government has awarded Connecticut $511,354 as a “bonus” to reward the progress the state has made under Governor Rell in increasing the number of children adopted from foster care.

            “The true reward is the knowledge that we are creating families. Love and stability are the most important gifts we can give a child,” Governor Rell said. “These extra funds will help us establish even more permanent homes and give our children what they so richly deserve – parents who will love and protect them.”

The federal Adoption Incentives (AI) program was created by Congress in 1997 and overhauled last year to provide stronger incentives for states to find adoptive homes for children – particularly older children and children with special needs. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday gave out a total of $35 million to 38 states and Puerto Rico under the program.

“Adoption is life-changing for everyone involved and is especially dramatic for children,” Governor Rell said. “Increased adoption rates have been one of the top priorities of my Administration and a critical goal for our Department of Children and Families – and now this hard work is being recognized by the federal government.”

            In order to qualify for AI payments, states have to increase the number of children adopted relative to baseline data. States receive additional money if they exceed their highest foster child adoption rate for previous years back to 2002. The 2008 revision introduced the concept of an adoption rate, which is derived from comparing current year adoptions to the number of children in care at the end of the previous year.

            In the budget year that ended June 30, Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families finalized the adoptions of 643 children and youth. An additional 226 children were placed with relatives who became their legal guardians. Since 2002, DCF has finalized an average of 550 adoptions annually.

            Governor Rell has offered precedent-setting legislation that provides funding for college tuition for foster children who are adopted, improves case management and services for families experiencing difficulty in an adoption and increases subsidies for new adoptions in Connecticut.

            She has also strongly supported DCF outreach efforts to encourage more families to consider adoption, including open houses held at various locations around the state, the 6-year-old Heart Gallery – a traveling photo display of children available for adoption – and the use of innovative tools such as targeted advertising on the Google search engine.

            More information about adoption is available at www.ct.gov/dcf (click on the Adopt a Child link) or by calling 1-888-KID-HERO.

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