2022 Congressional Wrap-Up
Congress adjourned for the year on December 23, but not before passing an end-of-year omnibus spending package (H.R. 2617) that included some (but not all) of Voice for Adoption’s top legislative priorities for the year. President Biden signed the bill into law on December 29. Its provisions include:
Youth Mental Health Legislation: Topping the list was a package of mental health reforms that emphasized children and youth. The package did not specifically address the needs of adopted or foster youth. However, because an estimated 50 to 80 percent of children in foster care suffer from a mental health disorder, its impact is still likely to be significant for these children. For further details, see this separate story.
Adoption-related Appropriations: Although legislation reauthorizing the Adoption Opportunities program was not enacted this year (see below), the annual appropriation for the program was increased by $3 million to $51 million for the current fiscal year (FY 2023), which ends September 30. VFA worked to support this annual appropriation by helping Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) with Dear Colleague letters in the Senate and House. Adoption and Legal Guardianship Incentive Payments to states were also flat-funded at $75 million.
Unfortunately, Congress fell short on several other priorities, including:
Adoption Tax Credit Refundability: Adoption advocates were hoping that legislation making the adoption tax credit refundable for low and middle-income families (S. 1156 / H.R. 3031) would be included in the end-of-year package, but this did not happen. Had it occurred, it most likely would have been as part of a larger bill extending a variety of other expiring tax provisions. That larger bill did not move due to partisan disagreements over separate tax issues, such as expanding the child tax credit. The Adoption Tax Credit Working Group, of which VFA is a member, plans to push for refundability again in 2023.
Adoption Opportunities Program Reauthorization: Legislation reauthorizing the Adoption Opportunities program moved in both the House and Senate this year as part of larger bills (S. 1927 / H.R. 485) reauthorizing the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). Voice for Adoption helped support this legislation in December by circulating a letter endorsing the Adoption Opportunities provisions. The letter garnered the support of 114 national, state, and local organizations from across the country. Unfortunately, despite overwhelming bipartisan support, an unrelated partisan dispute over gender-affirming care (which was not addressed by the bill) derailed the legislation at the last minute. The National Child Abuse Coalition, of which VFA is a member, plans to push for reauthorization again next year. VFA will use the additional time to support further improvements in the Adoption Opportunities provisions.
Diligent Recruitment: On August 2, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Data-Driven Foster Parent Recruitment and Retention Act of 2022 (S. 4725). The bill was closely aligned with the goals of the CHAMPS campaign. VFA joined several other national and state organizations in endorsing the legislation. Unfortunately, the legislation’s fate was closely tied to the reauthorization of Title IV-B, the federal law it modified. Although there were some early bipartisan discussions about reauthorizing Title IV-B this year, congressional Republicans wanted to maintain existing state flexibility and were uninterested in increasing program funding. The legislation may come up again in 2023, this time with Republicans taking the lead in the House.
Court Improvement: Another issue that was tied to IV-B legislation was a reauthorization of the federal Court Improvement Program (CIP). The program provides funding to the highest court of each state to implement changes that will help children in foster care achieve stable, permanent families, including through adoption and guardianship placements. Bipartisan legislation (H.R. 8924), introduced by Reps. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) and Carol Miller (R-WV), would have doubled its funding from $30 to $60 million per year and implemented other reforms. This issue fell short when Republicans chose not to take up IV-B reauthorization this year but, like diligent recruitment, it could be considered again in the next Congress.
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