Bipartisan Senate Letter Calls for Investment in Evidence-based Post-Adoption Services

On April 13, the two Senate co-chairs of the Congressional Adoption Coalition, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee calling on them to set aside at least $2 million in FY 2024 to research evidence-based post-adoption services. Voice for Adoption has endorsed this set-aside and is working to enact it into law. 

Under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), which was enacted in 2018, post-adoption services are eligible for funding if they meet the law’s strict evidence standards. Unfortunately, due to a lack of research funding, there are no adoption-specific programs that currently meet those standards. With FFPSA funding projected to reach $3 billion per year within the next decade, this represents a significant untapped opportunity to support post-adoption services.

According to President Biden’s FY 2024 budget, which was submitted to Congress earlier this year and assumes level funding from the prior year,  there is currently enough money in the Adoption Opportunities program to fund 13 new grants averaging about $2.5 million each. The Senate letter asks the administration to set aside at least one of these grants for evidence-building.

The letter, which was also signed by Sens. Maggie Hassan, Sherrod Brown, Richard Blumenthal, and Dianne Feinstein, includes a request to the Senate Appropriations Committee to include the following in this year’s funding language for the Adoption Opportunities program:

Adoption Opportunities.—The Committee recognizes that adoption arrangements at risk of a disruption or dissolution that would result in a foster care placement are eligible for funding under the Family First Prevention Services Act. However, no programs expressly designed to meet the needs of these families have been approved by the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse. The Committee directs not less than $2,000,000 to studies of adoption programs that would qualify for funding under the Family First Prevention Services Act and meet the evidence standards established by the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse. The Committee encourages the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to prioritize programs with existing evidence and studies that can be completed rapidly while meeting the high evidence standards of the clearinghouse.

In related news, the Administration for Children and Families recently released an $8.9 million grant opportunity for building evidence-based programs that would qualify for Family First funding.

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