State Legislative Analysis Reveals Areas of Partisan Agreement, Disagreement on Adoption and Kinship Care

On December 19, the Bipartisan Policy Center released a review of recent state legislative activity across a wide range of child welfare-related issues that revealed multiple areas of partisan agreement and disagreement, including on VFA’s core issues of adoption and permanency.

The review was part of a larger effort by its new Child Welfare Initiative (CWI), launched on November 8, which has been working to identify and elevate bipartisan strategies for improving outcomes for children and families in the child welfare system. The Initiative has also released initial findings from interviews with over 100 stakeholders, as well as national and state polling results.

The stakeholder interviews found significant bipartisan consensus across a range of issues, including re-examining the termination of parental rights, supporting kinship families, and improving the child welfare workforce. However, interviews also revealed concerns about rising partisanship, both generally and across specific issues such as racial inequities and LGBTQ+ youth. 

The national poll results seemed to indicate greater opportunities to find common ground. For example, they indicated widespread public belief in a dual role for the child welfare system, both protecting children and supporting families, and that Americans do not view these two goals as being in tension with one another. A large majority of Americans (74 percent) believe that neglectful parents can provide safe and nurturing care for their children if provided appropriate support.

When separation occurs, most Americans support giving parents sufficient time to meet the requirements for family reunification. Just over half (57 percent), however, also agree with setting a 15-month timeline for termination of parental rights. When adoption occurs, most (71 percent) say that adoptive parents should help maintain ongoing and safe relationships between their adopted children and their biological families.

The state legislative review, which for most states covered legislation introduced in 2023 as well as the preceding legislative session, appeared to reflect elements of both the stakeholder interviews and the polling results. Some legislation seemed grounded in bipartisan agreement while other state efforts reflected a deeper partisan divide.

Highlights from the report that were most closely related to adoption, kinship care, and permanency include the following:

Adoption: The report identified 34 bills introduced in 21 states on adoption, ten of which were enacted. Most of the bills introduced (20) or enacted (6) were sponsored by Republicans.

In general, Republicans took a stronger interest in expediting the adoption process. Six bills on this topic were enacted (in Alabama, Mississippi, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas).  Republicans supported bills that would waive home studies, eliminate waiting periods, streamline court procedures, dispense with pre-adoption reports, facilitate adoption by foster parents, and provide financial assistance to adoptive families.

Bills covering post-adoption contact agreements came from both parties, but only two were enacted, both with Republican sponsors (in Arkansas and Montana). This work was well-aligned with the national polling results, where 71 percent agreed that adoptive parents should help their adopted children maintain ongoing and safe relationships with their biological families.

Other adoption issues that were enacted included an expanded adoption tax credit in Georgia.

Termination of Parental Rights:  Thirty bills affecting the termination of parental rights (TPR) were introduced in 17 states. In general, more Republicans than Democrats sponsored bills to terminate parental rights, including bills that would expand the list of grounds for TPR, expedite court processes, and require public agencies to file TPR petitions under certain circumstances. The primary issue where Republicans were more likely to limit TPR was anything related to a child’s immunization status, which happened in two states (New Hampshire and Idaho), although the latter occurred with bipartisan support.

Republicans in Texas were an exception to this broader trend. There GOP lawmakers enacted legislation that would prohibit a court from ordering TPR unless it found clear and convincing evidence that the state had made reasonable efforts to return the child to his or her parent or that reasonable efforts had been waived.

Apart from Texas and the few cases involving immunization status, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to propose limiting the grounds for TPR, especially grounds related to parental incarceration. None of these Democratic bills were enacted, however.  

Kinship Care: Kinship care drew substantial bipartisan support. Legislators in 21 states introduced 33 bills on this issue and passed 13 of them. State legislative activity on this issue seemed to reflect the results of the Child Welfare Initiative's national poll, which found "90 percent favoring family involvement before considering foster care and 76 percent opposing adoption until all family care options are exhausted."

Related bills were enacted in Arkansas, California, Georgia, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. In general, legislators from both parties supported enhancing access to kinship guardianship, improving family finding and engagement, and creating or enhancing financial assistance for relative caregivers.

Child Welfare Workforce: Workforce-related issues also saw substantial activity, with legislators in 17 states introducing 28 bills on this topic. In general, Democrats showed more interest in this issue. They introduced a variety of bills affecting caseloads, training, worker safety, worker discipline, and salaries. Only three of the bills were enacted, however, all three of which were focused on addressing caseload issues (in Delaware, New Jersey, and West Virginia).

Racial Disproportionality: The review identified six bills that were introduced to address racial disproportionality in the child welfare system, four backed by Democratic sponsors and two that drew bipartisan support. Of the six, two were enacted, both in Illinois. One, sponsored by Democrats, established an Advisory Commission on Reducing the Disproportionate Representation of African American Children in Foster Care. The second, which drew bipartisan support, created a Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare Task Force within the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

LGBTQ Issues: LGBTQ issues were a hot-button issue that divided the two parties. Republicans introduced several bills that would treat gender-affirming care as child abuse. Democrats, by contrast, introduced bills prohibiting enforcement of another state’s law authorizing the removal of a child from a parent who allowed such care. None of these bills were enacted.

Democrats also sponsored other bills that would prohibit discrimination against foster or adoptive parents on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, require foster and adoptive parents to demonstrate an understanding of LGBTQ issues, and require them to receive implicit bias training.  Two were enacted, both in California.

Religious Issues: The treatment of providers that provide or limit services on the basis of religious beliefs was another area of partisan disagreement, with Republicans introducing bills that would allow faith-based providers to limit or deny services on this basis and Democrats introducing bills to prohibit them from doing so. Eleven bills were introduced in ten states on this topic. In all but one case (Arizona, where a Republican bill was enacted), partisan disagreement prevented the enactment of legislation on this issue.

For a more comprehensive overview that includes state legislative action on other child welfare issues such as prevention, defining abuse and neglect, and general foster care issues, see the Bipartisan Policy Center’s complete findings here.