Work In Action
Read our seasonal Work in Action updates:
Spring 2021
VFA is part of the Adoption Tax Credit Working Group, which advocates to save and improve the adoption tax credit by making it refundable.
February
VFA is part of the Adoption Tax Credit Working Group, which advocates to save and improve the adoption tax credit by making it refundable.
March
Hosted a policy call with Angelique Day Ph.D, one of the leading minds for child welfare advocacy and reform. The call educated members about Biden-Harris Administration’s transition team’s progress on foster care, adoption, housing, immigration, and child welfare legislation.
April
Hosted a policy call with David Simmons that focused on discussing his work with National Indian Children Welfare Association such as helping tribal leaders improve governance at the community level, appropriations, and looking at ways to improve policies that affect tribal families and children.
May
John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act extends a ban on discriminating against families or children on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and religious beliefs, among others.
June
Advocated with the Child Welfare League of America for additional funding for the Adoption Opportunities Program and Adoption and Legal Guardianship Incentives Payments Program
Winter 2020
VFA educates the public through amplifying the lived experiences of foster families in the 2020 Adoptive Family Portrait Project booklet! This year’s theme is: A Year of Unprecedented Challenges - Adoptive Families Demonstrating Resilience.
December 2020
VFA educates the public through amplifying the lived experiences of foster families in the 2020 Adoptive Family Portrait Project booklet! This year’s theme is: A Year of Unprecedented Challenges - Adoptive Families Demonstrating Resilience. We are proud to feature over thirty families coming from states including Colorado, Florida, Missouri, and Oregon.
Fall 2020
Hosted a policy call exploring the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on foster care and adoption. VFA was grateful to have two speakers, Alicia Groh, an independent consultant for the Children Bureau Capacity Center for States, and Andrea Glass, the Director of Wendy's Wonderful Kids.
October
Hosted a policy call exploring the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on foster care and adoption. VFA was grateful to have two speakers, Alicia Groh, an independent consultant for the Children Bureau Capacity Center for States, and Andrea Glass, the Director of Wendy's Wonderful Kids.
November
Hosted the Adoption National Adoption Briefing & Adoptive Family Portrait Project Reception where members from the Senate Congressional Coalition on Adoption and families from the Portrait Project spoke of their policy recommendations. Families advocated for additional adoption policies and resources post-adoption to ensure children are provided everything to persevere in life. Guest appearances by Senator Blunt, Senator Marco Rubio, and a letter from Senator Grassley.
Summer 2020
Voice for Adoption joined many children’s groups and advocates in August 2020 to file an amicus brief supporting the City of Philadelphia in upholding their non-discrimination requirements in child placements.
July
Encouraged members to call, post, and write to Senator Grassley to support older youth leaving foster care by increasing Chafee funds. During the COVID-19 pandemic, is important that no youth age out of foster care into an economy that has not recovered.
September
Voice for Adoption joined many children’s groups and advocates in August 2020 to file an amicus brief supporting the City of Philadelphia in upholding their non-discrimination requirements in child placements.
Supported the Affordable Care Act (ACA) because we recognize that children in the foster care system are some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations. VFA urges Congress to maintain access to Medicaid for youth who aged out of foster care up until age 26 and maintain this benefit in every state and oppose special Medicaid waiver requirements that serve as a barrier to Medicaid and health care coverage.
Encouraged constituents to partake in grassroots activism by urging Congress to act on the Supporting Foster Youth and Families Through the Pandemic Act (H.R. 7947) and the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (“HEROES Act”). Both of these help provide COVID-19 related relief and support.
Spring 2020
Wrote a Call to Action letter to congress that focuses on ways federal funding changes can support families to keep children safe from child abuse and neglect, strengthen response and intervention systems to meet the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, and address the needs of older youth already in, or transitioning out of, the foster care system.
March
Hosted a policy call with Patrick Lester that focuses on examining opportunities for adoption programs in Family First.
April
Hosted a Town Hall for agencies, providers, families, and individuals who work and support youth in foster care waiting to be adopted, and the families who adopt them. The meeting centered around the needs of the adoption and foster care community during the novel COVID-19 pandemic.
Wrote a Call to Action letter to congress that focuses on ways federal funding changes can support families to keep children safe from child abuse and neglect, strengthen response and intervention systems to meet the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, and address the needs of older youth already in, or transitioning out of, the foster care system.
As the COVID-19 Pandemic continued in the U.S., VFA compiled a list of COVID-19 and foster care and adoption resources for the general public
May
VFA urges members to contact members of congress to advocate for the CARES 2.0 Stimulus Package. More specific requests include providing an additional $500 billion in state financial relief as requested by the National Governors Association, increasing the FMAP reimbursement rate to 12% under Medicaid and all of Title IV-E, increase funding to Title IV-B, Part 2 (PSSF) by $1 billion, increase Chafee Funding by $500 million and extend eligibility for foster care and Chafee aftercare services to age 23 so no young person ages out during the pandemic.
Winter 2019
Submitted comments to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources, Health and Human Services Grants Regulation, on the HHS notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would repeal anti-discrimination provisions as implemented during the Obama Administration before the due date of Thursday, December 19.
December 2019
Submitted comments to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources, Health and Human Services Grants Regulation, on the HHS notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would repeal anti-discrimination provisions as implemented during the Obama Administration before the due date of Thursday, December 19.
January 2020
Participated in the State coalition call for Every Child Deserves a Family Campaign
Conducted Annual 2020 Child Welfare Policy Landscape visits with senate finance and discusses the Family First Transition and Services Act of 2019 and emphasizes the importance of post-adoption services.
February 2020
Lobbied for the Every Child Deserves a Family Act and met with Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick to discuss our support for the act
Fall 2019
VFA is focusing advocacy efforts on appropriations to maintain the Adoption-Kinship Incentive fund at $75 million to cover the anticipated incentives and Adoption Opportunities increased by $3 million to $42 million.
September
VFA is focusing advocacy efforts on appropriations to maintain the Adoption-Kinship Incentive fund at $75 million to cover the anticipated incentives and Adoption Opportunities increased by $3 million to $42 million.
August: VFA urges constituents to contact their state legislators about migrant and asylum-seeking children being separated from their families and placed in detention facilities that are unfit to care for their safety and wellbeing
VFA releases their official statement regarding this issue
July 2019: VFA joins meets with other child welfare agencies to discuss implementation of the Family First Prevention Services (FFPS) Act of 2018, federal budget negeotiations, and the progress of the Every Child Deserves a Family (ECDF) Campaign over several meetings.
June 2019: VFA submits comments on AFCARS, releases letter of support for Every Child Deserves a Family Act
October
VFA co-authored a letter to the House Appropriations Committee regarding the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget. Per request from Congress, VFA submitted written testimony on best practices in the adoption field and responses to questions regarding the HHS waivers.
November
VFA Hosts Annual Adoptive Family Portrait Project
Currently working on implementation of Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018
Advocating for CAPTA with Child Welfare League of America.
Actively working on the Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act, which would make the adoption tax credit refundable to those families that do not have a tax burden and those who are low income.
Founding co-chair of the Every Child Deserves a Family Campaign, fighting to end discrimination in child welfare, specifically foster care and adoption, based on sexual orientation, religion, and marital status.
VFA holds National Adoption Month Briefing, with families from around the U.S. as speakers, National Adoption Month awards are given to two child welfare leaders for their work in adoption and to four members of Congress for their bipartisan work to support adoption from foster care.
Spring 2019
Family Equality Council and VFA have drafted a sign-on letter against discrimination in foster care and adoption. A total of 87 members of the US House of Representatives have signed on.
February
Family Equality Council and VFA have drafted a sign-on letter against discrimination in foster care and adoption. A total of 87 members of the US House of Representatives have signed on.
March
VFA recommended changes to the Adoption Opportunities Act, including seeking increased funding (above the current $39 million) to strengthen and develop post-adoption services—especially for families in crisis—recruitment of adoptive families for older youth, and programs to address overrepresentation of children and youth of color in foster care.
VFA has also been advocating for Congress to maintain the current statutory requirement to have an adoption resource center.
VFA has been working with Representative Jim Langevin (D-RI) on the issue of unregulated custody transfers of children—what some people describe as “re-homing.”
May
Voice for Adoption’s Executive Director, Schylar Baber, provides personal testimony on a panel for the Every Child Deserves a Family Act. Introduced by long-time civil rights activist and highly respected member of congress, John Lewis. Schylar has personal lived experience from growing up in the Montana’s foster care system, specifically around discrimination and religious abuse.
Winter 2018
VFA and other national organizations participated in a national press call to discuss the waivers requested from HHS by states to grant a nondiscrimination exemption that would permit foster-care organizations to continue receiving taxpayer dollars despite placing children in homes only of certain faiths.
December
VFA and other national organizations participated in a national press call to discuss the waivers requested from HHS by states to grant a nondiscrimination exemption that would permit foster-care organizations to continue receiving taxpayer dollars despite placing children in homes only of certain faiths.
Summer 2018
VFA, in partnership with CWLA, was successful in getting Congress to appropriate Adoption Incentives at $75 million, marking the beginning of catching up on funds owed to the states.
July
VFA has been actively opposing the Aderholt Amendment that was proposed in House Labor- HHS Appropriations bill. This amendment seeks to allow service providers to use religion to discriminate against single parents, different religions, and LGBTQ families and youths. The amendment thus far has passed in the House committee. Click here to read the child welfare opposition letter.
VFA, in partnership with CWLA, was successful in getting Congress to appropriate Adoption Incentives at $75 million, marking the beginning of catching up on funds owed to the states.
Summer 2017
Worked towards the passage of the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018 that would open up federal foster care dollars to be used to prevent foster care altogether.
June
VFA's executive director, Schylar Baber, co -authored an op-ed concerning Texas' House Bill 3859 "Texas Law Prioritizes Child Welfare Providers Over Children" with April Dinwoodie, chief executive of the Donaldson Adoption Institute (DAI), and Kimberly Paglino, program director of the DAI, and Mary Boo, executive director of the North American Council on Adoptable Children. Click here to read the piece.
VFA works to fight for Medicaid protection for youth in foster care and adoptive families during Health Care reform.
VFA stands with other organizations to fight and successfully save the Adoption Tax Credit that was about to be eliminated during tax reform efforts.
Worked towards the passage of the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018 that would open up federal foster care dollars to be used to prevent foster care altogether.