42 U.S.C. § 5111 — Congressional findings and declaration of

Page 6336 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 5108 States and public and private, nonprofit organi- zations and agencies, or through jointly fi- nanced cooperative arrangements with States, public agencies, and other agencies and organi- zations, is authorized to provide for activities of national significance related to child abuse pre- vention and treatment and adoption reform, in- cluding operation of a national center to collect and disseminate information regarding child abuse and neglect, and operation of a national adoption information exchange system to facili- tate the adoptive placement of children. (2) The Secretary, in carrying out the provi- sions of this subsection, shall provide for the continued operation of the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect in accordance with sec- tion 5101(a) of this title for each of the fiscal years 1982 and 1983. (3) If the Secretary determines, in fiscal year 1982 or 1983, to carry out any of the activities de- scribed in section 5101(b) of this title, the Sec- retary shall carry out such activities through the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. (b) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $12,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1982 and 1983. Of the amounts appro- priated under this subsection for any fiscal year, not less than $2,000,000 shall be available to carry out title II of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 [42 U.S.C. 5111 et seq.]. (Pub. L. 97–35, title VI, § 610, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 488.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978, referred to in subsec. (b), is Pub. L. 95–266, Apr. 24, 1978, 92 Stat. 205. Title II of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adop- tion Reform Act of 1978 is classified generally to sub- chapter II (§ 5111 et seq.) of this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1978 Amendment note set out under section 5101 of this title and Tables. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, and not as part of title I of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act which comprises this subchapter. § 5108. Monitoring and oversight The Secretary shall conduct monitoring to en- sure that each State that receives a grant under section 5106a of this title is in compliance with the requirements of section 5106a(b) of this title, which— (1) shall— (A) be in addition to the review of the State plan upon its submission under section 5106a(b)(1)(A) of this title; and (B) include monitoring of State policies and procedures required under clauses (ii) and (iii) of section 5106a(b)(2)(B) of this title; and (2) may include— (A) a comparison of activities carried out by the State to comply with the require- ments of section 5106a(b) of this title with the State plan most recently approved under section 629b of this title; (B) a review of information available on the website of the State relating to its com- pliance with the requirements of section 5106a(b) of this title; (C) site visits, as may be necessary to carry out such monitoring; and (D) a review of information available in the State’s Annual Progress and Services Report most recently submitted under sec- tion 1357.16 of title 45, Code of Federal Regu- lations (or successor regulations). (Pub. L. 93–247, title I, § 114, as added Pub. L. 114–198, title V, § 503(d)(1), July 22, 2016, 130 Stat. 730.) SUBCHAPTER II—ADOPTION OPPORTUNITIES § 5111. Congressional findings and declaration of purpose (a) Findings Congress finds that— (1) on the last day of fiscal year 2009, some 424,000 children were living in temporary fos- ter family homes or other foster care settings; (2) most children in foster care are victims of child abuse or neglect by their biological parents and their entry into foster care brought them the additional trauma of separa- tion from their homes and often their commu- nities; (3) on average, children entering foster care have more physical and mental health needs than do children in the general population, and some require intensive services because the children entering foster care— (A) were born to mothers who did not re- ceive prenatal care; (B) were born with life-threatening condi- tions or disabilities; (C) were born addicted to alcohol or other drugs; or (D) have HIV/AIDS; (4) each year, thousands of children in foster care, regardless of their age, the size of the sibling group they are a part of, their racial or ethnic status, their medical condition, or any physical, mental or emotional disability they may have, are in need of placement with per- manent, loving, adoptive families; (5)(A) States have made important strides in increasing the number of children who are placed in permanent homes with adoptive par- ents and in reducing the length of time chil- dren wait for such a placement; and (B) many thousands of children, however, still remain in institutions or foster homes solely because of legal and other barriers to such a placement; (6)(A) on the last day of fiscal year 2009, there were 115,000 children waiting for adop- tion; (B) children waiting for adoption have had parental rights of all living parents termi- nated or the children have a permanency goal of adoption; (C)(i) the average age of children adopted with public child welfare agency involvement Page 6337 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 5111 during fiscal year 2009 was a little more than 6 years; and (ii) the average age of children waiting for adoption on the last day of that fiscal year was a little more than 8 years of age and more than 30,000 of those children were 12 years of age or older; and (D)(i) 25 percent of the children adopted with public child welfare agency involvement dur- ing fiscal year 2009 were African-American; and (ii) 30 percent of the children waiting for adoption on the last day of fiscal year 2009 were African-American; (7) adoption may be the best alternative for assuring the healthy development of children placed in foster care; (8) there are qualified persons seeking to adopt such children who are unable to do so because of barriers to their placement and adoption; and (9) in order both to enhance the stability of and love in the home environments of such children and to avoid wasteful expenditures of public funds, such children— (A) should not have medically indicated treatment withheld from them; or (B) be maintained in foster care or institu- tions when adoption is appropriate and fami- lies can be found for such children. (b) Purpose It is the purpose of this subchapter to facili- tate the elimination of barriers, including geo- graphic barriers, to adoption and to provide per- manent and loving home environments for chil- dren who would benefit from adoption, particu- larly older children, minority children, and chil- dren with special needs, including disabled in- fants with life-threatening conditions, by pro- viding a mechanism to— (1) promote quality standards for adoption services, pre-placement, post-placement, and post-legal adoption counseling, and standards to protect the rights of children in need of adoption; (2) maintain an Internet-based national adoption information exchange system to— (A) bring together children who would ben- efit from adoption and qualified prospective adoptive parents who are seeking such chil- dren; (B) conduct national recruitment efforts in order to reach prospective parents for chil- dren awaiting adoption; and (C) connect placement agencies, prospec- tive adoptive parents, and adoptive parents to resources designed to reduce barriers to adoption, support adoptive families, and en- sure permanency; and (3) demonstrate expeditious ways to free children for adoption for whom it has been de- termined that adoption is the appropriate plan. (Pub. L. 95–266, title II, § 201, Apr. 24, 1978, 92 Stat. 208; Pub. L. 98–457, title II, § 201, Oct. 9, 1984, 98 Stat. 1755; Pub. L. 102–295, title IV, § 401, May 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 211; Pub. L. 104–235, title II, § 211, Oct. 3, 1996, 110 Stat. 3090; Pub. L. 108–36, title II, § 201, June 25, 2003, 117 Stat. 818; Pub. L. 111–320, title III, § 301(a), Dec. 20, 2010, 124 Stat. 3510.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2010—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–320, § 301(a)(1), added subsec. (a) and struck out former subsec. (a) which re- lated to findings on children in institutions or foster homes. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 111–320, § 301(a)(2)(A), inserted ‘‘older children, minority children, and’’ after ‘‘particu- larly’’ in introductory provisions. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 111–320, § 301(a)(2)(B), added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: ‘‘maintain an Internet-based national adoption infor- mation exchange system to bring together children who would benefit from adoption and qualified prospec- tive adoptive parents who are seeking such children, and conduct national recruitment efforts in order to reach prospective parents for children awaiting adop- tion; and’’. 2003—Subsec. (a)(1) to (3). Pub. L. 108–36, § 201(1)(A), added pars. (1) to (3) and struck out former pars. (1) to (3) which read as follows: ‘‘(1) the number of children in substitute care in- creased by nearly 61 percent between 1986 and 1994, as our Nation’s foster care population included more than 452,000 as of June 1994; ‘‘(2) increasingly children entering foster care have complex problems which require intensive services; ‘‘(3) an increasing number of infants are born to mothers who did not receive prenatal care, are born ad- dicted to alcohol and other drugs, and exposed to infec- tion with the etiologic agent for the human immuno- deficiency virus, are medically fragile, and technology dependent;’’. Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 108–36, § 201(1)(A), (D), redesig- nated par. (5) as (4) and struck out former par. (4) which read as follows: ‘‘the welfare of thousands of children in institutions and foster homes and disabled infants with life-threatening conditions may be in serious jeopardy and some such children are in need of placement in per- manent, adoptive homes;’’. Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 108–36, § 201(1)(D), redesignated par. (7) as (5). Former par. (5) redesignated (4). Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 108–36, § 201(1)(B), (D), redesig- nated par. (8) as (6) and struck out former par. (6) which read as follows: ‘‘the majority of such children are of school age, members of sibling groups or disabled;’’. Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 108–36, § 201(1)(D), redesignated par. (9) as (7). Former par. (7) redesignated (5). Subsec. (a)(7)(A). Pub. L. 108–36, § 201(1)(C), added sub- par. (A) and struck out former subpar. (A) which read as follows: ‘‘currently, 40,000 children are free for adop- tion and awaiting placement;’’. Subsec. (a)(8) to (10). Pub. L. 108–36, § 201(1)(D), redes- ignated pars. (8) to (10) as (6) to (8), respectively. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 108–36, § 201(2)(A), inserted ‘‘, including geographic barriers,’’ after ‘‘barriers’’ in introductory provisions. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 108–36, § 201(2)(B), substituted ‘‘an Internet-based national’’ for ‘‘a national’’. 1996—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 104–235, § 211(1)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘61 percent between 1986 and 1994’’ for ‘‘50 per- cent between 1985 and 1990’’ and ‘‘452,000 as of June 1994’’ for ‘‘400,000 children at the end of June, 1990’’. Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 104–235, § 211(1)(B), substituted ‘‘legal’’ for ‘‘local’’. Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 104–235, § 211(1)(C), amended par. (7) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (7) read as follows: ‘‘currently one-half of children free for adop- tion and awaiting placement are minorities;’’. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–235, § 211(2), substituted ‘‘con- ditions, by providing a mechanism to—’’ for ‘‘condi- tions, by— ‘‘(1) promoting model adoption legislation and pro- cedures in the States and territories of the United States in order to eliminate jurisdictional and legal obstacles to adoption; and Page 6338 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 5112 ‘‘(2) providing a mechanism for the Department of Health and Human Services to—’’, redesignated subpars. (A) to (C) of former par. (2) as pars. (1) to (3), respectively, and realigned margins. 1992—Pub. L. 102–295 amended section generally, des- ignating existing provisions as subsecs. (a) and (b), in- serting findings relating to the number of children in substitute care, foster care children with complex prob- lems which require intensive services, infants born without prenatal care, addicted to alcohol or other drugs, or exposed to infection with the etiologic agent for human immunodeficiency virus, and percentage of children awaiting adoption who are minorities, insert- ing as purposes of this subchapter to provide a mecha- nism to recruit prospective parents for children await- ing adoption and to demonstrate expeditious ways to free children for adoption, and striking out as a pur- pose to provide a mechanism to coordinate with Fed- eral departments and agencies to provide national adoption and foster care information data-gathering and analysis system. 1984—Pub. L. 98–457, § 201(a), (b)(1), in provisions be- fore par. (1), inserted ‘‘the welfare of thousands of chil- dren in institutions and foster homes and disabled in- fants with life-threatening conditions may be in serious jeopardy and that some such children are in need of placement in permanent, adoptive homes, that’’ and substituted ‘‘should not have medically indicated treatment withheld from them, nor be maintained in foster care’’ for ‘‘should not be maintained in foster care’’ and ‘‘children with special needs, including dis- abled infants with life-threatening conditions, by’’ for ‘‘children with special needs by’’. Par. (2). Pub. L. 98–457, § 201(b)(2), amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) read as follows: ‘‘providing a mechanism for the Department of Health and Human Services to (A) promote quality standards for adoption services (including pre-placement, post- placement, and post-adoption counseling and standards to protect the rights of children in need of adoption), and (B) provide for a national adoption and foster care information data gathering and analysis system and a national adoption information exchange system to bring together children who would benefit by adoption and qualified prospective adoptive parents who are seeking such children.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries STUDY OF INTERJURISDICTIONAL ADOPTION ISSUES Pub. L. 105–89, title II, § 202(c), Nov. 19, 1997, 111 Stat. 2126, provided that the Comptroller General of the United States would study and consider improvement of procedures and policies to facilitate the timely and permanent adoptions of children across State and coun- ty jurisdictions, examine various interjurisdictional adoption issues, and report the results of the study and improvement recommendation no later than 1 year after Nov. 19, 1997. § 5112. Repealed. Pub. L. 102–295, title IV, § 402, May 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 213 Section, Pub. L. 95–266, title II, § 202, Apr. 24, 1978, 92 Stat. 208; Pub. L. 98–457, title II, § 202, Oct. 9, 1984, 98 Stat. 1756, related to model adoption legislation and procedures. § 5113. Information and services (a) In general The Secretary shall establish in the Depart- ment of Health and Human Services an appro- priate administrative arrangement to provide a centralized focus for planning and coordinating of all departmental activities affecting adoption and foster care and for carrying out the provi- sions of this subchapter. The Secretary shall make available such consultant services, on-site technical assistance and personnel, together with appropriate administrative expenses, in- cluding salaries and travel costs, as are nec- essary for carrying out such purposes, including services to facilitate the adoption of older chil- dren, minority children, and children with spe- cial needs, particularly infants and toddlers with disabilities who have life-threatening con- ditions, and services to families considering adoption of children with special needs. (b) Required activities In connection with carrying out the provisions of this subchapter, the Secretary shall— (1) conduct (directly or by grant to or con- tract with public or private agencies or orga- nizations) an education and training program on adoption, and prepare, publish, and dis- seminate (directly or by grant to or contract with public or private agencies and organiza- tions) to all interested parties, public and pri- vate agencies and organizations (including, but not limited to, hospitals, health care and family planning clinics, and social services agencies), and governmental bodies, informa- tion and education and training materials re- garding adoption, adoption assistance pro- grams, and post-legal adoption services; (2) conduct, directly or by grant or contract with public or private organizations, ongoing, extensive recruitment efforts on a national level, including efforts to promote the adop- tion of older children, minority children, and children with special needs, develop national public awareness efforts to unite children in need of adoption with appropriate adoptive parents, and establish a coordinated referral system of recruited families with appropriate State or regional adoption resources to ensure that families are served in a timely fashion; (3) notwithstanding any other provision of law, provide (directly or by grant to or con- tract with public or private agencies or orga- nizations) for (A) the operation of a national adoption information exchange system (in- cluding only such information as is necessary to facilitate the adoptive placement of chil- dren, utilizing computers and data processing methods to assist in the location of children who would benefit by adoption and in the placement in adoptive homes of children awaiting adoption); and (B) the coordination of such system with similar State and regional systems; (4) provide (directly or by grant to or con- tract with public or private agencies or orga- nizations, including adoptive family groups and minority groups) for the provision of tech- nical assistance in the planning, improving, developing, and carrying out of programs and activities relating to adoption, and to promote professional leadership training of minorities in the adoption field; (5) encourage involvement of corporations and small businesses in supporting adoption as a positive family-strengthening option, includ- ing the establishment of adoption benefit pro- grams for employees who adopt children; (6) support the placement of children in kin- ship care arrangements, pre-adoptive, or adop- tive homes;