ASFA was enacted to address problems in the foster care system that prevented adoption. Many of these problems arose from an earlier bill, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980,[1] although they were not expected when that law was passed, as states decided to interpret this law to mean that biological families must be kept together in all cases. [1] The most important legislative change was the amendment by the ASFA of Title IV-E of the Social Security Act concerning financing. The purpose of ASFA is to expedite the judicial process. The main purpose of the law was to reduce the time a child spends in foster care and to expedite the process of releasing children for adoption. ASFA attaches great importance to the safety of the child. It is a shift in focus on family retention and/or the goal of family reunification, regardless of the duration or likelihood of family reunification. AFSA should address issues such as: The law required individual states to comply in order to continue receiving federal funding for the welfare of children. Thus, each State had to adopt laws compatible with ASFA; In practice, these legislative measures were very different. As a result, some States have relied more on the three exceptions in the Act to focus on reunification, while other States have placed greater emphasis on adoption. [4] The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA, Public Law 105-89) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 19, 1997, after being approved by the United States Congress earlier that month. [1] Women in state prisons are more likely to care for their children while in care, and because incarceration disproportionately affects some families and communities, some grandmothers have to care for multiple grandchildren. This can be financially burdensome and make contact even more difficult.
The majority of people are detained more than 100 miles from their families, and even a single phone call can be prohibitively expensive. On 19 November 1997, the President enacted the Adoption and Family Safety Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-89) to improve child safety, promote adoption and other permanent homes for children in need, and support families. This new Act contains amendments and clarifications in various directives issued under the Adoption Assistance and Child Protection Act (P.L. 96-272), the main federal law enacted in 1980 to assist states in protecting and caring for abused and neglected children. The new law: The ASFA – ASFA date has certain dates, often referred to as the “ASFA date”. These efforts to relax ASFA`s strict guidelines do not prohibit states from terminating parental rights if a judge determines that it is in the best interests of the child to do so. But by giving incarcerated parents the opportunity to advocate for reunification with their children, these states recognize that incarceration alone does not automatically make a person an incapacitated parent for life. New York and Washington recognize that arbitrary separation of parent-child relationships can do more harm than good. Revocation of parental rights (EFA) – An application for deprivation of parental rights must be filed if: (1) the child has been in care for 15 of the last 22 months, (2) the child has been abandoned, i.e. has had no contact with the parent in the last 6 months, or (3) the parent has been convicted of any of the crimes listed above, EXCEPT the Child Welfare League of America, Inc.
440 First Street. NW. Third floor. Washington DC 20001-2085 202/638-2952 ASFA has three built-in exceptions. Parents may be exempted from the 15 months out of 22 period if: Permanency Plan – A written permanency plan must be attached to the petition to verify placement. The permanency plan must consider the five options for terminating a child`s foster care. The five alternatives for permanency are: With the passage of the Federal Adoption and Family Safety Act (ASFA) in 1997, states were automatically required to file a petition to terminate parental rights once a child had been placed in foster care for 15 of the previous 22 months. ASFA`s goal is to prevent children from remaining in foster care indefinitely by making them eligible for adoption after a certain period of time. But these lofty intentions are at odds with the realities of mass incarceration, and the law increases the chances against incarcerated parents trying to uphold their children`s legal rights. Five million children experience the imprisonment of a parent at some point in their lives. As a result, many of these children will live with parents such as grandparents or be placed in foster care. Some of these families will never be legally reunited.
In addition, ASFA marked a fundamental shift in thinking about the best interests of the child by focusing on children`s health and safety concerns and moving away from a policy of reuniting children with their biological parents, regardless of previous abuse. [1] As such, ASFA has been considered the most comprehensive change to the U.S. adoption and foster care system in about two decades. [1] One of ASFA`s main sponsors, Republican Senator John H. Chafee of Rhode Island, said, “We will not continue with the current system, where the needs and rights of birth parents always come first. It is time for us to realize that some families simply cannot and should not be kept together. [1] Compelling reasons for not submitting a request for termination – (This section is contrary to the federal LFSA and can therefore be amended or declared invalid) For more information on ASFA and various government reforms, see: The court may be asked to make a “no reasonable effort” order stating that the Agency does not have to make all reasonable efforts, keep children at home or maintain the child`s legal relationship with the parent. Prior to ASFA, agencies had to make EVERY reasonable effort to maintain “family ties”. One issue that the court MUST consider in the “no reasonable effort” order is whether the domestic violence occurred in the home. In addition, if the following is proven by clear and convincing evidence, the court will make a decision “without reasonable effort”: Notice of hearing requirements – Since under the ASFA, revocation of parental rights can occur when a child is in foster care for 15 of the 22 months (15/22 rule), parents must be notified to ensure they are aware of whether the child is in foster care.
Foster parents, adoptive parents and guardians must also be informed of the proceedings and given the opportunity to be heard. The court may make an order to stay the judgment at any time prior to termination. ASFA also provides foster parents, adoptive parents or relatives caring for foster parents with the subject of ongoing hearings and the opportunity to be heard.