Romney Campaign Press Release - The Romney Agenda: Promoting Adoption In America

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Kevin Madden (857) 288-6390

Governor Romney's Plan To Promote Adoption In America:

Today, In South Carolina, Governor Romney Proposed A Three-Point Plan To Strengthen America's Families By Promoting Adoption. Since 1980, 2.5 million children have found permanent homes and families through adoption. Governor Romney believes that adoption helps to create stronger families by bringing together willing and loving parents with children who need stability, permanence, and love in their lives. As President, Governor Romney will take three steps to promote adoption in America:

First, Governor Romney Will Make The Adoption Tax Credit Permanent. Because it has been instrumental in promoting adoption in America, Governor Romney will make the adoption tax credit permanent and index it to inflation so that its value does not diminish over time.

- The Tax Credit Was Doubled By President Bush As Part Of His Tax Cuts In 2001. In tax year 2006, parents were able to take a tax credit of up to $10,960 to help offset the costs of adoption. Unless Congress acts to make these tax cuts permanent, the adoption credit will revert back to its previous amounts ($6,000 for children with special needs and $5,000 for all other children) in 2010.

- The Increased Adoption Tax Credit Has Enabled Tens Of Thousands Of Additional Families To Adopt Children. Between 2001 and 2005, the number of tax returns claiming the adoption tax credit increased by almost 80 percent.

Second, Governor Romney Will Empower Families With Adoption Information. Governor Romney believes in empowering families with complete and accurate information about adoption. As President, he will require all family planning clinics that accept Title X funds to provide detailed information on adoption alternatives to anyone seeking family planning services.

- Currently, Those Who Seek Family Planning Services At Clinics That Accept Federal Funding Under Title X Of The Public Health Service Act Only Receive Adoption Counseling Upon Request. In 2006, approximately five million people across America received family planning services at over 4,400 clinics that accept Title X federal funding. Although adoption is a viable alternative for mothers facing unplanned pregnancies, they often are not provided adequate information about adoption when visiting Title X funded clinics. Governor Romney believes that birthmothers deserve to be treated with respect and should receive the benefit of complete and accurate information about adoption.

Third, Governor Romney Will Reform The Foster Care Financing System. There are over 500,000 children in foster care in the United States, with 114,000 of them awaiting adoption. Governor Romney believes that every child in foster care deserves a permanent home. He wants foster care to be a truly temporary, short-term arrangement for these children until they can find permanent families.

- Governor Romney Will Give States Flexibility To Use Their Federal Dollars For A Greater Diversity Of Services For Children And Families. The existing foster care financing system requires that the majority of federal funds allocated to states for child welfare services be used to maintain children in foster care, and for related administrative and training costs. This creates financial incentives to keep kids in foster care for far too long. It also restricts the ability of states to use federal funds to help move foster youth into permanent families or keep them out of foster care in the first place. To remedy this problem, Governor Romney will eliminate federal mandates to give states the flexibility to use federal foster care funding on programs that help keep families together, move foster youth into permanent families more quickly, or help foster youth transition to adulthood safely.

- Governor Romney Will Provide Federal Foster Care Funding For All Children Who Are Victims Of Neglect Or Abuse, Regardless Of Income. Today, thousands of abused and neglected children are left without federal foster care funding. This is because current law includes an outdated requirement that limits federal foster care funding to children whose birthparents meet income eligibility requirements under a now-defunct welfare law. Governor Romney will work to ensure that every abused or neglected child is protected from harm by removing the link between federal foster care funding and outdated income eligibility requirements.

- Governor Romney Believes In Encouraging And Promoting The Adoption Of Foster Youth. As President, he will call for the establishment of public-private partnerships between private adoption agencies, faith-based and other community organizations, and public child welfare agencies to recruit and prepare parents for adoption and foster parenting, and to retain these valuable resources through post-placement support services.