Newest ABA Youth Policies       AUGUST 2008

That the American Bar Association urges Congress to change laws, including amendment of Titles IV-E and IV-B of the Social Security Act, to broaden federal review of the disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minority children in the child welfare system and require and fund states to track, report, analyze, and take and report on corrective action.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association urges state, local, territorial and tribal child welfare agencies, dependency courts and judges, and children’s and parents’ advocates to help racial and ethnic minority families readily access needed services and to help ensure that removal of children from their homes is based on objective child safety criteria so that all families in the child welfare system are treated fairly and equitably.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association urges state, local, territorial and tribal child welfare agencies, dependency courts and judges, government, parents’ and children’s attorneys, guardians ad litem and court-appointed special advocates to receive training on cultural competencies, institutional and unconscious biases, and avoidance of disparate treatment of racial and ethnic minority children and families and to develop and promote practices that encourage recruitment and retention of racially and ethnically diverse judges, attorneys, social workers and other staff, volunteers and foster parents.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association urges federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments to enact law and policy changes that will help decrease disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minority children in the child welfare system by offering additional support to relative caregivers, including (a) providing partial federal reimbursement for state costs of subsidized permanent guardianships; (b) providing relative caregivers with financial assistance and support no less than that given to non-relative caretakers; (c) supporting housing assistance for relative caregivers, including changing policies to ensure that kinship support or guardianship payments are not considered income for Section 8 Housing Assistance purposes; and (d) giving states flexibility in establishing separate approval or licensing standards for kinship placements, while still addressing key placement safety factors.

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association supports the implementation of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, which entered into force with respect to the United States on April 1, 2008, so as to advance the responsible practice of intercountry adoption as an integral part of a comprehensive, concurrent strategy to address the problems of children around the world who are without permanent homes;

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association supports international adoption as an integral part of a comprehensive child welfare strategy to address the worldwide problem of children without permanent homes and supports policies that make the process of international adoption more timely, less costly and less burdensome, while ensuring that international adoption practices are ethical and legal;

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association supports the provision of comprehensive social services, economic support, and other family preservation resources in countries of origin to parents, or other relatives who have assumed a parental role, so that they can keep and nurture their children, and urges the United States government to provide resources and technical assistance to support such efforts;

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association supports worldwide development of safe and nurturing family-like temporary care for children without permanent homes pending their reunification with families of origin or their permanent placement with adoptive families, avoiding institutional placements to the greatest extent feasible so as to prevent the detrimental effects of such placements on the cognitive and psychological development of young children;

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association supports laws, policies, and practices that help assure that in-country adoption, permanent guardianship, and other permanent nurturing placement options are readily available for children without permanent homes; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges the U.S. government, state and local governments, bar associations, and relevant non-governmental organizations to promote policies to improve child welfare systems and enhance opportunities for international adoption that are consistent with these policies, in the United States and throughout the world.