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Congress poised to act on landmark child welfare legislation

Children’s Rights has joined more than 300 child welfare advocacy organizations across the United States in signing a letter to the leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives urging them to act now to pass what many are calling the most significant child welfare legislation in a decade.

In June, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the Fostering Connections to Success Act, sponsored by Reps. Jim McDermott and Jerry Weller of Washington State. On September 10, the Senate Finance Committee passed the Improved Adoption Incentives and Relative Guardianship Support Act of 2008. This clears the way for the negotiating process to reconcile the House and Senate bills to continue — and, we hope, for the legislation to be passed before the members of Congress adjourn for the November election.

Both bills include several provisions that would help hundreds of thousands of children in foster care by:

Our colleagues at the Child Welfare League of America have more information about the Senate and House bills in the advocacy section of their website. Give them a look to find out more — or check out our own policy projects section to learn about Children’s Rights’ work on many of these critical issues.