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Sec. 1 Short Title: Families for Orphans Act of 2009
Sec. 2 Findings and Purposes
Children who grow up in families have the best chance for full development of their potential. Every child has the right to a safe, loving and permanent home and this should be a paramount concern of child welfare policies and programs. Raising children in orphanages and temporary foster care is detrimental to their health. Yet the cost benefit shows high quality interventions to improve parenting skills and maltreatment saves between $2 and $8 for every dollar spent.
Sec. 3 Important Definitions
The Families for Orphans Act is built around several key terms. They are:
- Orphan
An "orphan" is a child who lacks permanent parental care because of the death, disappearance of or the legal permanent relinquishment of both biological parents, a child who is living in an institution or a child whose biological parents' rights have been terminated.
- Institution
The term "institution" means an orphanage, a children's home, a boarding school for orphans, a shelter, a residential facility, a hospital, a dormitory, long-term foster care, and any other setting in which permanent parental care is not being provided to the child.
- Institutionalized Child
A child who is younger than 21 years of age and lives in an institution.
- Permanent Parental Care
"Permanent Parental Care" means a legally recognized relationship between a responsible adult and a child who is under 21 which is life long and provides a safe, stable physical environment. This includes adoption, legal guardianship, and legal kinship care. It does not include long term foster care, institutionalization or mentoring.
- Family Preservation
"Family Preservation" means social, therapeutic and financial programs and services designed to enable birth families to provide safe, permanent, and nurturing care to their children and strengthen and support families at risk of dissolution, separation or domestic violence.
Sec. 4 Office for Orphan Policy, Diplomacy and Development
This section establishes within the Department of State a dedicated office to promote and support the preservation and reunification of families as well as promoting and supporting loving families for children in need of homes. The office will be headed by a Coordinator who will report directly to the Secretary of State. This office would be responsible for carrying out the following eight functions:
Advisory
The Coordinator will serve as the primary advisor to the Secretary and President in all matters related to global family preservation and permanent parental care for orphans.
Diplomatic Representation
The Coordinator will represent the US in all matters and cases relevant to family preservation, reunification of families and permanent parental care. Such representation would include contacts with foreign governments, non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental agencies and special agencies of the United Nations and other international organizations of which the US is a member and multilateral conference meetings. It would also include all activities related to the diplomatic responsibilities delegated under the Hague Treaty on Intercountry Adoption.
Policy Development
The Coordinator will advise and support the DOS in the development of a comprehensive, global strategy for the preservation and reunification of families and the provision of permanent parental care for orphans. As part of this strategy, the Coordinator will also engage other governments in the development of sound policies in these same areas. More specifically, this new office will provide assistance with the drafting of legislation, the development of public and private social systems, workforce training and infrastructure development. Finally, as part of this function, the DOS host a biennial Preservation of the Family and Permanent Parental Care Conference.
Coordination
The Coordinator will help to coordinate all foreign policy and assistance related to global family preservation, and reunification and permanent parental care for orphans. The coordinator will work with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and other relevant US government agencies to maintain consistency between US foreign and domestic policy on family preservation, reunification and permanent family care.
Communication
The Coordinator will work to build awareness of the purposes of the Office of Policy Development and Diplomacy and its activities. As part of this function, the Office will host a website that will include information related to the problem and potential solutions.
Reports, Research and Assessments
The Coordinator will oversee the development of research and reports designed to expose the problems facing the world's orphans and provide support for the evidence-based solutions for addressing these issues. As part of this function, the Office will engage in a biennial census of all children who live outside parental care, collect data related to series of policy and practice indicators on the capacity of foreign governments to offer permanent parental care for their children and provide an annual report to Congress.
Oversight of Grants
The Coordinator will oversee the implementation of three new grant programs directly related to preserving families, family reunification and providing permanent parental care for families.
Sec. 5 Policy Coordinating Committee
This section establishes and interagency policy coordinating committee. Included on this committee would be the Secretary of State, the Administrator of USAID, the Attorney General, the Secretary of HHS, and the Secretary of DHS. This committee would advise the Office of Orphan Policy, Diplomacy and Development in the development of the global strategy and the coordination of domestic and international efforts on behalf of family preservation, family reunification and permanent parental care for orphans.
Sec. 6 Minimum Standards
This section establishes a set of minimum standards for the preservation of families and provision of permanent parental care by foreign governments. These standards are designed to ensure that partner countries are making efforts to reduce the number of children abandoned, reunify children with their families when possible and promote adoption and guardianship as appropriate. They are also designed to ensure that countries are dedicating an appropriate amount of resources and visibility to these issues.
Sec. 7 Grant, Pilot and Development Programs
This section establishes targeted grant programs designed to support the preservation of families and provision of permanent parental care for orphans. They are:
Assistance to Foreign Governments That Meet Minimum Standards
Makes assistance available to foreign governments that demonstrate success in meeting the majority of the minimum standards described in Sec. 103 and for bonus payments for foreign governments that are meeting or exceeding the minimum standards to improve and build upon their work.
Assistance in Support of Family Preservation, Reunification and Permanent Parental Care
Authorizes grants to support non-governmental organizations in developing and implementing programs designed to preserve families and provide permanent parental care for orphans.
Global Best Practices Pilot
Authorizes aid in support of a global best practices program. Under this program, the DOS will initiate a study to identify global best practices for preserving and reunifying families and providing permanent parental care for orphans. DOS will establish 5 pilot sites in order to identify and replicate best practices in familiy preservation, reunification and permanent parental care for orphans.
Sec. 8 Authorizations of Appropriations
Operations
Authorizes $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent fiscal year.
Assistance to Foreign Governments
Authorizes $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent fiscal year.
Assistance in Support of Family
Preservation and Permanent Parental Care
Authorizes $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent fiscal year.
Global Best Practices Pilot
Authorizes $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent fiscal year.
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Quick Links
Kidsave Advocacy
Families for Orphans Act
Families for Orphans Coalition
Frequently Asked Questions
Policy in Action
Prioritized Lists of Services to Promote Permanence for Children
FFOA Section by Section
Families for Orphans Coalition
Executive Committee
Jane Aronson,
Worldwide Orphan Foundation, orphandoctor@aol.com
Terry Baugh, Kidsave, terry@kidsave.org
Thomas DiFilipo,
Joint Council on International Children’s Services, tdifilipo@jcics.org
Chuck Johnson,
National Council for Adoption, cjohnson@adoptioncouncil.org
McLane Layton, EACH -- Equality for Adopted Children, mclane@
equalityforadoptedchildren.org
Brian Luwis, The Institute
for Orphan Advocacy, brian.luwis@awaa.org
Judith Rycus, The Institute for Human Services, JSRycus@aol.com
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