Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Dec/Jan 2009Vol. 9, No. 10President Bush Signs New Child Welfare Legislation

On October 7, 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law H.R. 6893, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. The new law, Public Law (P.L.) 110-351, generally amends titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act to provide support to some relative caregivers, provide for Tribal foster care and adoption access, and improve incentives to promote adoption.

Major provisions of the Act include:

  • Extending and expanding adoption incentives through Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2013
  • Creating an option to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments
  • Creating an option to extend eligibility for title IV-E foster care, adoption assistance, and kinship guardianship payments to age 21 beginning in FFY 2011
  • Phasing in the de-linking of adoption assistance from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) eligibility beginning in FFY 2011
  • Providing federally recognized Indian Tribes or consortia with the option to operate a title IV-E program beginning in FFY 2010

The Children's Bureau provides guidance on the new Act in a Program Instruction and an Information Memorandum:

Additional materials will be posted to the Children's Bureau website in the coming months.

The full-text of P.L. 110-351 can be found online:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bills&docid=f:h6893enr.txt.pdf (109 - KB)

A draft compilation of the revised Social Security Act also can be found on the Children's Bureau website:
www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/laws_policies/cblaws/safe2008draft.htm