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Order Code RL32296

CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web

Child Welfare: The Adoption Incentives Program

March 8, 2004

Kendall Swenson
Visiting Research Associate
Domestic Social Policy Division

Congressional Research Service ~ The Library of Congress
Child Welfare: The Adoption Incentives Program

Summary
The Adoption Incentives program was created by Congress in 1997 as part of
an overall strategy to promote safety and expedited permanency for children in state
foster care systems. The program provides cash payments to states that are successful
in increasing the number of children adopted from the public child welfare system.
As currently structured, the program consists of three separate bonus payments, based
on adoption increases above three numerical baselines. The three separate adoption
bonus payments are based on: (1) increases in total adoptions, (2) increases in
adoptions of children age nine or older, and (3) increases in adoptions of children
under age nine with special needs. States are eligible to receive $4,000 for each
child adopted over the total adoption baseline and $4,000 for each child age nine or
older above the older children baseline. States that receive a bonus for adoption
increases in either the total adoption or older children adoption categories may also
receive an additional $2,000 for each child adopted under age nine with special needs
over a respective baseline. In FY2003, 25 states and Puerto Rico received a
combined total of $14.9 million in incentive payments for adoption increases in
FY2002. The original legislation expired at the end of FY2003 and was reauthorized
December 2, 2003 with the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-145).

Since the program was enacted, adoptions from the foster care system increased
from 31,030 in FY1997 to 50,950 in FY2002, with a majority of the increase
occurring in the first three years of the program. This level of increase in foster care
adoptions during these first three years was largely unanticipated, resulting in states
earning more adoption incentive bonuses than the original $20 million appropriation.
As a result, Congress appropriated additional funds to reward the increased
adoptions. Since the program was enacted in 1997, every state has received at least
some adoption incentive payments, totaling almost $160 million. States report that,
because the awards are relatively small compared to their overall child welfare
budgets, they are able to use their funds in innovative and flexible ways. Examples
of uses for the bonuses include providing additional studies, training, recruitment,
and post-adoption services.

The President's FY2005 budget requests $32 million for the Adoption
Incentives program, $11 million below the $43 million reauthorized in December.
Citing recent analysis of child adoption data, the Administration notes that while the
overall number of children being adopted has grown dramatically in recent years,
older children constitute an increasing proportion of the total children waiting to be
adopted. This fact had prompted the Administration last year to propose an incentive
payment specifically for older children and Congress subsequently enacted such a
bonus (effective for those adoptions completed in FY2003). At the same time the
Administration predicts that the greater number of older children who are now
waiting for adoption will likely mean a slower growth in the number of adoptions.

This report provides background information and a description of the Adoption
Incentives program, with references to recent legislative action, sizes of incentive
payments earned, and adoption trends. It will be updated.
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Background and Legislative History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Provisions of the Adoption Incentives Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Eligibility Requirements for Basic Foster Child Incentive Payments . . 3
Eligibility Requirements for Older Foster Child Incentive Payments . . 3
Eligibility Requirements for Special Needs Incentive Payments . . . . . . 3
Recent Foster Care Adoption Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
State Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Tables and Figures in Appendix A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Appendix A: Summary of Adoption Incentive Baselines and Payments . . . . . . . 8

List of Figures
Figure 1. Trends in Public Agency Adoptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Figure 2. Total Adoption Incentive Awards: FY1998-FY2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Figure 3. Percent Increase in Annual Public Agency Adoptions by State:
FY1997-FY2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

List of Tables
Table 1. Amounts Appropriated and Awarded for Adoption Incentive
Payments to States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Table A-1. Total Adoption Incentive Bonus Awards by State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Table A-2. Adoptions Counted Toward Basic Incentive Awarda . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Table A-3. Adoptions Counted Toward Special Needs Incentive Bonus . . . . . . 12

This report was written by Kendall Swenson, a Presidential Management
Fellow on detail from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
under the supervision of Karen Spar and Emilie Stoltzfus, Domestic Social
Policy Division.
Child Welfare:
The Adoption Incentives Program

Introduction
The Adoption Incentives program was created by Congress in 1997 as part of
an overall strategy to promote safety and expedited permanency for children in state
foster care systems.1 The program provides cash payments to states that are
successful in increasing the number of children adopted from the public child welfare
system. As currently structured, the program consists of three separate bonus
payments, based on adoption increases above three numerical baselines. The three
separate adoption bonus payments are based on: (1) increases in total adoptions, (2)
increases in adoptions of children age nine or older, and (3) increases in adoptions
of children under age nine with special needs. States are eligible to receive $4,000
for each child adopted over the total adoption baseline and $4,000 for each child age
nine or older above the older children baseline. States that receive a bonus for
adoption increases in either the total adoption or older children adoption categories
may also receive an additional $2,000 for each child adopted under age nine with
special needs over a respective baseline. Data used to determine these three baselines
and state performance in exceeding them are drawn from the adoption section of the
Adoption and Foster Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), which is
established by regulation as mandatory for states (45 C.F.R. � 1355.40).

The administrative structure of the Adoption Incentive program allows all
qualifying states with numerical adoption gains to receive incentive payments. This
contrasts with the High Performance Bonus Awards in the Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families program, which only provide bonus payments to the highest
performing states, regardless of the number of states showing increases in
performance. In FY2003, 25 states and Puerto Rico received $14.9 million in
incentive payments for adoption increases finalized in FY2002. States can use their
adoption incentive payments for a variety of child welfare purposes. States report
that, because the awards are relatively small compared to their overall child welfare
budgets, they have a large amount of flexibility in the way they use the funds.
Examples of uses for the bonuses include providing additional studies, training,
recruitment, and post-adoption services.

1
The Adoption Incentives program was one component of the Adoption and Safe Families
Act of 1997 (P.L. 105-89), which made a series of amendments to the child welfare and
foster care provisions of Titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act. The Adoption
Incentives program is authorized by Section 473A of the Social Security Act. Funding for
the program was reauthorized through FY2008 with the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003
(P.L. 108-145).
CRS-2

Background and Legislative History
In the mid-1980s, the number of children in foster care began to climb sharply
at a time when the number of children who were adopted remained static. Although
a majority of the children that entered foster care eventually returned to their homes,
a concern developed in the 1990s about the growing number of children who did not
return home and were remaining in foster care for long periods of time. At the same
time, there was a growing perception that federal law needed clarification regarding
the importance of child safety and that more emphasis needed to be placed on
adoption when family reunification became unlikely. In response to these concerns,
the 105th Congress enacted the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA, P.L. 105-89),
which is considered the most sweeping change in federal child welfare law since
1980. ASFA emphasized safety and permanence for children by seeking to ensure
that children were not placed in unsafe homes and to assist efficient legal procedures
so that children who cannot return home may be placed for adoption or in another
permanent arrangement quickly.

As a part of ASFA, Congress enacted the Adoption Incentives program to
provide cash payments to states that were successful in increasing the number of
children adopted from the public foster care system. As originally enacted, incentive
payments equaled $4,000 for each foster child whose adoption was finalized over a
certain state-specific base level and an additional $2,000 for each special needs
adoption above a second state-specific base level. For adoptions finalized in 1998,
the baseline was the average number of adoptions in the state from 1995 through
1997. For adoptions finalized in 1999 through 2002, the baseline became the highest
number of adoptions in that state for any preceding year, beginning with 1997. As
originally enacted, the law authorized $20 million annually for these incentive
payments for FY1999 through FY2003 (for adoptions finalized in FY1998 through
FY2002). However, the increase in adoptions exceeded initial estimates and
Congress later appropriated funds above this authorization level to ensure all the
bonuses could be paid. The law also authorized $10 million to be appropriated for
each of FY1998 through FY2000, for technical assistance to states and localities
(with 50% reserved for technical assistance to the courts) to help increase adoptions
or other permanent placements for children; no funds were appropriated under this
authority.

The original legislation expired at the end of FY2003 and was reauthorized
December 2, 2003 with the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-145). Under
the reauthorization, states continue to receive credit for all increased adoptions of
foster care children and receive additional incentive payments for increases in
adoptions of children with special needs. However, the special needs payment is now
limited only to adoptions of special needs children who are under age nine at the
time the adoption was finalized. In addition, the Adoption Promotion Act created a
third incentive payment, equal to $4,000 for increased adoptions of foster children
who are age nine or older at the time of adoption. Like the original two incentive
payments, states will have to exceed their baseline number of such "older child"
CRS-3

adoptions to earn this payment. For all three incentive payments the baseline that
states must exceed is revised each year to the highest annual total of such adoptions
since FY2002. P.L. 108-145 also authorized (FY2004-FY2006) the provisions
concerning technical assistance to states and localities (including the language
reserving 50% for such assistance to courts) to help increase adoptions or other
permanent placements for children.

Provisions of the Adoption Incentives Program
States must meet several requirements to be qualified to receive Adoption
Incentive Payments. Each qualifying state must have a plan approved under Title IV-
E of the Social Security Act and provide health insurance coverage to children with
special needs for whom there is in effect an adoption assistance agreement between
a state and an adoptive parent or parents. In addition, the state must increase its
overall foster child adoptions or its older child adoptions. Children adopted without
the assistance of the child welfare system are not included in the totals used to
determine bonus amounts.

Eligibility Requirements for Basic Foster Child Incentive Payments.
States are rewarded $4,000 for each child adopted above their overall adoption
baseline number. For adoptions finalized in FY2003, the state's baseline is set by the
number of total foster care adoptions finalized in FY2002. For adoptions finalized
in FY2004 and subsequent years, the baseline will be the highest previous baseline
for any year, beginning in FY2002. The basic foster child incentive payments can be
obtained without exceeding either the older child or the special needs baselines.

Eligibility Requirements for Older Foster Child Incentive Payments.
States may also be rewarded $4,000 for each child age nine or older adopted above
their older child baseline. For older child adoptions finalized in FY2003, the baseline
is set by the number of such foster care adoptions in FY2002. For adoptions
finalized in FY2004 and subsequent years, the baseline will be the highest previous
baseline for any year, beginning in FY2002. Older foster child adoption incentives
can be obtained without exceeding either the overall or the special needs baselines.
However, if a state exceeds its overall baseline it may receive a total of $8,000 for
each of those older child adoptions that were also included in the overall adoption
increase (i.e., the state receives $4,000 for the older child who is adopted because it
exceeded the older child adoption baseline and, for the same older child, it receives
$4,000 because that child was part of an overall increase in adoptions).

Eligibility Requirements for Special Needs Incentive Payments.
Under current law, states are also rewarded $2,000 for each child with special needs
who is under the age of nine and whose adoption exceeds the special needs baseline.
For adoptions finalized in FY2003, this baseline is set by the number of adopted
children in FY2002 who were under the age of nine and had special needs. For
adoptions finalized in FY2004 and subsequent years, the baseline will be the highest
previous baseline for any year, beginning in FY2002.2

2
States may consider a child as having special needs if the state has determined that the
(continued...)
CRS-4

Under previous law, states could only receive special needs incentive payments
if they also qualified for a basic incentive payment established on an increase in their
overall number of foster child adoptions. However, changes made by the Adoption
Promotion Act of 2003 allow states to receive the special needs incentive payments
for children under nine if they also qualify for an incentive payment on the basis of
either an increase in total foster child adoptions or older child adoptions. If a state
exceeds its older child adoption baseline and special needs baseline then it would
receive $2,000 for each of the qualifying special needs adoptions. However, if a state
exceeds its overall baseline it may receive a total of $6,000 for each of the special
needs qualifying adoptions that were also included in the overall adoption increase
(i.e., the states receives $2,000 for the special needs child (under age nine) who is
adopted because it exceeded the special needs baseline and, for the same special
needs child, it receives $4,000 because that child was part of an overall increase in
adoptions).

Recent Foster Care Adoption Trends
The lack of comparable and reliable adoption data make it difficult to compare
adoption trends before and after the implementation of the Adoption Incentives
program. However, current data can provide useful information on the number of
adoptions in recent years. National foster care adoptions have increased from 31,030
in 1997 to 50,950 by FY2002, a 64% increase.3 Figure 1 shows that public agency
adoptions were on the increase before implementation of Adoption Incentives
Payments but that a sharp increase in those adoptions coincided with the first three
fiscal years it was in place (FY1997 through FY1999).

2
(...continued)
child cannot or should not be returned to the home of his or her parents and the child has a
specific factor or condition that make it reasonable to conclude that the child cannot be
placed with adoptive parents without providing adoptive assistance. Examples of these
factors or conditions include a child's ethnic background, age, membership in a minority or
sibling group, or the presence of factors such as medical conditions or other physical,
mental, or emotional challenges.
3
The total number of adoptions in which public agencies were involved, as reported by the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), vary slightly from the totals used to
determine adoption incentive bonuses. This is because submissions for the awards only
include state data submitted by May 15 of the following year and must qualify in other ways
to be counted toward the award of incentive funds. In contrast, the total number of public
agency adoptions reported by HHS include state data submitted after May 15 of the
following year (e.g., cleaned data and additional submissions). In this report, Figure 1 and
Figure 3 use the same data that HHS uses to report total public agency adoptions. All other
tables and figures present the official data that HHS used to determine payment awards for
the Adoption Incentives program.
CRS-5

Figure 1. Trends in Public Agency Adoptions
60,000
50,889

Number of Adoptions
50,000
50,950

40,000

30,000
31,030

20,000 25,693

10,000

-
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Fiscal Year

Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service using data from the Department of Health
and Human Services.

Appropriations
The history of appropriations for adoption incentive payments is somewhat
complicated because states, as a group, have finalized more adoptions since creation
of the Adoption Incentives Program in 1997 than Congress originally forecasted.
Adoptions from foster care increased 64% between FY1997 and FY2002. In any
year, if appropriated funds are not adequate to cover all the funds that states have
earned, the awards are distributed on a prorated basis. However, Congress, when
necessary, has provided additional amounts, usually in subsequent years'
appropriations bills, to enable HHS to pay states the full amount of incentive
payments earned. When Congress appropriates more funds than states earn in a
particular fiscal year, the remaining amounts are sometimes carried forward to help
pay for future adoption incentive payments.

P.L. 105-89 originally authorized annual appropriations of $20 million for
FY1999 through FY2003 for adoption incentive payments (for adoptions finalized
in fiscal years 1998 through 2002). In addition, the law provided for an automatic
increase in discretionary budget caps (up to $20 million) to help ensure that these
funds were actually appropriated for each year. In the Adoption Promotion Act of
2003, Congress authorized annual appropriations of $43 million for adoption
incentive payments to continue support for future increases in state adoption totals
and to provide additional support for the new incentive payments of foster care
children nine and older. It also reauthorized for (FY2004-FY2006) $10 million for
technical assistance (reserving 50% for courts) to improve children's movement to
permanent homes. This authorization previously existed for FY1998-FY2000,
however, Congress did not appropriate any of those funds.
CRS-6

The President's FY2005 budget requests $32 million for Adoption Incentive
Payments, $11 million below the $43 million authorized level. It did not request any
funds for related technical assistance. Citing recent analysis of AFCARS data, the
Administration notes that while the overall number of children being adopted has
grown dramatically, older children constitute an increasing proportion of the total
children waiting to be adopted. The Administration cites this population as less
likely to be adopted than younger children and a reason to predict slower levels of
adoption growth totals than experienced in previous years of the program. For
further details on appropriations, see Table 1.

Table 1. Amounts Appropriated and Awarded for
Adoption Incentive Payments to States
(in millions)

Amounts appropriated Amounts awarded

For adoptions finalized in 1998
P.L. 105-277 (FY1999 appropriations) $20.0 (35 states) $42.5
For adoptions finalized in 1999
P.L. 106-113 (FY2000 appropriations) 41.8a (43 states and D.C.) 51.5
For adoptions finalized in 2000
P.L. 106-554 (FY2001 appropriations) 43.0 (35 states and D.C.) 33.2
For adoptions finalized in 2001
P.L. 107-116 (FY2002 appropriations) 43.0 (23 states and Puerto Rico) 17.6
b
P.L. 108-7 (FY2003 appropriations) 42.7 For adoptions finalized in 2002 15.0
Data on adoptions finalized in
P.L. 108-199 (FY2004 appropriations) 7.5c 2003 are not yet available
Total $198.0 Total $159.8

Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service(CRS) from congressional appropriation
documents and information from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

a. Amount shown reflects 0.38% across-the-board reduction.
b. Amount shown reflects 0.65% across-the-board reduction.
c. Amount shown reflects 0.59% across-the-board reduction. The legislation also provides that
FY2003 funds appropriated for these payments (P.L. 108-7) are to remain available for bonus
awards made this year. This means the total funding available to award incentive payments for
adoptions finalized in FY2003 is $35 million.

State Implementation
Through FY2002, states have earned close to $160 million in adoption incentive
payments. The law provides that states may use these bonus payments for any
service to children or families that is authorized under Title IV-B or Title IV-E of the
Social Security Act. This includes the full range of child welfare services from
family support and child protection to post-adoptive services. A report from the
General Accounting Office (GAO)4 and a Cornerstone Consulting Group5 study

4
U.S. General Accounting Office, Foster Care: Recent Legislation Helps States Focus on
(continued...)
CRS-7

indicate that states have most commonly used their incentive awards to fund the
recruitment of adoptive families and provide post-adoptive services. Due to the
uncertainty of receiving future adoption incentive awards, many states were reluctant
to use the money for initiatives requiring ongoing revenue such as salaried positions.
Therefore, using incentive funds for one-time expenses, such as studies, training,
adoption events, and the purchase of legal services was common. In addition, states
reported that, because the awards were relatively small compared to their overall
child welfare budgets, they were able to use their funds in innovative and flexible
ways. No state reported that the adoption incentive bonus was the primary motivator
for improving its adoption system. The Cornerstone Report listed the primary
concerns of states regarding the incentives as (1) they may give the impression that
adoption is the best plan in all cases, (2) that states with increased adoptions before
ASFA may have trouble exceeding their baselines, and (3) the law does not make
further changes in the structure of funding for child welfare.

Tables and Figures in Appendix A
The appendix contains several tables and figures that summarize adoption trends
and awards from the Adoption Incentives program. All amounts shown in the
appendix reflect totals and bonus amounts finalized under prior law. Table A-1
contains the total adoption incentive payments awarded to each state from FY1998
through FY2002 (for adoptions finalized in FY1997 through FY2001). These
payments include bonus awards for both increases in overall adoptions and adoptions
of children with special needs. Table A-2 contains the adoption totals used to
determine bonus payments based on increases in total qualifying adoptions, including
adoptions of children with special needs and adoptions of older children. Table A-3
contains only the adoption totals used to determine awards for increased adoptions
of children with special needs. Since these numbers reflect adoptions totals under
prior law, children with special needs that are age nine and older are included.
Comparing the total number of adoptions counted toward the basic (overall)
incentive award (Table A-2) with those counted toward the special needs incentive
(Table A-3) suggests that, under prior law, close to three out of every four per-child
incentive payments (74%) totaled $6,000 (i.e., the state received $4,000 for the child
as part of its overall increase in foster child adoptions and $2,000 for the same child
under its special needs incentive awards). However, this estimate is based on the
national totals and may have varied by state. Figure 2 uses data from Table A-1 to
map the total amount of awards each state has received since it was implemented.
Figure 3 uses the same data used in the national totals summarized in Figure 1 to

4
(...continued)
Finding Permanent Homes for Children, but Long-Standing Barriers Remain, GAO-02-585,
June 2002.
5
The Cornerstone study showed that states used funds in the following areas: post adoption
services (16 states); recruitment of adoptive families (11); distribution to county child
welfare services, in some cases based on performance (11); training (9); contact
enhancements for case management, recruitment, home studies, etc. (7); adoption awareness
(6); legal services to expedite adoption (5); subsidy increases (4); general child welfare
services (3); and staff (2). A Carrot Among the Sticks: The Adoption Incentive Bonus,
Cornerstone Consulting Group, Inc., 2001.
CRS-8

map the changes in annual public agency adoptions by state from FY1997 to
FY2002.

Appendix A: Summary of Adoption Incentive
Baselines and Payments
Table A-1. Total Adoption Incentive Bonus Awards by State
($ in thousands)

State FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 Total
Alabama -- $108 $192 $186 $96 $582
Alaska -- 166 382 400 -- 948
Arizona -- 1,326 684 384 -- 2,394
Arkansas $596 194 206 176 -- 1,172
California 3,916 11,698 12,434 4,388 -- 32,436
Colorado 892 820 -- -- 496 2,208
Connecticut 88 500 384 -- 547 1,519
Delaware -- 28 336 112 64 540
District of
-- 136 346 -- -- 482
Columbia
Florida 2,744 -- 370 -- 3,520 6,634
Georgia 956 1,796 -- -- 374 3,126
Hawaii 1,102 -- -- -- 208 1,310
Idaho -- 312 -- 34 -- 346
Illinois 14,606 14,262 -- -- -- 28,868
Indiana 1,792 -- 1,578 -- -- 3,370
Iowa 790 1,062 28 -- 524 2,404
Kansas -- 842 -- -- -- 842
Kentucky -- 630 176 796 204 1,806
Louisiana -- 292 662 -- -- 954
Maine 24 530 1,164 -- -- 1,718
Maryland 676 576 -- 1,510 712 3,474
Massachusetts 84 -- -- -- -- 84
Michigan 2,004 1,108 1,920 980 -- 6,012
Minnesota 1,022 654 460 -- 82 2,218
Mississippi 398 402 326 -- -- 1,126
CRS-9

State FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 Total
Missouri 236 1,150 2,054 -- 366 3,806
Montana 116 128 258 188 -- 690
Nebraska -- 56 434 28 20 538
Nevada -- 354 86 94 28 562
New Hampshire 20 114 160 -- 158 452
New Jersey 870 -- 572 1,126 1,932 4,500
New Mexico 200 440 504 176 -- 1,320
New York 424 -- -- -- -- 424
North Carolina -- 1,282 1,924 -- 320 3,526
North Dakota 144 220 -- -- -- 364
Ohio -- 1,136 1,146 1,500 1,100 4,882
Oklahoma 596 2,234 564 -- -- 3,394
Oregon 1,248 410 514 1,362 224 3,758
Pennsylvania 1,260 -- 992 -- 1,172 3,424
Puerto Rico -- 142 -- 218 66 426
Rhode Island -- 378 -- -- -- 378
South Carolina 1,064 -- -- -- -- 1,064
South Dakota 8 122 20 32 322 504
Tennessee -- 428 168 806 1,148 2,550
Texas 2,872 2,990 498 1,072 68 7,500
Utah 100 404 -- -- -- 504
Vermont 214 146 -- -- -- 360
Virginia -- 212 -- 922 -- 1,134
Washington 620 918 876 944 -- 3,358
West Virginia 128 384 248 144 18 922
Wisconsin 640 302 562 -- 1,158 2,662
Wyoming 60 96 10 -- -- 166
Total $42,510 $51,488 $33,238 $7,578 $14,927 $159,741

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
CRS-10

Table A-2. Adoptions Counted Toward Basic Incentive Awarda

State FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 Total

Alabama 119 152 200 237 249 957

Alaska 95 137 202 278 192 904

Arizona 327 727 851 931 788 3,624

Arkansas 251 278 311 353 295 1,488

California 3,958 6,254 8,221 8,852 8,647 35,932

Colorado 560 711 679 569 835 3,354

Connecticut 229 403 499 444 562 2,137

Delaware 33 36 103 117 133 422

District of Columbia 96 166 236 177 195 870

Florida 1,549 1,355 1,605 1,421 2,246 8,176

Georgia 672 1,029 984 863 1,081 4,629

Hawaii 297 266 259 244 349 1,415

Idaho 14 107 102 110 92 425

Illinois 4,656 7,031 5,670 4,107 3,585 25,049

Indiana 774 734 1,143 871 881 4,403

Iowa 517 744 751 682 882 3,576

Kansas 229 558 435 427 501 2,150

Kentucky 204 340 384 542 551 2,021

Louisiana 236 352 469 463 466 1,986

Maine 112 203 405 362 297 1,379

Maryland 420 528 513 801 922 3,184

Massachusetts 1,137 922 861 778 808 4,506

Michigan 2,254 2,446 2,800 2,979 2,845 13,324

Minnesota 427 539 615 568 627 2,776

Mississippi 169 238 290 265 175 1,137

Missouri 616 817 1,205 1,061 1,273 4,972

Montana 144 176 228 264 244 1,056

Nebraska 35 192 282 289 294 1,092

Nevada 0 211 229 244 251 935

New Hampshire 50 63 95 93 114 415
CRS-11

State FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 Total

New Jersey 755 729 834 1,043 1,370 4,731

New Mexico 197 258 346 369 272 1,442

New York 4,822 4,719 4,225 3,934 3,160 20,860

North Carolina 303 907 1,244 1,222 1,324 5,000

North Dakota 83 138 92 127 119 559

Ohio 1,263 1,605 1,777 2,002 2,185 8,832

Oklahoma 456 854 995 928 985 4,218

Oregon 665 755 831 1,071 1,115 4,437

Pennsylvania 1,494 1,447 1,700 1,669 1,993 8,303

Puerto Rico 0 113 57 164 176 510

Rhode Island 222 292 260 267 256 1,297

South Carolina 465 456 378 384 343 2,026

South Dakota 58 82 7 92 142 381

Tennessee 295 370 403 555 758 2,381

Texas 1,365 1,902 2,010 2,278 2,295 9,850

Utah 250 369 302 349 344 1,614

Vermont 116 138 105 98 133 590

Virginia 158 321 246 491 417 1,633

Washington 759 921 1,110 1,207 1,031 5,028

West Virginia 211 308 350 360 361 1,590

Wisconsin 589 622 712 693 939 3,555

Wyoming 30 44 46 46 46 212

Total 34,736 45,065 48,657 48,741 50,144 227,343

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

a. These are the totals used to determine the bonus awards for increases in total qualifying adoptions.
Special needs adoptions and adoptions of older children are included.
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Table A-3. Adoptions Counted Toward
Special Needs Incentive Bonus

State FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 Total

Alabama 23 60 56 79 103 321

Alaska 80 120 181 229 148 758

Arizona 0 517 611 643 482 2,253

Arkansas 194 237 274 278 83 1,066

California 3,030 4,287 6,570 7,502 7,596 28,985

Colorado 470 578 503 332 486 2,369

Connecticut 0 130 186 46 377 739

Delaware 13 27 61 89 75 265

District of Columbia 96 55 129 73 69 422

Florida 646 549 719 786 1,264 3,964

Georgia 367 551 497 294 634 2,343

Hawaii 190 169 180 151 182 872

Idaho 0 77 81 92 74 324

Illinois 3,861 6,242 5,056 3,082 3,219 21,460

Indiana 660 453 711 449 435 2,708

Iowa 359 491 437 386 459 2,132

Kansas 165 449 296 266 313 1,489

Kentucky 88 231 175 313 397 1,204

Louisiana 171 244 341 346 336 1,438

Maine 100 183 361 331 219 1,194

Maryland 347 419 398 628 742 2,534

Massachusetts 2 410 332 347 447 1,538

Michigan 1,938 2,108 2,360 2,492 2,288 11,186

Minnesota 349 452 530 482 547 2,360

Mississippi 134 197 256 217 0 804

Missouri 404 581 832 726 879 3,422

Montana 86 106 137 159 161 649

Nebraska 18 116 153 143 151 581

Nevada 0 148 155 172 167 642
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State FY1998 FY1999 FY2000 FY2001 FY2002 Total

New Hampshire 0 51 67 70 111 299

New Jersey 533 531 661 806 1,118 3,649

New Mexico 0 212 288 330 246 1,076

New York 4,332 4,200 3,932 3,658 2,866 18,988

North Carolina 220 673 961 947 882 3,683

North Dakota 29 40 29 64 55 217

Ohio 1,225 1,383 1,612 1,912 2,096 8,228

Oklahoma 304 625 566 553 347 2,395

Oregon 519 544 649 850 874 3,436

Pennsylvania 1,140 1,229 1,480 1,419 1,233 6,501

Puerto Rico 0 18 12 25 34 89

Rhode Island 132 189 139 170 158 788

South Carolina 260 311 247 235 210 1,263

South Dakota 36 49 39 55 116 295

Tennessee 196 260 278 377 545 1,656

Texas 976 1,397 1,430 1,278 1,353 6,434

Utah 89 154 174 168 166 751

Vermont 92 121 95 89 114 511

Virginia 109 212 167 333 307 1,128

Washington 431 653 713 991 885 3,673

West Virginia 86 135 175 227 234 857

Wisconsin 455 540 641 614 766 3,016

Wyoming 5 25 26 36 31 123

Total 24,960 33,739 36,959 36,340 37,080 169,078

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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Figure 2. Total Adoption Incentive Awards: FY1998-FY2002

Total Adoption Incentive Awards ($1000s)
FY1998-FY2002
3,500 to 32,500 (10 States) (10)
1,500 to 3,500 (15 States) (15)
600 to 1,500 (11 States) (11)
0 to 600 (15 States) (15)

Source: Figure prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Figure 3. Percent Increase in Annual Public Agency Adoptions by State: FY1997-FY2002

Percent Change in Public Agency Adoptions
FY1997-FY2002
133 to 375 (14 States) (14)
91 to 133 (10 States) (10)
65 to 91 (11 States) (11)
0 to 65 (16 States) (16)

Source: Figure prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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