# Child Welfare: The Adoption Incentives Program

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URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/crs%3ARL32296

## Record

- **Collection:** Congressional research report
- **Document type:** CRS Report
- **Published:** March 8, 2004
- **Citation:** RL32296

## Text

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
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.

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”

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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 IVE 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...)

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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.

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Figure 1. Trends in Public Agency Adoptions
60,000

Number of Adoptions

50,889
50,000

50,950

40,000
30,000
20,000

31,030
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.

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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

P.L. 105-277 (FY1999 appropriations)

$20.0

For adoptions finalized in 1998
(35 states)

$42.5

P.L. 106-113 (FY2000 appropriations)

41.8a

For adoptions finalized in 1999
(43 states and D.C.)

51.5

P.L. 106-554 (FY2001 appropriations)

43.0

For adoptions finalized in 2000
(35 states and D.C.)

33.2

P.L. 107-116 (FY2002 appropriations)

43.0

For adoptions finalized in 2001
(23 states and Puerto Rico)

17.6

For adoptions finalized in 2002

15.0

b

P.L. 108-7 (FY2003 appropriations)

42.7

P.L. 108-199 (FY2004 appropriations)

7.5c

Total

$198.0

Data on adoptions finalized in
2003 are not yet available
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...)

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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.

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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
Columbia

—

136

346

—

—

482

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

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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

$42,510

$51,488

$33,238

$7,578

Total

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

$14,927 $159,741

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

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

34,736

45,065

48,657

48,741

50,144

227,343

Ohio

Total

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.

CRS-12

Table A-3. Adoptions Counted Toward
Special Needs Incentive Bonus
State

FY1998

FY1999

FY2000

FY2001

FY2002

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

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

Massachusetts

Total

CRS-13
State

FY1998

FY1999

FY2000

FY2001

FY2002

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

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

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

24,960

33,739

36,959

36,340

37,080

169,078

New York

Ohio

Total

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

Total

CRS-14
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

CRS-15
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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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/crs%3ARL32296. Public record. Not legal advice.