FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, September 24, 2002
Contact: ACF Press Office (202) 401-9215

HHS AWARDS $17.5 MILLION IN BONUSES TO STATES
FOR INCREASING THE NUMBER OF ADOPTIONS OF FOSTER CHILDREN

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced nearly $17.5 million in bonuses paid to 23 states and Puerto Rico for increasing the number of children adopted from state-supervised foster care in fiscal year 2001.

"In each of these states, more children found permanent adoptive families in 2001 than the previous year -- an achievement worth recognizing," Secretary Thompson said. "Behind the statistics there are real children whose lives are better for having been adopted. We encourage states to do everything they can to find permanent, loving homes for all children who are waiting."

HHS' Administration on Children and Families (ACF) provides the bonuses to states that exceed the number of children adopted compared to the previous year. States receive a bonus of $4,000 for each additional child adopted in fiscal year 2001 compared to fiscal year 2000. States also receive $2,000 for each additional special needs child who was adopted in fiscal year 2001 compared with fiscal year 2000.

"Every child deserves to be part of a safe and secure family, whether it is a biological family or an adoptive one," said Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., assistant secretary for children and families. "I commend both the state agencies for their efforts and the parents who are welcoming these children into their homes and their hearts."

The bonuses are authorized under a provision of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. ACF is the agency within HHS that oversees federal foster care and adoption programs, as well as other programs to promote the economic and social well-being of children and families.

Other efforts to promote adoption include a new Web site -- http://www.adoptuskids.org -- that links children in foster care with potential families across the country. Launched by President Bush in July, the AdoptUSKids site features photographs and biographies of more than 6,500 children in foster care and steers interested families to the appropriate state agency for information about specific children. HHS helped to develop the site, which is the product of a public-private partnership.

The list of states and the amount of each bonus follows:

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