House Concurrent Resolution 110

PAG LIN

  1  1           HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___
  1  2                        BY  HUSER
  1  3 A Concurrent Resolution expressing the support of the
  1  4    general assembly for Iowa's adoption subsidy program
  1  5    and encouraging the legislative council to authorize
  1  6    an independent assessment of the program's value to
  1  7    the state.
  1  8    WHEREAS, Iowa's adoption subsidy program provides
  1  9 financial support to adoptive parents who provide care
  1 10 and a permanent home for hard=to=place children,
  1 11 including minority children, older children, sibling
  1 12 groups, and children with mental or physical
  1 13 disabilities; and
  1 14    WHEREAS, the program currently serves approximately
  1 15 6,000 children; and
  1 16    WHEREAS, providing a child who is in foster care
  1 17 with an adoptive home can create for the child a
  1 18 permanent, stable, and loving environment; and
  1 19    WHEREAS, adoptive parents sign an adoption
  1 20 agreement with the department of human services in
  1 21 which the department agrees to provide specified
  1 22 levels of support, including child care, necessary
  1 23 therapeutic services, medical equipment, and other
  1 24 support to assist the adoptive parents to accommodate
  1 25 the special needs of their adoptive children; and
  1 26    WHEREAS, Iowa's adoption subsidy program has been
  1 27 highly successful in finding a permanent home for
  1 28 hard=to=place adoptive children who have special
  1 29 needs, resulting in a 56 percent increase in the
  1 30 number of children qualifying for a special needs
  2  1 adoption subsidy from fiscal year 1998=1999 through
  2  2 fiscal year 2002=2003; and
  2  3    WHEREAS, the general assembly finds that the
  2  4 program is currently subject to increased scrutiny due
  2  5 to the budget growth resulting from the program's
  2  6 increased participation and success; and
  2  7    WHEREAS, the department convened an advisory group
  2  8 to consider ways to control rising program costs and
  2  9 based upon the advisory group's recommendations has
  2 10 proposed administrative rule changes to reduce the
  2 11 overall subsidy outlays; and
  2 12    WHEREAS, in November 2003, the administrative rules
  2 13 review committee delayed the proposed rules changes;
  2 14 NOW THEREFORE,
  2 15    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE
  2 16 SENATE CONCURRING, That the Iowa general assembly
  2 17 expresses strong support for the adoption subsidy
  2 18 program and applauds the department of human services'
  2 19 efforts to make the program a success; and
  2 20    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the legislative
  2 21 council is encouraged to authorize an independent
  2 22 assessment of the adoption subsidy program's value to
  2 23 the state, to identify the program's strengths and
  2 24 needs, and to identify budgetary priorities that will
  2 25 enable the state to continue supporting the adoption
  2 26 of hard=to=place children; that the assessment include
  2 27 a full inventory of program costs and benefits, and
  2 28 identify the impact of expected program growth and the
  2 29 savings in other programs and services resulting from
  2 30 the existence of the adoption subsidy program; that
  3  1 the legislative council is encouraged to seek
  3  2 assistance in conducting the assessment from an
  3  3 independent consultant or another entity with
  3  4 expertise in child welfare issues; that the
  3  5 legislative council is encouraged to seek financial
  3  6 support for the assessment costs from a private
  3  7 foundation or other appropriate sources; and that the
  3  8 assessment should be completed by December 15, 2004;
  3  9 and
  3 10    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That if private funding for
  3 11 the assessment cannot be secured, the legislative
  3 12 council is encouraged to create a legislative interim
  3 13 study committee to address the program needs.
  3 14 LSB 6352HH 80
  3 15 jp/pj/5