Bill Clinton: “I too am pleased to reach this milestone. When my husband and I worked to establish the program in 1997, we hoped that…”

“I too am pleased to reach this milestone. When my husband and I worked to establish the program in 1997, we hoped that this program would become half the success that it has. My husband set a goal of doubling the number of children adopted out of foster care and last month we finally achieved that goal. In New York City, the number of children in foster care has plummeted by more than half since 1997 due in large part to the increased focus on helping available children for adoption. Nevertheless we still have a long way to go. Over 580,000 children remain in foster care, 126,000 of them are ready and waiting to be adopted into a loving home. That is why this legislation is so important. And not only does it continue the incentives for States to help children with special needs be adopted out of foster care, it adds a new incentive to focus on older children--those over 9--whose chances of being adopted grow slimmer by the year. These vulnerable children face the greatest danger of aging out of foster care, a transition that is associated with lower educational outcomes, higher rates of teen pregnancy, higher rates of poverty, lower rates of employment, and many other negative factors.”