Tuesday, April 20, 1999
U.S. plans adoption Web site
BY MARILYN ELIAS
USA Today
The federal government Monday announced plans to create a Web site with photos and descriptions of children awaiting adoption through public agencies across the nation.
About 8,000 youngsters need homes now. That number could double or triple by 2001, when the site is expected to be up, said Carol Williams of the Children's Bureau at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
President Clinton in November asked HHS for a plan to expand use of the Internet to find adoptive homes.
The HHS report, submitted Monday, estimates the Web site will cost $1.5 million to set up and $1.25 million per year to run. The funds will come from adoption-related programs already in the budget, with private-sector contributions expected.
States won't be legally required to list on the federal site, the report says, but a recent national survey suggests that many states regard the Internet as a good recruitment tool.
“The president supports the use of the Net in this way, and we're pleased to be making progress,” said Bruce Reed, domestic policy adviser to Clinton. No White House approval is needed to get the plan moving, he said.
The number of U.S. children free for adoption is expected to soar in the next few years, primarily because of a 1997 federal law that shortens the length of time kids can remain in foster care before plans are made for a permanent home.
“A national Web site that could include all youngsters available in public adoptions will give these kids a much greater pool of families to draw from,” said Joe Kroll of the North American Council on Adoptable Children, an advocacy support group.
Still, “it's not going to make children who are not there suddenly available,” Ms. Williams said.
The “vast majority” of youngsters photographed and described will be over 3 years old, she said. Many will have handicaps — physical, intellectual or emotional. Some will be part of sibling groups to be adopted together.
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