NEW YORK (AP) — Fewer children would be stuck in foster care if state authorities reduced red tape and standardized procedures nationwide to encourage more adoptions by out-of-state families, according to a coalition of child welfare experts appealing for change.

“Children wait in foster care not because there aren’t enough families to adopt them, but because of artificial barriers we erect,” said Jeff Katz, executive director of Listening to Parents, a Boston-based group that organized the initiative.

The coalition — representing several of the nation’s leading adoption advocacy groups — issued a report Tuesday detailing some of these barriers and proposing steps to overcome them.

One proposal would be to standardize the home study courses that are required of all parents seeking to adopt. At present, home studies vary widely

Article source: http://www.dailyreportonline.com/PubArticleDRO.jsp?id=1202560057308

Tags: , , , ,

marvinarrington :