{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://reichert.house.gov/press-release/reichert-statement-passage-critical-adoption-reform-bill", "Reichert Statement on Passage of Critical Adoption Reform Bill", "2013-10-22", "2013", "2013-10", "Republican", "House", "WA", "Dave Reichert", "R000578", "reichert.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. -- This evening the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 3205, the Promoting Adoption and Legal Guardianship for Children in Foster Care Act.\u00a0 This bipartisan legislation recognizes the critical need in the United States to get children from foster care into permanent, adoptive homes and takes steps to make that happen.\u00a0 The bill was introduced by Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI), as well as Ways and Means Ranking Member Sandy Levin (D-MI), and Human Resources Subcommittee Ranking Member Lloyd Doggett (D-TX).\u00a0\n\u201cI can\u2019t think of a more important, or more bipartisan, topic than promoting adoption,\u201d said Reichert.\u00a0 \u201cI know, as a grandfather and uncle to adopted children, the joys that a child can find in a loving, permanent home, and I have experienced the equal joys that an adopted child brings to their adoptive family.\u00a0 There are 100,000 children in foster care waiting for these experiences and I am pleased that we have passed legislation today that will work to rectify that problem.\u00a0 Every American child deserves the love and support of a happy home.\u201d\nBackground\u00a0 \nH.R. 3205 acts in five key ways to spur the adoption of children still in the foster care system:\n1. It improves the formulas behind the Adoption Incentive Program awards to encourage states to continue placing foster children in permanent homes even as foster care caseloads continue to decline.\n2. It adds a special award for states that increase adoptions of teenage children which are proven to be the hardest to place in adoptive homes. \u00a0Teenagers deserve the same care and attention as a child of any other age.\n3.\u00a0 It adds a new award for states that place children with legal guardians which is a crucial element in allowing children to leave foster care and live with loving and stable relatives.\n4. It requires states to focus on post-adoption services, helping children and families even after adoptions have been finalized.\n5. It extends the Family Connection Grants program for three years.\u00a0 This program is designed to help foster children reconnect with family members.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://reichert.house.gov/press-release/reichert-statement-passage-critical-adoption-reform-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8436771351844072, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}