Recently, U.S. Senator Susan Collins met with members of Adopted and Foster Families of Maine regarding Senate legislation that would help special needs children be adopted.
Senator Collins met with Alexandria and Gail Neher of Cary Plantation. Alexandria was adopted out of foster care by the Nehers and came to Washington to speak to Congressional leaders about the importance of foster care and the Adoption Equality Act.
Senator Collins has announced that she has cosponsored the Adoption Equality Act which removes a specific income eligibility determination from federal adoption subsidies requirements. Currently, federal adoption subsidies are only given to families who adopt special needs children whose biological family would have qualified for welfare benefits. The Adoption Equality Act would remove this determination, providing all families who adopt a special needs child with the support they need to raise the child.
“This change to the current law simply makes good sense,” said Senator Collins. “The income of an adoptive special needs child’s biological family should simply have no bearing on the adoptive family’s eligibility for these federal subsidies. It was a privilege to meet the Nehers and to learn more about what challenges families who adopt special needs children face on a daily basis.”
Currently, 834 Maine foster children are waiting to be adopted and 129,000 nationally.
The Adoption Equality Act was introduced by Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.