Information and services

The Secretary shall establish in the Department of Health and Human Services an appropriate administrative arrangement to provide a centralized focus for planning and coordinating of all departmental activities affecting adoption and foster care and for carrying out the provisions of this subchapter. The Secretary shall make available such consultant services, on-site technical assistance and personnel, together with appropriate administrative expenses, including salaries and travel costs, as are necessary for carrying out such purposes, including services to facilitate the adoption of older children, minority children, and children with special needs, particularly infants and toddlers with disabilities who have life-threatening conditions, and services to families considering adoption of children with special needs. In connection with carrying out the provisions of this subchapter, the Secretary shall— maintain (directly or by grant to or contract with public or private agencies or organizations) a National Resource Center for Special Needs Adoption to— provide (directly or by grant to or contract with States, local government entities, tribal child welfare agencies, public or private licensed child welfare or adoption agencies or adoptive family groups and community-based organizations with experience in working with minority populations) for the provision of programs aimed at increasing the number of minority children (who are in foster care and have the goal of adoption) placed in adoptive families, with a special emphasis on recruitment of minority families— which may include such activities as— training of personnel of— provide (directly or by grant to or contract with States, local government entities, or public or private licensed child welfare or adoption agencies) for the implementation of programs that are intended to increase the number of older children (who are in foster care and with the goal of adoption) placed in adoptive families, with a special emphasis on child-specific recruitment strategies, including— The Secretary shall provide (directly or by grant to or contract with States, local government entities, public or private licensed child welfare or adoption agencies or adoptive family groups) for the provision of post legal adoption services for families who have adopted special needs children. Services provided under grants made under this subsection shall supplement, not supplant, services from any other funds available for the same general purposes, including— The Secretary shall make grants for improving State efforts to increase the placement of foster care children legally free for adoption, according to a pre-established plan and goals for improvement. Each State entering into an agreement under this subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary that describes the manner in which the State will use funds during the 3 fiscal years subsequent to the date of the application to accomplish the purposes of this section. Such application shall be in a form and manner determined to be appropriate by the Secretary, consistent with the purpose of this subchapter. Each application shall contain information that— The Secretary shall provide, directly or by grant to or contract with public or private agencies or organizations— The Secretary shall compile the results of evaluations submitted by States (described in subparagraph (A)(iii)) and submit a report containing the compiled results to the appropriate committees of Congress. Payments under this subsection shall begin during fiscal year 1989. Payments under this section during any fiscal year shall not exceed $1,000,000. No payment may be made under this subsection unless an amount in excess of $5,000,000 is appropriated for such fiscal year under section 5115(a) of this title. Any payment made to a State under this subsection which is not used by such State for the purpose provided in paragraph (1) during the fiscal year payment is made shall revert to the Secretary on October 1st of the next fiscal year and shall be used to carry out the purposes of this subchapter. The Secretary shall award grants to, or enter into contracts with, States, local government entities, public or private child welfare or adoption agencies, adoption exchanges, or adoption family groups to carry out initiatives to improve efforts to eliminate barriers to placing children for adoption across jurisdictional boundaries. Services provided under grants made under this subsection shall supplement, not supplant, services provided using any other funds made available for the same general purposes including—