ABSTRACT
On November 19, 1997, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Adoption and Safe Families Act. The stated purpose was "To promote the adoption of children in foster care". The Act also allows for children to be freed for adoption sooner in extreme circumstances. For babies, who are unable to return home, adoption has always been the goal. In many cases the foster carers were the ones who decided to adopt the children. If the foster carers did not want to adopt, the children were transitioned to preadoptive homes. Sometimes the children are able to return home. Often this is a result of a lot of hard work on the birth parent's part. They may have been required to do court order substance abuse treatment and parenting classes. In New York, when teenagers reach eighteen they can sign themselves out of foster care.
