May 23, 2013
President Bush has signed a bill aimed at encouraging the adoption of kids out of foster care.
And he's appealing to American parents to consider adoption, calling it an "act of great generosity" that transforms the lives of adults and children alike.
The Adoption Promotion Act extends and builds on a Clinton-era program that provides incentives to state adoption efforts. It's credited with a doubling of the adoption rate in the past five years.
However, Bush says some 126,000 American foster kids are still waiting for a permanent home. So in signing the program's extension, he said parents who choose adoption often "count it among life's greatest and happiest turning-points."
Among other things, the bill expands federal monitoring of adoptions and provides extra incentives for hard-to-place older children.
