Congresswoman Kristi Noem sends the following missive celebrating National Adoption Month:
Adoption Important Year Round
By Rep. Kristi NoemThe day after Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday shopping season for many. Thousands will spend the early morning hours of Black Friday standing in line for the season's best sales and bargains with hopes of checking at least a few items off the holiday shopping list. As we enter the month of December, I am constantly reminded how grateful I am to have a healthy and happy family with which to share the holidays. Unfortunately, many children in South Dakota and across the globe do not have a tree to decorate, a mantel on which to hang their stocking, or, most importantly, a place to call home.
The month of November has been recognized as National Adoption Month and November 19th was officially National Adoption Day. More than 107,000 children nationwide are currently in foster care and are anxiously awaiting permanent, loving families. The goal of National Adoption Day, which started in 2000, was to raise awareness of these children, to finalize adoptions across the nation, to celebrate those families who have chosen to adopt children, and to also encourage others to adopt. This year, more than 4,000 adoptions were finalized on November 19th, a number that speaks highly of not only the organizers and supporting organizations of National Adoption Day, but to the spirit of American families. My brother Robb and his wife Teresa have personally experienced the joy of adoption with their precious daughter, Ruby, from Ethiopia. Now they are in the process of adopting again.
We are fortunate in South Dakota to have a great network of agencies who work to find permanent families for these children. Since July 1, 2010, 218 children in South Dakota were adopted through the South Dakota Department of Social Services and many other adoptions took place through independent and private agencies.
If you are interesting in learning more about the adoption process here in South Dakota, I would encourage you to call the South Dakota Department of Social Services at 605-773-3165. You can also learn more about the children who are currently waiting for adoption at http://dss.sd.gov/adoption/childrenwaiting/.
My husband, Bryon, and I can't wait to give my niece Ruby an extra big hug next time we see her during the holidays. I hope you can join us in celebrating those who have adopted children and keep in your thoughts those families who may consider adopting in the future [Congresswoman Kristi Noem, press release, 2011.11.23].
Noem sends out this fluff just three days after that Sioux Falls paper reports that Noem and her Congressional colleagues are letting Uncle Sam's financial support for adoption expire:
Since 1997, the adoption tax credit has helped thousands of middle-income American families defray the high costs of adoption. In 2001, Congress extended those credits until Dec. 31, 2010, increased the initial maximum credit and indexed that maximum so it would go up because of inflation.
Health care reform legislation brought more improvements, most notably making the credit refundable last year and this year. So regardless of what a family pays in federal income tax, it still could receive the maximum adoption credit.
As it is now, however, that refundable tax credit expires at year's end. Next year, families that adopt still can reduce their federal income tax obligation by up to $12,170. But they will get no additional tax credit refunded when what they owe gets to zero.
At the end of next year, the adoption tax credit expires. And unlike the past, when families or individuals did not have to count adoption assistance they received from employers as income, that benefit will expire at the end of next year as well [Steve Young, "Expiring Tax Credits Add New Obstacle to Adoptions," that Sioux Falls paper, 2011.11.20].
Judee Howard of Bethany Christian Services tells Young that the adoption tax credit is "pretty significant" and that its expiration could affect the number of adoptions. My folks managed to adopt two kids (including me) and keep our heads above water back in the 1970s. I am thus open to a debate on the necessity of this tax credit.
But President Bill Clinton and House Republicans found the adoption tax credit sufficiently beneficial to come together and create it in 1997. President Obama and Democrats in Congress extended and expanded that assistance with the 2010 health care reform law that Noem voted to repeal. Noem has not used her "leadership" position or her special access to Speaker Boehner to help legislation to extend the adoption tax credit gain traction. She's not even paying enough attention to recognize the disconnect between her fluffy words and her policy inaction.
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Young notes that South Dakota's courts have finalized around 350 adoptions each year for the last three fiscal years. In 2008, 850 women aborted their pregnancies in South Dakota. Those who want to replace abortion with adoption should be keenly alarmed by any new policy obstacles to adoption.
Young also hears from frequent adoption lawyer John Hughes that "roughly half of the 12,000 children born in this state each year are discharged from the hospital to unmarried mothers on public assistance." "Roughly half" seems a bit high. The state Department of Health's birth stats for 2009 (the most recent figures I can find) tell us that 38.4% of South Dakota women giving birth were unmarried (p. 24, Table 14). 39.4% of South Dakota moms giving birth in 2009 were on WIC during pregnancy (p. 30, Figure 7). 35.6% of South Dakota births in 2009 were paid for by Medicaid, 2.9% by Champus/Tricare, and 2.7% by Indian Health Service.
The real question I have is who writes this stuff for Noem? It is absolutely awful to get through. Someone told me it was that bearded guy Andrew from the campaign but come on! stop writing cornball trying to hard stuff like this and that hunting column from the pheasant opener.