Major Federal Legislation Concerned With Child Protection, Child Welfare, and Adoption

To provide a framework for understanding the Federal legislation that has shaped the delivery of child welfare services, this publication presents a summary of Federal legislation since 1974 that has had a significant impact on child welfare. It provides an overview of each act and its major provisions. To browse or search the summaries of acts included in this publication, visit the Major Federal Legislation Index and Search. The PDF version presents an overview of the legislative history of the included acts. For a Spanish summary of the text related to the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 included in this publication, see Ley de 2008 Sobre el Promover de las Conexiones Para Lograr el Éxito y el Aumento de las Adopciones: Un Resumen. 

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway.