The Adoption Tax Credit helps families offset some of the costs of adoption, especially for children with special needs. Currently, the tax credit disadvantages low- and middle-income families, in particular families with annual incomes between $30,000 to $50,000.  This inequity is problematic given that approximately half of youth adopted from foster care live in families with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level; thus, the credit inadvertently creates barriers to permanency for a substantial number of families. 

During the Great Recession, Congress made the Adoption Tax Credit refundable recognizing that the economic hardship could prevent families from adopting or exact a heavy financial toll from families choosing adoption during a downturn.  The Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2021would again make this credit permanent to remove income as a barrier to adoption to help more children join permanent, loving families.

Read the full release here.