3 - Investigations / Child Welfare / Dark Money / Family Court / Foster Care / Money & Influence / Money and Finance / Politics / The Schaefer Files
Follow the money: how $1 billion in federal bonuses built an incentive to separate families
Since 1997, the federal government has paid states over $1 billion in adoption incentives, encouraging adoptions instead of family reunification. While foster care numbers declined, adoption assistance payments surged by nearly 43% in recent years, highlighting a troubling financial structure favoring permanent separations over reunifications.