My Administration has worked closely with the Congress on legislation which
is designed to improve greatly the child welfare services and foster care
programs and to create a Federal system of adoption assistance. These
improvements will be achieved with the recent enactment of H.R. 3434, the
Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980. The well-being of
children in need of homes and their permanent placement have been a primary
concern of my Administration. This legislation will ensure that children
are not lost in the foster care system, but instead will be returned to
their families where possible or placed in permanent adoptive homes.