Whereas on average, the Nation’s foster care system
provides for nearly 424,000 children each day who are unable to live safely
with their biological parents;
Whereas foster parents are the most frontline caregiver
for children who cannot safely remain with their biological parents and provide
physical care, emotional support, education advocacy, and are the largest
single source of families providing permanent homes for kids leaving foster
care to adoption;
Whereas most children who are removed from the care of
their parents live with non-related foster parents, however, the number of
children placed in relative foster care is growing;
Whereas on the last day of fiscal year 2009 nearly 1 in 4
of all children living in foster care (24 percent or close to 102,000 children)
were living in the homes of relatives;
Whereas children in foster care who are placed with
relatives, compared to children placed with non-relatives, have more stability
(fewer changes in placements), have more positive perceptions of their
placements, are more likely to be placed with their siblings, and demonstrate
fewer behavioral problems;
Whereas some relative caregivers receive less financial
assistance and support services than do foster caregivers;
Whereas 255,000 children entered the foster care system
during fiscal year 2009 and an average of 115,000 children were waiting to be
adopted every day;
Whereas in fiscal year 2009, almost 57,000 children were
adopted out of foster care, but the number of children aging out
of the foster care system without finding a permanent family increased to
nearly 29,500;
Whereas children aging out
of foster care
need and deserve a support system as they work to secure affordable housing,
obtain health insurance, pursue higher education, and acquire adequate
employment;
Whereas youth in foster care are much more likely to face
educational instability with 65 percent of former foster children experiencing
at least 7 school changes while in care;
Whereas an increased emphasis on prevention and
reunification services is necessary to reduce the number of children that are
forced to remain in the foster care system;
Whereas Federal legislation over the past 3 decades,
including the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, the Adoption
and Safe Families Act of 1997, and the Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, provided new investments and services to
improve the outcomes of children in the foster care system;
Whereas State and local governments and other child
serving agencies have also invested in child welfare services improvements in
order to provide stable, permanent homes for children;
Whereas more work and investments are needed to provide
the necessary array of services to these children;
Whereas foster children, like all children, deserve no
less than a safe, loving, and permanent home; and
Whereas May would be an appropriate month to designate as
National Foster Care Month to provide an opportunity to acknowledge the
accomplishments of the child welfare workforce, foster parents, advocacy
community, and mentors and the positive impact they have on children’s lives:
Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives—
(1)supports the goals
and ideals of National Foster Care Month;
(2)honors the
tireless efforts of those who work to improve outcomes for children in the
child welfare system;
(3)acknowledges the
exceptional alumni of the foster care system who serve as advocates and role
models for youth who remain in care;
(4)recognizes the
significant improvements to Federal, State, and local child welfare policy;
and
(5)reaffirms the need
to work through the programs in Title IV–B and IV–E in the Social Security Act
and other programs to support vulnerable families, invest in prevention and
reunification services, promote adoption in cases where reunification is not in
a child’s best interest, adequately serve those children brought into the
foster care system, and facilitate the successful transition into adulthood for
children that age out
of the foster care system.