[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 129 (Friday, October 4, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9985-S9986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself and Mr. Bayh):
  S. 3057. A bill to support the establishment or expansion and 
operation of programs using a network of public and private community 
entities to provide mentoring for children in foster care; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, in 1999, several of us, including the 
late John Chafee and former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, took a long 
hard look at our Nation's foster care system and in particular those 
whom the system failed. Each year 25,000 young people leave our foster 
care system without ever finding a permanent family. Too many of these 
young people have been in this system for the majority of their lives, 
moved from home to home to home, school to school, with no one to count 
on or turn to for guidance and no where to call ``home.''
  Studies show that within two to four years of leaving foster care, 
only half have completed high school, fewer than half are employed, 
one-fourth have been homeless for at least one night, 30 percent did 
not have access to needed health care, 60 percent of the young women 
have given birth, and less than one-in-five are completely self-
supporting. In addition, many States report that the overwhelming 
majority of youth offenders housed in their State prisons were once a 
part of our Nation's foster care system.
  While these statistics are, in and of themselves. disturbing, as 
author, Ruth Sidel, once said, ``statistics are people with the tears 
wiped away.'' It is easier for us to think of the almost 600,000 
children making their way through our foster care system as numbers, 
but they are not. They are children. And like every child, they are 
born with a need to belong, to be loved, to feel protected and 
sheltered. When we were working on the John Chafee Foster Care 
Independence Act of 1999, a young woman named Lisa, who had spent her 
life in foster care explained this concept better than I ever could. 
She said, ``even at 21, I dream about having someone to call when I am 
not sure whether you wash whites in warm or cold water, someone to tell 
me that they are proud that I got an A on my Biology test, and most 
importantly someone who will love me no matter what. Other kids have 
that and they are lucky.''
  One of my goals as United States Senator is to change our foster care 
system so children like Lisa do not fall through it's cracks. When you 
stop and think about it, there is no such thing as a foster care 
``system'', its just people, and these children do not fall through 
``cracks'', they fall through our fingers. I, for one, intend to do 
what I can to ensure that each and every child in the world goes to bed 
at night blanketed with the security that only a family of their own 
can provide. The legislation that I am here to introduce today by no 
means solves the many problems facing our kids in care, but it will go 
a long way toward ensuring that they do not fall through our fingers.
  The Foster Care Mentoring Act of 2002 authorizes $15 million a year 
to be used by States to create a statewide foster care mentor program 
that aims to match a trained, responsible adult with each and every 
child in care. Last week, I had the chance to sit down with an 
organization, Children Uniting Nations and the First Lady of 
California, Sharon Davis, and they shared with me the enormous success 
they have had in California with a program like this. The mentors 
provide friendship, guidance, academic tutoring and most importantly 
consistency to children who are in desperate need of such things. In 
addition, this legislation provides Federal student loan forgiveness 
for each mentor that contributes at least 200 hours a year to a child 
in need.
  Although a mentor can never take the place of a permanent family, 
they can make sure these children do not get lost in a system designed 
to protect them. Mentors can give these children the tools they need to 
survive and help guide and protect them as they wait for the permanent 
home they need and deserve. I hope that my colleagues will join me in 
support of this legislation.
  Mr. BAYH. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in support of 
legislation I have been working on with Senator Landrieu to ensure our 
foster care youth are provided every opportunity to develop into 
bright, capable adults and become productive and valuable members of 
our society. The Foster Care Mentoring Act will help provide a foster 
care child with a role model, tutor and friend.
  Although there are several concerns with the administration of our 
child welfare system, this bill is one way we can immediately provide 
necessary relief and guidance to children who have been the victims of 
abuse and neglect. This legislation takes a necessary step toward 
providing these children with a healthy stable environment. There are 
over half a million children in the nation's foster care system, 7,482 
children in Indiana alone. As the guardian of these children, the 
government should take all possible steps to help them overcome their 
barriers.
  As a result of the abuse foster care children have experienced, they 
are less likely to trust adults, create healthy relationships, and 
perform academically. Mentors will help them establish trusting 
relationships, assist them with their school work, and develop 
emotionally. Mentors will remind foster care youth that they are wanted 
members of our society who deserve every opportunity to achieve their 
dreams.
  Mentors have proven to have positive impacts on the youth they 
mentor. Children that have mentors have better relationships with 
adults, fewer disciplinary referrals, and more confidence to achieve 
their goals. Research shows that caring adults can make a difference in 
children's lives: 46 percent of mentored teens are less likely to use 
drugs; 59 percent of mentored

[[Page S9986]]

teens have better academic performance; 73 percent of mentored teens 
achieve higher goals generally.
  The Foster Care Mentoring Act authorizes $15 million a year to ensure 
that each mentor receives the appropriate training, makes a long-term 
commitment to the program, and fulfills educational requirements to 
mentor foster care youth. Mentoring foster care youth is another way 
young citizens can serve their country. This bill would reward those 
who take time to assist those in need. Each college-bound individual 
will have $2,000 forgiven from their student loans for every 200 hours 
they serve as a mentor to a foster care child. States will have the 
flexibility to coordinate with already existing programs to create 
mentor-child partnerships. In addition, the legislation would provide 
$4 million a year for the creation and administration of a national 
hotline and website to coordinate mentoring efforts.
  Although we should work together to ensure each child in the foster 
care system is placed in a loving, stable, safe, and permanent home, in 
the meantime we can at least provide them with a guiding friend. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues to implement this important 
legislation.
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