[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 93 (Tuesday, July 12, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     FOSTERING ADOPTION TO FURTHER STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. WILLIAM J. JEFFERSON

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 12, 2005

  Mr. JEFFERSON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join today with my 
colleagues, Mrs. Brown-Waite of Florida, Mr. Snyder of Arkansas, and 
Mr. Boustany of Louisiana, in introducing legislation that corrects an 
inequity in our Nation's higher education laws.
  The foster care system in our country is not perfect. However, for 
all its flaws, it does provide some very genuine benefits. For example, 
those youth who graduate high school while still in foster care are 
afforded every opportunity to attend college and receive full federal 
financial aid benefits.
  Unfortunately, those who are fortunate enough to be adopted into 
loving homes as teenagers are not given this same consideration. Under 
current law, children who are adopted and thus leave the foster care 
system are not considered ``independent students'' and are therefore 
considered for financial aid based on the income of the adoptive 
family. This is a barrier for families looking to adopt older children, 
but may not have saved for college--and it should be changed.
  This important legislation would adjust the definition of 
``independent student'' to include foster care youth who are adopted 
from the foster care system after their 13th birthday. Accordingly, 
when the adopted children apply for federal financial aid, they will 
not be penalized because eligibility would be determined by the adopted 
student's ability to pay, not the ability of his parents to do so.

  Statistics show that older children who are adopted from the foster 
care system are more likely to attend college, have stable lives and 
have a permanent family. Conversely, of those who ``aged-out'' of 
foster care over three years: Only 54% had earned a high school 
diploma; Only 14:5 had graduated from a four-year college; and Between 
25-44% had experienced homelessness.

It is estimated that approximately 20,000 youth ``age out'' of the 
foster care system each year and, of that number, nearly 30% are 
incarcerated in the first year. Currently, there are 523,000 children 
in foster care and nearly half of those children are over the age of 
ten.
  These statistics show that when given the opportunity to move into a 
loving home, those who are still in the system are more likely to be 
successful. Making this minor change to current law can do so much to 
change the lives of these youngsters and the families looking to adopt 
them. But when these teenagers are forced to choose between adoption 
and federal financial aid to attend college, the odds are against them.
  Families who adopt teenagers are remarkable. But these adoptions are 
rare. This legislation is designed not only to create greater access to 
college for those who are adopted but also to encourage adoption of 
older children by creating an incentive--not a barrier--to parents 
looking to add to their family by adopting a child out of the foster 
care system.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join with me and my colleagues 
in supporting and enacting this common sense, bipartisan legislation.

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