[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 15, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H4982-H4985]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 RECOGNIZING NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree 
to the resolution (H. Res. 263) recognizing National Foster Care Month 
as an opportunity for Congress to improve the foster care system 
throughout the United States, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 263

       Whereas National Foster Care Month provides an opportunity 
     to recognize the important role that the foster care system 
     plays in the lives of the more than 500,000 children 
     currently in foster care programs throughout the United 
     States;
       Whereas National Foster Care Month also provides an 
     opportunity to explore the difficulties faced by children in 
     the foster care system and to reaffirm the Nation's 
     commitment to improving the lives of these children by 
     improving foster care programs;
       Whereas many children in the foster care system have spent 
     multiple years in foster care programs and have experienced 
     an unstable home life due to frequent moves from one foster 
     home to another;
       Whereas approximately 50 percent of foster care children 
     have been placed in foster care programs for longer than 1 
     year;
       Whereas 25 percent of foster care children have been placed 
     in foster care programs for at least 3 years;
       Whereas children in foster care programs for longer periods 
     of time often experience worse outcomes than children in 
     foster care programs for shorter periods of time;
       Whereas children in foster care programs are more likely 
     than the general population to become teen parents, to rely 
     on public assistance as adults, to become homeless, and to 
     experience mental health disorders at a higher rate;
       Whereas repeated studies have shown that a child's very 
     early years are critical for brain development, meaning that 
     it is extremely important to find suitable permanent homes 
     for children during this critical period;
       Whereas there are 119,000 children eligible for adoption 
     every year and less than half of the children in foster care 
     programs actually get adopted;
       Whereas a stable home is critical to a child's development; 
     and
       Whereas every child deserves to be raised by a loving 
     family: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,  That in recognition of National Foster Care 
     Month and in order to improve the foster care system 
     throughout the United States, it is the sense of the House of 
     Representatives that Congress should ensure that improving 
     the foster care system remains a top priority for both 
     Congress and the Nation.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. McDermott) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, the month of May marks National Foster 
Care Month. The foster care system provides a safe sanctuary for 
children who are unable to live safely in their homes.
  Its primary goal is to ensure their safety and well-being by 
providing them with critical services and working to find a safe and 
loving and permanent home. Over 500,000 American children are in the 
foster care system on any given day with over 100,000 of these children 
waiting to be adopted. They need our help, and I believe this is one 
place where every Member of the House can come together as one, 
committed to protecting these innocent children.
  This morning, we, Mr. Weller and I, had a hearing in the Ways and 
Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support to review the 
changes and the challenges that child welfare agencies encounter in 
achieving positive outcomes for children and families under their 
service.
  The hearing identified a number of areas that need to be improved to 
strengthen children and families, which I am committed to addressing. 
The hearing also highlighted the commitment of some of our most 
selfless Americans on behalf of some of our most vulnerable children. 
Millions of Americans serve as foster parents, and,

[[Page H4983]]

in doing so, have unselfishly opened their homes and their lives to 
children in need. These families are to be commended for working 
cooperatively with human service agencies and biological parents to 
strengthen the lives of these foster children.
  We should also recognize the work of dedicated case workers, juvenile 
court justices, physicians and the advocates who have committed their 
lives to ensuring the safety and well-being of our most vulnerable 
children. These tireless workers should be commended for their work on 
behalf of children and families in crisis.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing May 2007 as National 
Foster Care Month and commending the dedication of foster parents, case 
workers, judges, service providers and advocates for their commitment 
to our Nation's most vulnerable children.

                              {time}  1130

  Madam Speaker, I would now ask unanimous consent to allow 
Representative Cardoza of California, who is the author of this 
resolution and a staunch advocate for improving the well-being of 
children in foster care, and actually an adoptive parent of a couple of 
kids from foster care, so he's done it at every level, to control the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I'd like to allow Mr. Weller to speak 
next.
  Mr. WELLER of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 
263, as amended, recognizing National Foster Care Month.
  We're here today to discuss foster care, starting with recognizing 
the thousands of foster parents who step in to care for so many 
vulnerable young people across America. It is right to celebrate the 
efforts of foster parents who step in to keep children safe.
  In addition to these individuals, thousands of local organizations, 
with both public and private sector employees and volunteers, are also 
active in foster care.
  In the congressional district that I represent, one good example of a 
trusted foster care organization is Baby Fold, and Baby Fold is a 
multi-service family support agency that has served the Bloomington-
Normal region in central Illinois for over a century.
  Today the Baby Fold specializes in residential, educational, 
therapeutic, adoption, foster care, pregnancy counseling and family 
support prevention services for children and their families.
  Many similar groups provide similar services in every congressional 
district in America. These organizations and dedicated individuals, 
supported by private donations and over $23 billion in taxpayer funds 
each year, help children and families lead safe and productive lives. 
Today we thank each of them and all of them for their efforts and 
dedication.
  Yet, despite such dedicated efforts, we also know a lot more work is 
needed to ensure that all children are adequately protected from abuse 
and neglect.
  I have a longstanding interest in training of child welfare workers. 
Today I am reintroducing legislation I have authored in prior 
Congresses designed to address a glaring flaw in current rules by 
ensuring all child care workers, whether they work for a public agency 
or a private agency, have access to the same training needed to protect 
children.
  Take Will County Catholic Charities, which helps protect over 300 
children in foster care in the congressional district I represent. 
There's simply no reason why a caseworker with Will County Catholic 
Charities should have less access to training than an equally dedicated 
caseworker who happens to be a public employee. Yet, that is what 
current Federal rules promote, and we should fix this.
  We also need to do more to ensure that each and every child involved 
with the child welfare system is safe. Too often that is not the case. 
The Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, on which I 
serve as ranking member, held a hearing on these challenges earlier 
today. We focused on areas like Clark County, Nevada, which is home to 
Las Vegas. A series of child deaths in Clark County has proven the 
risks for children when foster care and child protection systems fail 
to protect them.
  As an August 5, 2006 article in the Las Vegas Review Journal put it, 
``Since 2002, at least 79 children have died of abuse or neglect at the 
hands of their parents, foster parents or other caregivers while under 
the watch of the Clark County Department of Family Services.''
  As troubling as that is, the response of local officials has only 
made matters worse. ``For years, the county child welfare system has 
continuously avoided scrutiny by hiding behind a veil of 
confidentiality meant to protect children and families, but which the 
county has used to shield itself from oversight and criticism.''
  This sad trail of facts was supported by testimony we received today 
from Ed Cotton, who has broad experience in child welfare programs in 
my home State of Illinois, as well as New Jersey and Nevada. Most 
recently Mr. Cotton conducted a top-to-bottom review of Clark County, 
Nevada's child welfare program in the wake of tragedies there. And the 
evidence shows that Clark County is a case study of what happens when 
there's no oversight from those administering the program, and clearly 
is a national embarrassment and a disgrace because Federal funds were 
involved.
  As Mr. Cotton testified, in Clark County and too many other places, 
this system has a very long way to go to ensure that all children are 
adequately protected.
  Madam Speaker, in contrast with the Clark County tragedies, some 
areas have shown progress, but they're all too rare. Recent positive 
examples include my home State of Illinois.
  Starting under the leadership of former Governor Jim Edgar in the 
late 1990s, the entire child welfare system in Illinois has undergone 
remarkable changes, resulting in there being 16,272 children today in 
foster care, or in January of 2007 that number, down from 28,202 
children in September of 2001.
  New York City, under the leadership of Mayor Rudy Giuliani, also made 
changes that were positive, dramatically reducing the number of 
children who need foster care.
  Many experts think we should build on this success and do better when 
it comes to targeting efforts to prevent abuse and neglect from 
occurring in the first place. That would result in fewer children 
needing foster care, tracking the Illinois and New York City 
experiences, and that would free more resources to ensure the safety, 
permanency and well-being of those children who do not need to be 
placed in foster care. Both goals are critical, better prevention and 
better oversight.
  In 2006, Congress took some modest steps in the right direction by 
targeting more funds for child abuse prevention and holding States more 
accountable for results. So there is increasing recognition of the 
steps needed to turn this program around.
  In the meantime, we will certainly need the continuing involvement 
and support of tens of thousands of foster parents. We owe them, and 
especially the children they protect each and every day, our continued 
full support.
  I urge bipartisan support for this resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 263, a 
resolution recognizing May, this month, as the National Foster Care 
Month.
  I want to begin my statement today by thanking subcommittee chairman, 
Mr. McDermott from Washington, for his outstanding support and work 
with us to bring this resolution to the floor. Chairman McDermott has 
dedicated virtually his entire life to the work of helping children 
that have been disadvantaged, and he deserves great praise and thanks 
for the hard work he continues to do in this Congress.
  I also want to recognize Mr. Weller for cooperating with us today in 
bringing this resolution to the floor, and also for his thoughtful 
comments that he just prepared.
  However, this resolution has a long and tortuous path to reaching the 
floor today. My staff's been working tirelessly with both the majority 
and the minority staffs of the Ways and Means

[[Page H4984]]

and Judiciary Committees. Before this bill was able to reach the floor 
under suspension, I was forced to make substantive changes which 
severely, in my opinion, gut the force of this resolution.
  Specifically, my original resolution, drawing upon the 
recommendations of the respected Pew Charitable Trust, made clear that 
we need more funds for the CASA Program, that we need more funds to 
better ensure that we have trained personnel working with foster 
children, and that we provide more resources to State agencies that 
deal with foster children.
  In the interest of comity, I was forced to withdraw all these 
recommendations. Unfortunately, while of course I still support the 
thrust of the current resolution, without sufficient resources we will 
never fully tackle this problem.
  I'd also like to just point out, and it's important history for us 
all to remember, that in the previous majority in the last Congress, we 
took, in my mind, unconscionable measures to reduce the funding to 
foster children.
  On February 8, 2006, President Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act 
of 2005. The CBO estimates that this measure cut funds of $1.3 billion 
over 10 years to foster care and $2.1 billion over 10 years to Medicaid 
that would affect these children.
  I stood up on the House floor on that day in December when it was 
being debated in this institution and fought against those cuts. I, at 
that time, called it ``Scroogenomics,'' because we were cutting the 
money for foster kids right before the Christmas holiday. And those 
concerns went for nought. The bill was passed anyway and signed into 
law, and foster kids continue to suffer because of that act.
  I won't belabor the point too much at this point because I really 
want to focus on the needs today. But, Madam Speaker, I speak 
passionately about foster children because I have a very personal 
interest in this issue. Seven years ago I adopted two foster children. 
In fact, Madam Speaker, as an aside, I'm doing this resolution because 
they asked me to do it today.
  Since then, I have advocated on their behalf and on the behalf of the 
adoption of foster children in the California State Assembly and now 
here in Congress.
  The need is tremendous and the statistics are sobering. It is 
estimated that there are 800,000 children in foster care at some point 
during any given year. Moreover, children of color are 
disproportionately represented in foster care. African American 
children make up about 16 percent of the Nation's children, but make up 
35 percent of the children in foster care. These children enter foster 
care at higher rates and remain in care longer, for longer periods than 
white children.
  Too many children in foster care sit waiting for permanent families. 
There are about 118,000 children in foster care waiting to be adopted, 
and numerous barriers keep them in limbo. Children often bounce from 
one system to another, from child welfare to juvenile justice to mental 
health as their needs intensify.
  Each year, about 20,000 children age out of the foster care system 
without ever being adopted, placed with grandparents or any other 
supportive adult. Oftentimes, these children have no connection 
whatsoever to any adult.
  Several studies released in 2005 documented the special challenges 
facing these youths, especially in the area of mental health, education 
and employment. They are especially poorly prepared to be self-
sufficient young adults.
  These children are waiting. Speaking from personal experience, there 
is no greater joy in life than helping a child. My wife and I can 
attest to this every day.
  Every child, no matter what their situation that they may be born to, 
deserves a chance to be raised in a stable and loving home. Innocent 
children should not be forced to bear the mistakes of their parents. We 
have a moral obligation to ensure that these children, no matter what 
background they come from, have a shot that is equal to the shot that 
every American has to the American dream.
  This is a big problem that will require bold solutions. In order to 
save the next generation of children, we must rededicate ourselves to 
their welfare and to pledge to do whatever is necessary to nurture and 
protect them.
  This resolution, by highlighting attention to their problems, is a 
necessary first step. But, Madam Speaker, other dramatic actions need 
to be taken. That is why I have introduced legislation to expand 
Medicaid coverage to children who age out of the foster care system, 
and I'm considering legislation to ensure that every foster child has a 
CASA representative, a court-appointed special advocate, the same type 
of court-appointed special advocate that saved my children.
  These are urgent problems. They require bold solutions. I urge my 
colleagues to support this resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WELLER of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of the bill 
under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WELLER of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of 
our time.
  Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Weller. 
I know he cares passionately about these children, and while we 
sometimes disagree on the specifics, I know that all Members in this 
institution care passionately about foster children.
  But the time to act is now. We need to do more to work on behalf of 
these children to eliminate the barriers that prohibit them from 
leading positive lives in society.
  We must extend health care coverage to these young people until the 
age of 21. It's currently a voluntary program. Thirty-three States in 
this country do not offer health care all the way to the age of 
majority. We must, in fact, do more. And it is imperative. And frankly, 
if we can keep these young people out of a life of crime, out of 
falling into trouble, assisting them into becoming productive citizens, 
instead of the current situation where nearly 50 percent of children 
who age out of the foster care system end up homeless after 1 year, we 
can do better for our citizens and we can, frankly, probably save money 
to the taxpayers of the United States.
  So, Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of this resolution. I urge my 
colleagues here today within earshot of my voice to redouble their 
efforts in helping this population of our citizenry that has become 
disadvantaged.
  Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of National 
Foster Care Month. Our child welfare system faces severe challenges and 
this month provides Congress with the opportunity to make needed 
reforms.
  Our society has an obligation to ensure that all children are raised 
in safe and loving environments. For the 500,000 children in foster 
care, the State is responsible for providing a stable home, through 
reunification with their families, permanent placements, or adoption. 
Tragically, we are not doing a very good job. Half of all foster 
children have been in care for more than a year. A quarter have been in 
the system for more than 3 years. For foster children that remain in 
the system and ``age out'' with no family supports, the future is not 
very bright. For those children, the odds are that they will end up in 
jail, homeless, or reliant on public assistance.
  The problems that plague our child welfare system are largely the 
result of poor Federal and State policy decisions. Luckily, we have the 
power to reform those policies and directly affect the lives of the 
hundreds of thousands of children who are counting on us to do the 
right thing.
  There are very concrete steps we can take to improve the foster care 
system. Congress should reform the financing system to make sure that 
we provide support for every foster child. Currently, the Federal 
Government supports less than 50 percent of children in care. We can 
also take steps to improve the child welfare workforce and reduce the 
number of cases those workers have to handle. A Federal ceiling for the 
number of cases a worker can handle should be established so that 
children get the attention needed to keep them safe. In addition, we 
have to provide better services to the estimated 25,000 children who 
leave care each year when they turn 18. All of these children should 
maintain Medicaid eligibility until they are 21 and we should invest 
further in training, education, and housing assistance for these 
children.

[[Page H4985]]

  The resolution before us (H. Res. 263) can serve as a stepping stone 
for real action to protect our children and help them flourish. I am 
proud to support it.

                              {time}  1145

  Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 263, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________