[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 78 (Tuesday, May 13, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H3717-H3719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1600
                 HONORING PUBLIC CHILD WELFARE AGENCIES

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 789) honoring public child welfare 
agencies, nonprofit organizations and private entities providing 
services for foster children, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 789

       Whereas over 500,000 children in the United States are 
     currently in foster care which is twice as many as 15 years 
     ago;
       Whereas the majority of these children and youth have been 
     removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect;
       Whereas foster children experience a number of unique 
     challenges based on instability in their home and school 
     environments;
       Whereas just over half of all foster children complete high 
     school, 30 percent continue to rely on public assistance into 
     adulthood and 25 percent will experience homelessness at one 
     point in their lives;
       Whereas numerous public child welfare agencies, nonprofit 
     organizations and private entities work tirelessly to recruit 
     loving foster families and improve the lives of foster 
     children;
       Whereas these groups strive to consider the best interest 
     of each child and focus on keeping families together when 
     possible;
       Whereas they provide invaluable resources to foster 
     families as well as teachers, counselors, physicians, clergy, 
     and others who

[[Page H3718]]

     work closely with children in the foster care system;
       Whereas these groups are dedicated to changing public 
     policy and raising awareness related to the special needs of 
     foster children; and
       Whereas they continue to sponsor research, develop best 
     practices, and offer assistance to youth transitioning out of 
     the system to ensure they receive adequate support as they 
     reach adulthood: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors the 
     contributions of public child welfare agencies, nonprofit 
     organizations and private entities dedicated to finding homes 
     for foster children and assisting foster families in securing 
     the future success of their foster children.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert material relevant to H. Res. 789 into the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
might consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the public welfare agencies, 
nonprofit organizations, private entities and compassionate individuals 
that work tirelessly to support foster children.
  Since May is National Foster Care Month, it is appropriate that today 
we salute the many individuals and organizations that provide foster 
care services to over 500,000 children currently in foster care 
nationwide.
  National Foster Care Month originated in 1988 and has served to 
heighten awareness for the issue since that time. By increasing 
visibility of this important issue, organizations are better able to 
reach out to the community and recruit individuals to support children 
throughout the year. By connecting foster youth with caring adults we 
can ensure that children do not face life's challenges alone.
  Child welfare issues are present in families of all races, 
ethnicities and cultures. However, children of color make up a 
disproportionate number of children in foster care. Without a stable 
home, these young people confront many challenges. Although some of 
these young people are able to overcome the challenges of abuse and 
neglect, others continue to deal with their effects long into 
adulthood.
  Research finds that just 54 percent of foster care youth complete 
high school and 25 percent will face homelessness at some point in 
their lives. Additionally, research has shown that children in foster 
care are more likely than their peers to deal with poverty, 
unemployment, incarceration, poor health and other hardships.
  We must do what we can to support these young Americans and help them 
cultivate the necessary skills to live successfully and independently. 
More than 20,000 young people age out of foster care each year, and 
today we recognize the many individuals, families, neighborhoods, 
communities and organizations that work collectively together to ensure 
that all children can grow up with the support they need to be healthy 
and safe.
  So, Mr. Speaker, once again I express my support for H. Res. 789 and 
recognize the hard work so many put in on a daily basis to help 
children in foster care reunite with their parents, be cared for by 
relatives or to be adopted by loving families. I urge my colleagues to 
support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield to the distinguished 
Congresswoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Bachmann) such time as she may 
consume. She is the sponsor of the resolution.
  Mrs. BACHMANN. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, as this resolution's author, I rise to support H. Res. 
789. It is vital that the organizations that are committed to improving 
the lives of foster care children be commended for their hard work and 
for their sacrifices.
  Today, there are over 500,000 children, that's over a half million 
children, in foster care across the United States of America, many of 
whom come from troubled homes and many of whom have been moved from 
family to family several times. My husband and I have been privileged 
to have 23 foster children live in our home, and we know from 
experience that these wonderful organizations that work with our foster 
children played a critical role in ensuring that they were matched with 
loving families and they grew up to achieve successful lives. These 
organizations are to be commended, Mr. Speaker.
  Dedicated to changing public policy and also to raising awareness 
related to the very special and individual needs of foster children, 
these groups sponsor research, they develop best practices, and they 
offer assistance to youth who are transitioning out of the system to 
ensure that they receive adequate support as they reach adulthood. They 
provide invaluable resources to foster families as well as to teachers, 
to counselors, physicians, clergy and other people who work closely 
with children who are being helped by the foster care system.
  These men and women and agencies are striving to consider the best 
interests of every child, and they work to keep families together 
whenever possible. Today, more Americans are beginning to understand 
the very real and very special needs of foster care children due to 
their dedicated public awareness efforts, and I am proud to honor these 
organizations that have touched the lives of so many of America's 
children and improved their lives and put them steadily on a path to 
success.
  To complement this resolution, it is my hope that the House will soon 
have the opportunity to consider H.R. 4311, the School Choice for 
Foster Kids Act, because this Act will allow foster children of all 
ages to stay at the school that they've grown comfortable with, even 
when they change foster homes, which all too frequently seems to happen 
in the lives of foster children. It will provide them with some 
stability in their own tumultuous lives.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that you and our fellow colleagues will join us 
in honoring the contributions of all public child welfare agencies, 
nonprofit organizations and private entities who are sincerely 
dedicated to finding homes for foster children and to assisting foster 
families in securing the success of our future children.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I would reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I am also a strong believer in what we are doing here in honoring 
foster care with this month. This is an opportunity to give these 
children a sense of well-being, a home, a stability, nurturing adults.
  We've seen it work time and again, as the gentlewoman from Minnesota 
has explained. There are currently over 500,000 children in foster care 
in the United States, and the majority of these children have been 
removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect. So those who 
welcome these children in, give them that opportunity, deserve our 
plaudits in terms of what they've done to help in our society.
  Just over half of all foster children complete high school, 30 
percent continue to rely on public assistance into adulthood, and 25 
percent will experience homelessness at one point in their lives. So 
we're dealing with circumstances, in many instances, in which we have 
to try to intervene and to make a difference.
  We should pay tribute to the public child welfare agencies, the 
nonprofits and the private entities that provide these services for 
these children because, indeed, they are reaching out and making a 
difference in the lives of many of these individuals.
  The groups we honor today provide invaluable resources to foster 
families, teachers, counselors, physicians, clergy and others who work 
closely with the children in the foster care system. They sponsor 
research, develop best practices, and offer assistance to youth 
transitioning out of the system to ensure they receive adequate support 
as they reach adulthood. There are an estimated 12 million foster care 
alumni in the United States representing all walks of life.
  We pay tribute to those individuals in this resolution, and I would 
hope

[[Page H3719]]

that all of our colleagues would be supportive of the resolution.
  I thank the gentlewoman for her sponsorship and all those who brought 
it to the floor today.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 789, 
honoring public child welfare agencies, nonprofit organizations and 
private entities providing services for foster children.
  May is National Foster Care Month. We take this time to bring 
awareness to the many sides of foster care. Children are placed in 
foster care when their parents are no longer able to ensure their 
essential well being. These children need stable, loving care until 
they can either safely reunite with their families or cultivate other 
lasting relationships with nurturing adults.
  Foster care is essential to protecting abused and neglected children. 
There are currently over 500,000 children in foster care in the United 
States. The majority of these children have been removed from their 
homes because of abuse or neglect.
  During this month we recognize the unique challenges foster children 
experience based on the instability in their home and school 
environments. Just over half of all foster children complete high 
school, 30 percent continue to rely on public assistance into 
adulthood, and 25 percent will experience homelessness at one point in 
their lives.
  Today, we pay tribute to the public child welfare agencies, nonprofit 
organizations and private entities that provide services for foster 
children. These organizations work tirelessly to improve the lives of 
foster children by considering the best interest of each child, 
focusing on keeping families together when possible, and recruiting 
loving foster families.
  The groups we honor today provide invaluable resources to foster 
families, teachers, counselors, physicians, clergy, and others who work 
closely with children in the foster care system. They sponsor research, 
develop best practices, and offer assistance to youth transitioning out 
of the system to ensure they receive adequate support as they reach 
adulthood. There are an estimated 12 million foster care alumni in the 
United States representing all walks of life.
  Today, we honor the contributions of public child welfare agencies, 
nonprofit organizations and private entities dedicated to finding homes 
for foster children and assisting foster families in securing the 
future success of their foster children. These groups are committed to 
raising awareness related to the special needs of foster children.
  That is why I stand in support of this resolution and I ask for my 
colleagues' support.
  I yield back the balance of our time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to be 
associated with the comments of Mr. Castle, and I also want to commend 
Mrs. Bachmann and her family, her husband, for the outstanding role 
modeling which they display. I was taught that you can't lead where you 
don't go and you can't teach what you don't know, and they demonstrate 
the very best of what it means to be associated and involved with 
caring for children who are not necessarily your own. And so I 
certainly commend them for the outstanding service they provide.
  I urge passage of this resolution.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of H. Res. 789, honoring public child welfare agencies, nonprofit 
organizations and private entities providing services for foster 
children. I first would like to thank my distinguished colleague, 
Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, for introducing this 
important legislation. This resolution acknowledges the importance of 
foster parents and other community partners who care for hurting 
children.
  Children are placed in foster care because of society's concern for 
their well-being. Any time spent by a child in temporary care should be 
therapeutic but may be harmful to the child's growth, development, and 
well-being. Interruptions in the continuity of a child's caregiver are 
often detrimental. Repeated moves from home to home compound the 
adverse consequences that stress and inadequate parenting have on the 
child's development and ability to cope. Adults cope with impermanence 
by building on an accrued sense of self-reliance and by anticipating 
and planning for a time of greater constancy. Children, however, 
especially when young, have limited life experience on which to 
establish their sense of self. In addition, their sense of time focuses 
exclusively on the present and precludes meaningful understanding of 
``temporary'' versus ``permanent'' or anticipation of the future. For 
young children, periods of weeks or months are not comprehensible. 
Disruption in either place or with a caregiver for even 1 day may be 
stressful. The younger the child and the more extended the period of 
uncertainty or separation, the more detrimental it will be to the 
child's well-being.

  The observance brings sharply into focus the critical needs of foster 
children and the importance of our foster parents who respond so 
faithfully and selflessly to the children's needs. Some children are 
placed in foster care briefly while a family crisis is resolved. Others 
remain in care for longer periods of time, depending upon the 
circumstances that led to their removal from their family's home. Over 
500,000 children in the United States are currently in foster care 
which is twice as many as 20 years ago. The majority of these children 
and youth have been removed from their homes because of abuse or 
neglect. Our foster parents deserve special praise because they open 
their homes and their hearts to foster children and love them 
unconditionally. They understand that a safe, secure home is very 
important to the healthy development of a child.
  An increasing number of young children are being placed in foster 
care because of parental neglect. Neglect has very profound and long-
lasting consequences on all aspects of child development--poor 
attachment formation, understimulation, development delay, poor 
physical development, and antisocial behavior. Being in an environment 
in which child-directed support and communication is limited makes it 
more difficult for a child to develop the brain connections that 
facilitate language and vocabulary development, and therefore may 
impair communication skills. Recent findings in infant mental health 
show how development can be facilitated, how treatment can enhance 
brain development and psychological health, and how prevention 
strategies can lessen the ill effects of neglect.
  Adoption by foster families has the potential to benefit not only the 
child being adopted, but also the foster family and the child welfare 
agency. There are a number of reasons that a child's foster parents may 
be the best adoptive parents for that child. Foster parents have a 
greater knowledge of a child's experiences prior to placement and know 
what behaviors to expect from the child. If they have sufficient 
background information about what happened to a child before this 
placement, some knowledge of how children generally respond to such 
experiences, and extensive information about this child's specific 
behavior patterns, the foster family is better able to understand and 
respond to the child's needs in a positive and appropriate way. Foster 
parents usually have fewer fantasies and fears about the child's birth 
family, because they often have met and know them as real people with 
real problems. Foster parents have a better understanding of their role 
and relationship with the agency--and perhaps a relationship with their 
worker.

  Foster children experience a number of unique challenges based on 
instability in their home and school environments. Just over half of 
all foster children complete high school, 40 percent continue to rely 
on public assistance into adulthood and 25 percent will experience 
homelessness at one point in their lives. Numerous public child welfare 
agencies, nonprofit organizations and private entities work tirelessly 
to recruit loving foster families and improve the lives of foster 
children. These groups strive to consider the best interest of each 
child and focus on keeping families together when possible. They 
provide invaluable resources to foster families as well as teachers, 
counselors, physicians, clergy, and others who work closely with 
children in the foster care system.
  Mr. Speaker, I recognize and honor the contributions of all public 
child welfare agencies, nonprofit organizations and private entities 
dedicated to finding homes for foster children and assisting foster 
families in securing their future success.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of our 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 789, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________