[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 118 (Thursday, July 17, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1494-E1495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   H.R. 6307, SUPPORTING THE ``FOSTERING CONNECTIONS TO SUCCESS ACT''

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 17, 2008

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, the House of Representatives 
recently passed H.R. 6307, the Fostering Connections to Success Act, 
sponsored by Representatives Jim McDermott and Jerry Weller. This bill 
is a strong first step in reforming the foster care system, and it 
includes provisions supporting kinship caregivers that I have 
championed for years. Specifically, the bill includes the 3 core 
elements of my bill, H.R. 2188, the Kinship Caregiver Support Act, 
which I introduced with Representative Tim Johnson: (1) it allows 
states to use Federal funds to support family caregivers raising 
relatives in the foster care system; (2) it provides funding to 
establish kinship navigator programs; and (3) it requires notification 
of relatives when a child enters the foster care system.
  These provisions are critical to supporting our children and youth. 
Nationwide, almost 19 percent of kinship care providers live in 
poverty, and 30 percent to 40 percent of children

[[Page E1495]]

in foster care have chronic medical problems. Subsidized guardianship, 
like the Federal adoption assistance program, provides needed support 
to these kinship caregivers to afford appropriate care for these 
vulnerable children.
  Further, kinship navigator programs serve as critical supports to the 
millions of grandparent caregivers who preventively took on the care of 
their grandchildren to keep them out of the foster care system. 
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 2.1 
million children living with grandparents or other relatives with no 
parent present; however, only about 145,000 children in the foster care 
system live with kinship caregivers. This means that just under 2 
million children are being cared for outside of the system and do not 
have access to subsidized guardianship payments. We must promote 
kinship navigator programs to help these caregivers understand and 
access supports to support our youngest citizens.
  Research clearly shows that kinship foster care families are safer, 
more stable placements that are more likely to keep children connected 
with their siblings and communities than non-relative placements. 
Further, these placements are cost effective. In Illinois, cost studies 
found a projected savings of approximately $48 million over 10 years 
compared to a matched control group that did not have this option. For 
these reasons, it is imperative that we promote kinship caregiving 
within the foster care system, and required notification to relatives 
is an important step to this end.
  The issue of grandparents raising grandchildren is very significant 
for Illinois and for Chicago specifically. My Congressional District 
has the highest percentage of children living with kinship caregivers 
in the U.S., with two other Chicago districts following closely behind. 
The legislation promises critical financial support to family members 
raising relatives in foster care. We have more to do, but I applaud the 
House of Representatives for passing this bill that will do so much for 
so many.

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