[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 19, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H3610-H3612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1445
NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH
Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree
to the resolution (H. Res. 1339) expressing support for designation of
May as National Foster Care Month and acknowledging the responsibility
that Congress has to promote safety, well-being, improved outcomes, and
permanency for the Nation's collective children.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 1339
Whereas on average, the Nation's foster care system
provides for nearly 500,000 children each day who are unable
to live safely with their biological parents;
Whereas there is a shortage of foster parents and great
need for their services, as there are fewer than 3 foster
homes for every 10 children in care;
Whereas foster parents are the most frontline caregiver for
children who cannot safely remain with their biological
parents and provide physical care, emotional support,
education advocacy, and are the largest single source of
families providing permanent homes for kids leaving foster
care to adoption;
Whereas 273,000 children entered the foster care system
during fiscal year 2008 and an average of 123,000 children
were waiting to be adopted every day;
Whereas almost 55,000 children were adopted out of foster
care in fiscal year 2008, but the number of children ``aging
out'' of the foster care system without finding a permanent
family increased to an all-time high of nearly 30,000 in
fiscal year 2008;
Whereas children ``aging out'' of foster care need and
deserve a support system as they work to secure affordable
housing, obtain health insurance, pursue higher education,
and acquire adequate employment;
Whereas youth in foster care are much more likely to face
educational instability with 65 percent of former foster
children experiencing at least 7 school changes while in
care;
Whereas an increased emphasis on prevention and
reunification services is necessary to reduce the number of
children that are forced to enter the foster care system;
Whereas Federal legislation over the past three decades,
including the Adoption Assistance and Safe Families Act of
1980, the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, and the
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act
of 2008, provided new investments and services to improve the
outcomes of children in the foster care system;
Whereas foster children, like all children, deserve no less
than a safe, loving, and permanent home; and
Whereas May would be an appropriate month to designate as
National Foster Care Month to provide an opportunity to
acknowledge the accomplishments of the child welfare
workforce, foster parents, advocacy community, and mentors
and the positive impact they have on children's lives: Now,
therefore, be it
[[Page H3611]]
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the designation of National Foster Care Month;
(2) honors the tireless efforts of those who work to
improve outcomes for children in the child welfare system;
(3) acknowledges the exceptional alumni of the foster care
system who serve as advocates and role models for youth who
remain in care;
(4) recognizes the significant improvements to Federal,
State, and local child welfare policy; and
(5) reaffirms the need to work through the title IV
programs in the Social Security Act and other programs to
support vulnerable families, invest in prevention and
reunification services, promote adoption in cases where
reunification is not in a child's best interest, adequately
serve those children brought into the foster care system, and
facilitate the successful transition into adulthood for
children that ``age out'' of the foster care system.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. McDermott) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Linder)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.
General Leave
Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Washington?
There was no objection.
Mr. McDERMOTT. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, the month of May marks National Foster Care Month,
which provides us with an opportunity to recognize the unsung heroes,
that is, the frontline workers and the foster parents who work
tirelessly to improve the lives of our most vulnerable children, and to
reaffirm Congress' commitment to foster care. We have a responsibility
to work with State officials to ensure that they have the resources
they need to care for these children and to help them move to a
permanent home as quickly as possible.
Today, there are 463,000 children in the foster care system. While
the number of children placed in care has recently declined, far too
many children must wait far too long to safely reunify with their
parents or find a new family to call their own. Right now, the average
length of stay for a child in foster care is nearly 16 months. That is
a significant amount of time in the life of any child, much less those
who have been maltreated or separated from their parents, their
siblings, their friends, and their community.
More than 120,000 children are currently waiting to find a new family
to call their own through adoption. Children who are waiting to be
adopted spend an average of nearly 2\1/2\ years in foster care as they
await a new family.
Sadly, nearly 30,000 children left foster care or emancipated from
the system in fiscal year 2008 without finding a permanent home,
leaving these young people on their own as they transition from foster
care to adulthood.
While we clearly have, still, lots of work to do, Congress made great
progress in the last 2 years to improve the outcomes of vulnerable
children in care. In 2008, Congress passed, with Jerry Weller on the
Republican side and myself, bipartisan legislation called the Fostering
Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act.
This bill provided additional services and support to children in
foster care, promoting the connection of children in care with their
relatives and communities, and providing additional support for
caseworker training. It also allowed States to extend foster care
services to older youth, up to the age of 21, so that these young
people can receive critical support services as they transition to
adulthood, as they age out, so to speak.
And, as States began to grapple with fiscal restraints, severe fiscal
restraints as a result of the recession, Congress stepped in to provide
nearly $1 billion in targeted State relief for foster care programs as
part of the Recovery Act.
While progress has been made over the last few years to support our
national foster care system, there is plenty of additional work that
still needs to be done. More focus must be placed on providing
additional Federal support for prevention services to at-risk children
and their families. By providing more resources that are targeted at
preventing the incidents of child maltreatment and safely serving
children and families in their own homes, we can ultimately reduce the
number of children who are placed in foster care.
Foster kids, like all children, can and do grow up to make lasting
positive impacts in their community and in the world. Many of you
probably have read a recent article in The Washington Post that
profiled Jelani Freeman, a foster child who completed a master's degree
in history at American University, worked for 3 years in youth-related
positions in the District, and graduated from Howard University Law
School earlier this month.
I urge my colleagues to pay tribute to these remarkable young men and
women in May, and every month of the year, by joining me and my
colleague, Representative John Linder, and President Obama in
recognizing May 2010 as National Foster Care Month and supporting this
bipartisan resolution.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LINDER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
This resolution is one that, in a perfect world, would not be
necessary. In that perfect world, every child would live with two
married parents, and every parent would be unfailingly caring and
loving for that child. But even as we promote the best environment for
raising children, we know that, sadly, that is not the way the world
works. So institutions are needed to ensure that, when biological
parents don't adequately care for their children, other responsible
adults step in. That is the role played by our foster care system and,
most important, the thousands of foster parents who make foster care
work to protect children.
Every day, foster parents care for about 500,000 children across
America who cannot safely remain with their own parents. For that, as
this resolution expresses, our Nation says ``thank you.''
While we celebrate those who make personal sacrifices to protect and
care for children, we must also admit that this system doesn't always
work as it should. Just like not every biological parent is up to the
task, not every foster parent or caseworker meets expectations either.
Sometimes children are subjected to repeated abuse, or worse, from
within the very system designed to protect them.
The subcommittee on which I serve has had many hearings on such cases
in which children have met with horrific abuse while under the supposed
supervision of the child welfare system. Those hearings serve as a sad
but important reminder why these systems require constant monitoring to
ensure children are adequately and appropriately protected.
One of those ongoing efforts is to better involve relatives in the
care of children. This is a promising approach, with bipartisan
support, which recent laws have encouraged. But we won't make the
needed progress until the Department of Health and Human Services
issues guidance about the ``notification of relatives'' provisions of
section 103 of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing
Adoptions Act of 2008.
I urge the Department to act without further delay so relatives can
play a greater role in the care of vulnerable children. Doing so during
this month of May, which this resolution designates as National Foster
Care Month, would be a fitting statement of our common desire to better
protect children and also relieve some of the strains placed on the
foster parents and caseworkers today. That is the intent of what
Congress passed and the President signed into law now approaching 2
years ago.
This resolution reminds all Americans of the role foster parents
especially play in helping children who have already missed out on so
much in life. These children deserve to make progress like any other
child. Through the efforts of tens of thousands of dedicated foster
parents, they often do, against great odds. We owe these dedicated
individuals our thanks and continued support.
Mr. CAMP. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1339, to
designate May as National Foster Care Month.
Nearly one half million children are currently in foster care. This
is a sobering statistic, and one that we must tirelessly work to
reduce.
[[Page H3612]]
For many children, a positive permanent outcome can be found in
reunification with their biological parents, or adoption into a new
family.
However, far too many children languish for years without getting the
help and love they deserve from permanent families. In 2008 over 10% of
children leaving foster care, nearly 30,000 children, did so through
emancipation and without the family support they deserve.
Equally alarming, for 2008 the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data
System estimated that there were 1,740 child fatalities resulting from
abuse or neglect. This is simply unacceptable.
With the passage of the 2008 Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoptions Act, Congress made a significant commitment to
reforming our nation's foster care system, giving states and families
new tools to cut down on the amount of time that kids spend in foster
care and more opportunities to find permanent homes. Yet, more can and
should be done to make the system work for foster children.
I am pleased that we are taking the opportunity today to discuss the
pressing needs of our foster care system. Children in foster care
deserve our unwavering support. We must redouble our efforts to find
them permanent families and until then, ensure their safety while in
our care.
Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, the number of children in foster care
continues to rise in the United States. The current population exceeds
500,000 children. Most of these children are placed into foster care
due to parental abuse or neglect making them vulnerable to adverse
situations and negative social outcomes. Luckily, the foster care
system serves as a safety net for our most vulnerable children.
Therefore, both children and parents of the foster care system rely and
depend on Congress to improve permanency and support systems for them.
Even though children who enter foster care remain in care for an
average of thirty months many of them spend the majority of their
childhood being placed from family to family. Without a permanent
family, frequent moves from home-to-home and school-to-school creates a
difficult level of instability to recover from. As a result, children
face poor academic performance and higher rates of grade retention,
absenteeism, tardiness, truancy, and dropout. Moreover, those that age
out of the system do so without the necessary educational and job
training skills. Quite naturally, these factors contribute to the risk
of emotional and behavioral problems that lead to very negative future
outcomes later in life. Therefore, it is necessary that Congress
promotes the safety and well being of children placed into foster care.
I want to acknowledge all the individuals--including, foster parents,
community advocates, mentors, and others--in the child welfare
workforce for their dedication and commitment to improving outcomes for
children placed into foster care.
I support H. Res. 1339 and hope that the month of May be designated
as National Foster Care Month to provide an opportunity to acknowledge
the accomplishments of the child welfare workforce, foster parents,
advocacy community, and mentors and the positive impact they have on
children's lives. I encourage my colleagues to support the resolution.
Mr. LINDER. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McDERMOTT. 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. 1339.
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. McDERMOTT. Madam 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.
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