[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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