[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 81 (Friday, June 1, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CONGRESSIONAL SHADOW DAY FOR FOSTER YOUTH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. YVETTE D. CLARKE

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 1, 2012

  Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support of National 
Foster Care Month, which is observed in May to increase awareness of 
the challenges faced by children in the foster care system. Yesterday, 
I participated in Congressional Shadow Day for Foster Youth and had the 
pleasure of being shadowed by Dontysha Torry of Washington, DC. 
Dontysha shares the experience of over 400,000 children in America who 
are a part of our Nation's child foster care system. I would also like 
to urge my colleagues to not lose sight of the challenges facing 
thousands of children who find themselves in the foster care system. 
These 400,000 children are our children, and the responsibility for 
their successful development into adulthood remains our responsibility. 
This is why foster care polices should be shaped, or reconsidered with 
the aim of: 1) increasing the amount of eligible parents willing to 
adopt; 2) minimizing traumatic changes in a child's educational career 
and developmental process; 3) curbing the risk of homelessness in early 
adulthood; 4) and addressing the serious realities of sexual abuse.
  I would be remiss if I did not also mention the importance of 
remaining mindful of the impact foster care policy has on 
underprivileged communities. African-Americans, who make up 
approximately 60 percent of my constituents in Brooklyn, but 
approximately 12 percent of the larger U.S. population, make up a 
staggering 27 percent of children who enter foster care. Unfortunately, 
African-Americans are more likely to remain in the foster care system 
longer and in many instances will never be permanently placed.
  Finally, we all know that often quoted proverb ``it takes a village 
to raise a child.'' Similar to villages, which comprise of a number of 
different community members that serve different purposes, the 
community established to support foster care children should also be a 
diverse one. The success of a child is dependent on the influence of a 
number of persons including: those willing to adopt; those willing to 
serve as court appointed special advocates; and those willing to serve 
as tutors and higher education counselors. Let us all encourage our 
community members to get involved regardless of how minor one may 
assume their role to be. We can hardly imagine the impact a small deed 
may have on a child.
  As National Foster Care Month comes to an end, I urge all of my 
colleagues to join the Foster Youth Caucus and support initiatives and 
legislation that brings to issue what foster youth face in the nation 
to light.

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