[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 134 (Wednesday, September 7, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1214]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IMPROVED EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES FOR FOSTER YOUTH ACT OF 2016

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 7, 2016

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, along with my colleagues Mr. Reichert, 
Mr. Doggett, Mr. Davis of Illinois, and Mr. Reed, I am proud to 
introduce today the Improving Employment Outcomes for Foster Youth Act, 
which provides federal tax incentives to private sector employers that 
hire youth transitioning from the foster care system to independence.
  The outcomes for transition age foster youth in this coup are 
heartbreaking: half are unemployed at age 24; half will spend time in a 
homeless shelter; and 70 percent will be reliant on government 
assistance after emancipating from foster care. The federal government 
has both an economic and moral interest in improving outcomes for these 
youth.
  In 2008, we passed the Fostering Connections to Success and 
Increasing Adoptions Act, which recognized the challenges faced by 
youth transitioning out of foster care and enables them to continue to 
receive supports and services until they turn 21. In passing that bill 
our goal was not to extend dependency on the foster care system, but 
rather to use the additional time spent in extended foster care to help 
them become independent. While extended foster care is providing a 
critical lifeline for thousands of youth across the country, more needs 
to be done to help these youth connect with career opportunities and 
attain self-sufficiency.
  A key strategy will be engaging the private sector in this effort. 
There is a developing partnership in California between the nonprofit 
iFoster, public child welfare agencies, community-based organizations, 
and the grocery industry to create an employment pipeline for foster 
youth that is already demonstrating great success in preparing foster 
youth for competitive work, and supporting them on the job to ensure 
retention and promotion. The Improving Employment Outcomes for Foster 
Youth Act will make transition age foster youth categorically eligible 
for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), an existing federal credit 
that provides incentives to businesses to hire employees from certain 
populations with specific employment challenges. In doing so, this bill 
will help encourage other sectors to follow the grocery industry's lead 
in hiring and investing in our nation's foster youth and starting them 
on a successful career path.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this 
important legislation.

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