[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 21, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S3013]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH

  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, this month I join Senator Grassley of 
Iowa and a bipartisan group of my colleagues to recognize May as 
National Foster Care Month.
  It is an opportunity to acknowledge the millions of foster parents 
and children in foster care around the country. More importantly, it is 
a call to action. We simply leave too many children behind.
  Poverty should never be the reason children are separated from their 
parents. There is no dignity in removing children from their mothers or 
fathers because they don't have adequate housing or affordable 
childcare or jobs that allow them to take time off when their children 
get sick.
  Right now, child welfare agencies are overwhelmed by the number of 
children who enter the system, and the addiction crisis just makes it 
worse. In Ohio, parents' substance abuse is listed as one of the causes 
for one-third of all children who enter the system. Children who are 
already in the system stay there longer, especially teenagers. We have 
to do better than that.
  Last year, we passed and the President signed the bipartisan Family 
First Prevention Services Act, which is an important first step. It has 
the potential to change our child welfare system over time. Yet the 
changes the Family First Prevention Services Act requires ultimately 
have to be made at the State level. We have to make sure that States 
have the support they need and that they actually do what the law 
requires.
  That is why, this month, I introduced the Family First Transition and 
Support Act--to help all States transition to the family first era. It 
would provide funding for States to recruit and retain quality foster 
parents who meet the needs of children. Our bill would expand funding 
for kinship support services, which would help family members who raise 
children pay for essential needs and services, like childcare, 
transportation, and other things.
  This is especially important with the rise in having other family 
members raise the children because of the addiction crisis. In Ohio, 
Arizona, and all over this country, we have seen a big increase in 
there being grandparents who raise grandchildren, in large part, 
because the children's parents have had addiction issues or have 
actually died of overdoses.
  The grandparents with the grandchildren face unique challenges and 
don't often qualify for the same support as foster parents. It means 
that they are going back to work. It may mean that a 68-year-old 
grandmother who lives on a pension and thought she was retired has to 
go back to work in order to raise this child to make enough money or 
has to take money out of her retirement savings.
  Relatives' care is vital to keeping kids safe at home and in their 
communities. Our bill would provide real funding to get these 
grandparents and other family members more support. There is no formula 
here, but most of the time, it is better if grandparents can raise 
these children rather than send them to foster parents, who are 
strangers. The grandparents, obviously, know and love the children. It 
doesn't mean foster parents can't, of course, but so often the 
grandparents are financially challenged.
  I get letters all the time from Ohioans who tell their stories and 
ask us to support these family members.
  A man from Richland County, where I grew up, wrote to me saying:

       I ask that family members be given the same financial aid 
     as foster parents. Most of the family members are 
     grandparents or great-grandparents on fixed income with 
     little or no money.

  Another woman from the county just south, Knox County, south of 
Mansfield wrote:

       I am a grandmother raising my grandson. He is 15 years old, 
     a great kid, and has been living with me almost all his life. 
     I lost my beautiful daughter to an overdose.
       She was raised in a good home, but was affected by this 
     disease for the past 9 years. We loved her and miss her every 
     day.

  This letter goes on:

       Grandparents that lovingly accept their grandchildren, 
     under sometimes awful [conditions]--

  Just think of that. She is raising a grandson when her daughter died 
of an overdose.

       Grandparents that lovingly accept their grandchildren, 
     under sometimes awful circumstances, often don't know what to 
     do.
       Thank you so much for getting this program and money to 
     support it on board. Grandparents do so much, without much 
     help.

  Last year we were able to break through the partisanship and get the 
Family First Act signed into law. This bill is the commonsense next 
step.
  This Foster Care Month, I hope that my colleagues will live up to 
their talking points about supporting children and families. We hear 
every day here how much we support children and families. Well, do 
something about it. Work with us to pass this bill.
  I yield the floor.

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