[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11207]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



           IN HONOR OF NATIONAL FOSTER PARENT AWARENESS MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JULIA CARSON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 26, 1999

  Ms. CARSON. Mr. Speaker, this month marks the 11th observance of the 
National Foster Parent Awareness Month. Originally conceived at the 
1987 National Foster Parent Training Conference, National Foster Parent 
Awareness Month is the impetus for communities around the nation to 
host activities and events to honor foster parents for making a 
difference in the lives of children in foster care.
  In my home state of Indiana, nearly 15,000 children are in the foster 
care system. Nationwide, the number is an alarming one half million 
children. These children often have special needs. They are victims of 
physical abuse, sexual abuse or neglect. They may suffer emotional, 
behavioral or developmental problems that range from moderate to 
severe. Most children reside only temporarily with foster parents, 
until it is considered safe for them to return home. A child's stay 
with foster parents can be as short as one night or as long as several 
years or more.
  This month we honor the individuals and families who open their 
hearts and homes to the children in need of a safe and nurturing living 
environment--Foster Parents. Foster parents can be single, married or 
divorced. They own homes or live in apartments. Some are as young as 21 
years old while others are retired. What they have in common is that 
they have demonstrated attentiveness, tenacity, patience and empathy 
along with a willingness to grow and learn from the experience of 
fostering and an equal capacity to love and let go. Foster parents 
provide a vital service to our nation's displaced children. They are a 
valuable resource for families and children. Their work is extremely 
difficult, knowing that they are working to help reunite a child with a 
biological parent, or care for a child until that child is adopted.
  Mr. Speaker, while I rise today to praise and applaud foster parents 
for the very important work they do, I want to acknowledge an amazing 
organization and an outstanding individual, from my District, 
supporting the foster care system. Because foster parents take on the 
awesome responsibility of providing both emotional and financial 
support for the neediest children at a great personal expense, it is 
very important that we encourage our communities to support foster 
parents as they support foster kids.
  It is with great pride that I commend FosterCare Luggage, an 
Indianapolis based non-profit organization, for its invaluable 
contribution to the well-being of foster kids. When Marc Brown, founder 
of FosterCare Luggage, considered taking in a foster child in 1995, he 
learned that foster children often had to move from family to family 
with their belongings stuffed into black plastic trash bags. Brown 
decided to make it his personal mission to get proper luggage for 
foster children. FosterCare Luggage works collaboratively with other 
agencies and organizations in Indiana to assure that all children in 
out-of-home care receive luggage according to their age-appropriate 
need and seeks funding to provide other items, such as clothing and 
hygiene products. With help from private donors and volunteers, 
FosterCare Luggage has provided suitcases to thousands of children.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I wish to recognize a young lady who has 
demonstrated that one person can make a significant difference. Nicole 
Slibeck, a Senior at Zionsville High School in Indianapolis, collected 
90 pieces of luggage for FosterCare Luggage's program. With so much 
attention recently devoted to what is going wrong with teenagers across 
the country, I am pleased to put forth Nicole's achievement as an 
example of what teenagers around the country are doing in support of 
our communities.

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