[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 9089-9090]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR A NATIONAL FOSTER PARENTS DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 17, 2007

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of 
National Foster Parents Day. Foster parents are vital to the 
development of today's children and tomorrow's leaders. As former 
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy once proclaimed, ``Children are the 
world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.'' 
Foster care parents dedicate their lives to care for the less fortunate 
children, with little compensation or recognition. They perform this 
noble task under very difficult circumstances with love and care. 
Recognizing these efforts is important.
  There are 523,000 children in foster care in the United States today. 
Congress has made a number of improvements to foster care laws over the 
last decade; improvements that have helped support our children and 
families. It is good to recognize these advances, but we should take a 
moment to consider how we can improve the system further.
  There are currently over 2\1/2\ million children being cared for by 
family members nationally. However, unless these relatives have waivers 
from the Department of Health and Human Services, they are not eligible 
for foster care maintenance payments. Withholding financial support 
from family providers greatly ignores the needs of these children and 
families. Almost 19 percent of kinship care providers live in poverty, 
and 30 percent to 40 percent of children in foster care have chronic 
medical problems. It is unrealistic to expect these providers to afford 
appropriate care for these vulnerable children simply because they are 
family. This is a very personal problem to me. The 7th Congressional 
District in Illinois--my Congressional District--has the highest 
percentage of children being raised by grandparents in the nation. Two 
other Chicago districts follow close behind. It also upsets me greatly 
that the limitations in our system have a disproportionate effect on 
minority children and families, who tend to opt for guardianship rather 
than adoption.
  So, I join my colleagues in supporting a day to recognize foster 
parents and their tremendous contribution to society.

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