[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12146]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO JIM McCOMB

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I pay special tribute to the 
outstanding accomplishments of Jim McComb, executive director of the 
Maryland Association of Resources for Families and Youth--MARFY--since 
1989. I have known Jim for many years and I have the utmost respect for 
him and what he has been able to accomplish for children in Maryland 
and across the Nation.
  Jim McComb is known as one of our Nation's leading child advocates. 
He was among the first in the country to call for the elimination of 
restraints and seclusion in the treatment of children. He led the 
effort that made Maryland one of the first States in the country to 
ensure that college tuition would be available for young students in 
foster care.
  During his tenure as executive director, MARFY greatly expanded its 
role in advocating for disadvantaged children and youth, those with 
disabilities, and their families. Under his leadership, the association 
played a prominent role in forming several advocacy coalitions 
including the Maryland Juvenile Justice Coalition and the Coalition to 
Protect Maryland's Children.
  Jim McComb began his career in the early 1960s as a part-time 
childcare worker at Edgemeade, a residential treatment center and 
school for adolescents with mental illness and severe emotional 
disturbances in Prince George's County, MD. By the end of the 1960s, he 
had become the director of residential services for Edgemeade of 
Virginia.
  In 1970, Jim went to Ironton, OH, to become the administrator of the 
Ohio Center for Youth and Family Development, a residential treatment 
center for adolescents. From 1975 through 1979 he was administrator for 
contracts and services with Youth Resources Centers, Inc., Roanoke VA. 
In 1979, he returned to Maryland as the chief executive officer for 
Edgemeade and in 1989 he became the executive director of MARFY.
  I had the distinct pleasure of working with Jim on the Foster Care 
Independence Act that was enacted into law in 1999. The bill increased 
education and support services for foster care children between ages 18 
and 21, an age group that had previously been tremendously underserved.
  In the next phase of his life, Jim will serve on the board of 
directors of the Maryland Foster Youth Resource Center, which provides 
a variety of supportive resources for both youth in foster care and 
alumni of the foster care system.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in applauding the many accomplishments 
of Jim McComb and in wishing him success in his future 
endeavors.

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