[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8340-8341]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Castor) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of 
National Foster Care Month, and I am pleased to welcome Yves Luma and 
Anabel Sanchez-Senofonte for the Sixth Annual Congressional Foster 
Youth Shadow Day.
  I would also salute Congresswoman Karen Bass, who is the most 
outspoken, energized advocate for foster youth anywhere in America. I 
am very proud of Yves and Anabel. They are an inspiration for all of 
us.
  Yves has persisted in the face of true adversity and is now a first-
generation college student at Florida State University. She was born in 
Haiti, faced challenges at a young age that most of us will never 
understand. Not being able to count on a stable home environment in 
Haiti, Yves, with her younger siblings, moved around between extended 
family and friends before moving to the United States.
  Once in the United States, Yves did not have a consistent home. Yet 
through everything, she persevered, working to provide for her younger 
siblings while continuing her high school education at Plant High 
School and Blake High School in Tampa. She carried a heavy burden 
without parents that no child should have to endure. Due to the hard 
work and help of her school social workers, Yves was referred to 
Starting Right, Now, a Tampa-based group home for homeless youth who 
value and desire a higher education. It was this support system and the 
help of a lot of others that enabled Yves' talent and drive to catapult 
her to a promising future.
  Anabel is 21 years old, also a student at Florida State University, 
getting a BA in economics and sociology. Anabel grew up in Miami, where 
she spent most of her life in foster care. She was taken from her 
mother three times before permanently being removed from

[[Page 8341]]

her custody. At that point, she entered a group home at about 5 years 
old. She went to a number of group homes before moving in with her 
parents who adopted her.
  Foster care was hard because she was separated from her brothers, but 
she had her sister. But sometimes having that sister around made it 
tough as well because the sister didn't know how to read and had severe 
temper tantrums around her foster care parents, and they were usually 
taken away because of something her little sister did.
  So Anabel liked to slide under the radar and focus on school, but she 
is resilient as well. Now at FSU and working in Tallahassee, she is an 
Unconquered Scholar. And Unconquered Scholars either have to have 
experienced homelessness, foster care, or group homes, but now she is 
on the path to graduate school. And as a lesson for all of us, she 
advises that: ``I believe that to get the results you want, you must 
insert yourself into the conversation.'' That is right around here, 
Anabel, and we look forward to learning a lot from you here today and 
in the future.
  Yves and Anabel are just two of more than 400,000 youth in foster 
care in America. It is important to recognize the programs, 
initiatives, and people who contribute to the success of children in 
the foster care system, but it is tough when they age out.
  It is really an honor to have these young people here to shadow us on 
the Hill today, to share their life experiences directly with Congress, 
to help inform policy that will help them succeed. Their firsthand 
knowledge experience, and ultimate success, is a great resource, and 
the best evidence of our Nation's commitment to providing basic 
protections to make this the great country that it is.
  Every child deserves a safe, supportive family, but when that doesn't 
happen, it is incumbent upon all of us to help them succeed. And I 
can't help but think, the day after President Trump submitted a budget, 
that really will take us backwards, in this case, and we are not going 
to let that happen. We are going to stand up and support our foster 
care kids and all children across America, but that budget is not going 
to be helpful.
  In any event, I want to thank Yves and Anabel for joining us today 
and for having the strength to share their perspectives and insights. 
Their resiliency is moving, and I hope my colleagues can mirror their 
bravery and find the will to support capable, bright, young people like 
Yves and Anabel, and provide them with the tools they need to be 
successful.

                          ____________________