In Recognition Of iFoster

Floor Speech

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Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the iFoster jobs program for foster youth. Each May, we recognize National Foster Care Month, when we acknowledge the unique challenges facing American youth in foster care. The campaign recognizes not only the foster youth, but also the foster parents, family members, child welfare professionals, volunteers, and members of our communities who help our children find foster placements, and ultimately transition successfully out of the foster care system.

One of the most significant challenges facing foster youth as they transition out of the foster care system involves finding meaningful employment. As a Member of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, I am committed to identifying strategies to improve the well-being, education and employment outcomes for our foster youth. For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing iFoster's foster youth employment program.

The iFoster program launched in Placer County in May 2015 and has since expanded to Los Angeles County. Through a partnership with the grocery industry, it has developed an innovative employment program for transition age foster youth. The program provides participating youth with pre-employment skills training, employer matching, needed material resources, preferential hiring, on-the-job mentorship, and scholarship and career advancement activities. In its pilot year, the program has placed over 100 youth, and achieved a 100 percent hire rate and a 90 percent six-month retention rate for participating foster youth. I am pleased that this May, the program will be launching in Riverside, San Bernardino and Sacramento counties, before being replicated nationwide.

Mr. Speaker, in advance of iFoster's expansion next month, I ask all my colleagues to join me in honoring its work in the state of California.

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