Usa Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to recognize this month of May as National Foster Care Month. In 1988, President Reagan brought attention to the importance of foster care. He first designated the month of May as a time to celebrate and remember all of those people in foster care, including foster parents, caseworkers, and others who work to improve the lives of those in care.

We made some progress since that time with legislation, such as the Fostering Connections Act of 2008 and the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011. We provided new investments and services to improve the outcomes for children in the foster care system.

More recently, in 2018, Congress passed the Family First Prevention Services Act. That legislation, passed in 2018, changed the way Federal reimbursement for foster care works, allowing States to provide services to parents before their kids are placed into foster care, not just after they go into foster care. It also ensures more kids will be cared for by a family, instead of being placed in a group setting outside the home. Last year, I introduced and Congress passed the Family First Transition Act to help States get moving to this new system and do it more quickly.

A lot has changed since President Reagan first announced this month of May as National Foster Care Month, but one thing hasn't changed, and that is the tireless work of one Iowan in particular that I want to recognize today: Linda Faye Herring, of Johnson County, IA.

Linda started serving as a foster parent in the 1970s, at least a decade before President Reagan recognized the importance of highlighting foster care. Over the course of almost 50 years, Linda has fostered over 600 kids. Over 600 kids in need of a place to call home, even if for a few days, were welcome in Linda's home. Just think of how many lives just one person, Linda, was able to impact by making the decision to be a foster parent. It is not just that it is 600, although that number is staggering enough. It is the birth parents of those children who, due to the help that they received from the foster care system, may have been able to treat their substance abuse and turn their lives around, to maybe be a mother or father to their children again.

Also, this month honors all the parents who were able to adopt children who temporarily stayed in Linda's home.

Linda has influenced her own family as well, because the family that she had continues her good work. It is this kind of example of selfless service that caused five of Linda's children and three of her grandchildren to also become foster parents. Foster parents deserve more recognition. They deserve more support, and even more services. I will continue to work here in the Senate to try to make these goals a reality.

If you have ever considered becoming a foster parent, this Senator urges you to take that first step and reach out to your local child welfare agencies and tell them you are interested in being a foster parent. There is a great need out there for that.

Sometimes the numbers can seem overwhelming. There are over 400,000 kids in foster care--some of them sleeping on the floor of their social worker's office due to the lack of available homes to care for them. But Linda is proof that just one person can make an incredible impact.

Over the years, I have heard from many kids in foster care. I make a special effort to hear directly from them on what they think needs to be improved about the system so future foster children can have a better life and a better future. Do you know what? After decades of being involved in this subject, I hear the same thing from them. They tell me: I would like to have a home.

Why would they say they would like to have a home? They have been shifted in a 1-year period of time to two or three different foster homes in two or three different school districts. They say that they want a mom and a dad for the same reason, because they could have had three or four different moms and dads within the year. They want to be a part of a family. Those are the things I hear from them. Whether it is the biological family getting the help they need to parent their children or whether it is a foster parent stepping up to the plate, kids belong in a family. All children deserve a safe, loving, permanent home.

Unfortunately, the foster care system has also been impacted by the virus that we have all been affected by in the last 4 or 5 months. Families who were already vulnerable were thrown into unemployment and instability. Children in temporary foster care placements are remaining there for a much longer time than usual, all because of canceled and delayed court proceedings, which makes staying in the foster home longer than getting into a permanent home.

Foster parents, birth parents, and children in foster care, all lost access to peer networks and other vital support services because of the last 4 or 5 months we have been dealing with this pandemic.

Especially impacted at this time are older youth who have aged out of foster care. Youth in college lost their housing when campuses closed. Those who were training for a career or are in the workforce have lost their jobs as well.

Many of the provisions in the CARES Act will help foster families and the youth generally who are in their care. However, I will continue to work to ensure that needy relief for kids and families is provided. I ask my colleagues in the Senate to support my resolution marking May as National Foster Care Month to bring awareness to the issues that kids in foster care face and to honor Linda of Johnson County, the one I used as an example, who helped 600 kids--and not only Linda but all the other foster parents who make a world of difference. That is what this month is all about.

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