Fostering the Future Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. YAKYM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support the Fostering the Future Act, which will make meaningful changes to the Chafee program to better support foster youth and alleviate unnecessary challenges.

This bill includes the Support for Expectant and Parenting Foster Youth Act, which I was proud to introduce with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), my friend and the ranking member. This bill strengthens the coordination between the Chafee program and the Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting program, or MIECHV.

Foster youth are more likely to become parents earlier compared to their peers. Navigating the foster youth system can be difficult enough, but adding the demands of parenting presents a special challenge for older foster youth who are also parents.

My bill will help more parenting and expectant foster youth access evidence-based home visiting services by improving program coordination and allowing for specialized case management.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I thank the ranking member, as well as Chairman LaHood for their support.

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