Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

BREAK IN TRANSFER

By Mr. DeWINE (for himself, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, and Mr. DOMENICI):

S. 2999. A bill to improve protections for children and to hold States accountable for the safe and timely placement of children across State lines, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. DEWINE. Today I join with my colleagues Senator ROCKEFELLER and Senator DOMENICI to introduce the Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006. I am proud to have had the opportunity to again work with my friend, Senator Rockefeller, on the important issues affecting the most vulnerable and at risk children--children in foster care. This is an important bill and I hope we will be able to pass swiftly.

In 1997, I worked on the Adoption and Safe Families Act, an important bill that worked to provide timelier placement of children in foster care. Since that time, it has been successful. Dramatically more children are being adopted. Children are spending less time languishing in foster care and have greater opportunities to find a permanent home or family. However, there are barriers that remain for children in foster care--particularly for children who are placed across state lines for various reasons--including trying to place them with family members or if a family in another state is looking to adopt that child. These children are shown to continue to remain in foster care for much longer periods of time. Through no fault of their own--they wait for placement and wait for a permanency in their lives that children long for and deserve.

I also want to thank the work that the States have done to alleviate the problems we currently find in interstate placement. This has been a problem for many years, but recently States have been active in creating and promulgating guidelines for dealing with complications that can arise related to interstate placement. I hope that we can see these guidelines soon implemented. The primary power to move these children to homes rests with the States, and we want to encourage their quick action.

This bill will require and support States in the expeditious study of homes for children in foster care who may be placed or adopted across State lines. This bill would allow a 60-day period for such study to occur--while 2 months is a long time in the life of a child, we feel that it is an appropriate balance between the needs of the State and child welfare agencies to conduct thorough assessments and the needs of the child to be in a more permanent home.

This bill also expresses the sense of the Congress that States should accept the home study evaluations done by another State. This would go a long way to reduce time waiting for placement and redundancy of effort in the child welfare system.

Importantly, this bill is not just another mandate on States. This bill would provide resources to enhance and speed up their systems for interstate placement--but States do have to earn it. If passed, it would provide $1,500 per child who was placed within a 30-day period. States can use this money to improve their systems for placement, hire more staff to conduct placement, or otherwise use it for improvement of services for foster children in their State.

This bill will also improve the rights of children and their foster, pre-adoptive parents, or family caregivers to be heard in court proceedings concerning their case within the child welfare system. It is important that a child's needs are appropriately represented and this bill will work to ensure that the parties most involved in the child's life are present when important matters are being considered. Courts will also be required to work more closely with their counterparts in other States when the situation warrants. The judges who work with the child welfare system hold so much power in so many children's lives. We must continue to encourage their cooperation with outside stakeholders, including child welfare systems and court systems in other States, to quickly move these children to permanent homes. There is no excuse for a child to languish in a system for months and sometimes years of their lives due to court inaction or delay.

Again, I want to thank my colleagues for their work and support of these efforts. I am confident that we can work together to quickly pass this legislation and put it to work for our Nation's children.

http://thomas.loc.gov/