Expressing Support for Designation of May as National Foster Care Month and Acknowledging the Responsibility That Congress Has to Promote Safety, Well-Being, Improved Outcomes, and Permanency for the Nation's Collective Children

Floor Speech

* Ms. RICHARDSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1339, which expresses the House of Representatives' support for the designation of May as National Foster Care Month and recognizes the important role that foster parents play in the lives of children across the country. There are nearly 500,000 children in America's foster care system. Many of these children come from troubled backgrounds and turbulent pasts. America's foster parents take these children in and show them the care and attention that they deserve as they wait to be reunited with their families or adopted into new, loving families.

* I thank Chairman LEVIN for his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor. I also thank the sponsor of this legislation, Congressman MCDERMOTT, for working to increase public awareness about the critical role that the foster care system plays in our society.

* In my home State of California, there are nearly 80,000 children in the foster care system, a majority of whom were placed there by the State as a result of parental abuse or neglect. Foster parents play a critical role in the lives of some the most vulnerable youths in California and across the country. They help hold our Nation's social fabric together by ensuring that thousands of young people in this country stay on track towards successful futures.

* Designating May as National Foster Care Month is a way to encourage responsible and caring adults to serve as foster parents. Unfortunately, there is currently a shortage in the number of foster parents available. There are less than 3 foster homes for every 10 children living under the State's care.

* While the foster care system provides a vital service in our society, children in foster homes often face special challenges. In 2008, 123,000 of the 273,000 children in the foster care system were waiting to be adopted into new homes. However, by the end of the year, only 55,000 were adopted out of foster care. Foster children who are not adopted or reunited with their families often end up ``aging out'' of the foster care system. These children who ``age out'' of the system are in need of resources to help them afford higher education opportunities, find affordable housing and quality health insurance, and achieve steady employment. This is a social demand to which Congress must respond.

* Past legislative initiatives to invest in our country's foster care system include the Adoption Assistance and Safe Families Act of 1980, the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, and the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. These initiatives recognized the need to provide increased resources for foster families and a sense of stability for foster children, 65 percent of whom experience a minimum of seven school changes while in the system. Congress must continue working to improve the foster care system, so that all children within this system can develop and mature in young adults with bright futures.

* I salute the selflessness and hard work that foster parents demonstrate each day when they care for a child who had been displaced from his or her family. I offer my sincere support for dedicating the month of May as National Foster Care Month. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Res. 1339.

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