Recognizing May as National Foster Care Month

Floor Speech

Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of H. Res. 242, Recognizing May As National Foster Care Month, I rise to recognize this month dedicated to celebrating selfless foster families who open their hearts and their homes for children in need as well as rededicate myself to ensuring that every child has an opportunity for a brighter future.

I am honored to be a charter member of the Congressional Caucus for Foster Youth, a caucus that allows Members to gain a better understanding of the current state of foster care throughout the nation and identify potential federal policy modifications that could improve outcomes for the children in our country's foster care systems. On February 24, 2012, in an effort to address many of the ongoing issues foster youth face, members of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth launched a national listening tour which began in my district.

Mr. Speaker, currently there are over 463,000 children living in foster care. These children have been placed in homes on the account of the physical, sexual and emotional abuse they have endured with their biological caretaker. My state of California currently has the largest foster care population with the number of youths in foster care tripling since 1981.

Sixty-five percent of children who are not placed in a permanent home emancipate themselves from the system often left unemployed, without a place to live and resorting to homeless shelters. Less than 3 percent go on to college and emancipated females end up four times more likely to receive public assistance compared to the overall population of the United States.

Almost 30,000 children who are victims of abuse and neglect are entrusted to the care of the Los Angeles County Juvenile Dependency Court system. The court's primary mission is to ensure that these youth are safe, happy and secure. As a result, Los Angeles established the country's first courthouse especially designed for children and families.

Mr. Speaker, it is vital that we provide more programs, events, activities, and funding that will educate Americans about the success of children placed in permanent homes, debunk myths about the process and acknowledge the thousands of children who could potentially become a part of these statistics. Through these efforts we can increase the rate of adoption, decrease the rate of homelessness among the youths in this group and help develop future leaders and innovative thinkers of tomorrow.

I would like to take a moment to recognize the families who have opened their hearts and homes to foster children. Foster parents play a critical role in the lives of some of the most vulnerable youth 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.

In addition, I would like to commend SHIELDS for Families, an internationally recognized organization in my district that transforms the lives of parents by providing them with resources to prevent children from going into the foster care system. This month, we celebrate these unsung heroes and their efforts to change the lives of these children.

Mr. Speaker, I am a proud cosponsor H.R. 2012, Foster Care Mentoring Act, focused on connecting foster youth with responsible and caring adults and I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact legislation that addresses the very real and persisting needs of young people in our foster cares system.

During this month, we recognize all those who are helping to improve the lives of children in foster care but it also serves as a reminder that more must be done. These children deserve to grow up in a loving home that is safe, happy, and most importantly one they can call their own.

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