Conyers, Buchanan, and Grassley Announce Introduction of Families for Foster Youth Stamp Act

Press Release

Today, Congressmen John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Thad Cochran (R-MI) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) introduced the Families for Foster Youth Stamp Act of 2013. This bipartisan legislation will provide for the issuance and sale of a semi-postal by the United States Postal Service to support effective programs targeted at improving permanency outcomes for youth in foster care.

Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.): "We must do more to connect foster youth to safe, loving and permanent homes. It is a failure of our leadership when teenagers must exit foster care alone. Annually, more than 26,2000 youth "age out" of foster care without a permanent safety net or support system. When foster youth exit foster care without a stable permanent connection to a family and social safety net, it is a daunting task to ask them to achieve self sufficiency and independence. They instead struggle to secure affordable housing, obtain health insurance, pursue higher education, acquire adequate employment, and are more likely to experience violence, homelessness, mental illness, and other poor health outcomes."

Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.): "America's children are the heart of our nation. We must do all we can to provide each child a secure, loving home in the foster-care system. This bill will help supply essential funding for programs that support adoption and guardianship for youth in foster-care."

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa): "This initiative is part of an ongoing effort to raise awareness about kids who are in the foster care system and in need of permanent, loving homes, or who have grown up in the system and face young adulthood without the valuable structure of having come from a permanent, loving home. I appreciate the bipartisan leadership committed to addressing these issues and hope for strong support for the foster youth stamp."

Foster youth are better served when placed in permanent care such as adoption, legal guardianship, reunification with birth family or placement with a fit and willing relative. To improve permanency, this legislation will create additional funding to support the Adoption Opportunities Program and the State Court Improvement Program (CIP). The Adoption Opportunities Program target programs improving permanency outcomes for youth in foster care through adoption, guardianship, or kinship care. The CIP target improving the quality of legal representation for youth, reducing caseloads, updating systems to be more efficient, and overall steps to improve the court's role in achieving safe, stable and permanent homes for children. Fifty percent of the sales will be used to fund the Adoption Opportunities Program and the other fifty percent on CIP.