[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 577 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 577
Recognizing National Foster Care Month as an opportunity to raise
awareness about the challenges of children in the foster care system,
and encouraging Congress to implement policy to improve the lives of
children in the foster care system.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 8, 2014
Ms. Bass (for herself, Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Barletta, Mr.
Cummings, Mr. Bentivolio, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Bishop of
Georgia, Mrs. Davis of California, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. DeFazio, Mr.
Braley of Iowa, Ms. DeGette, Ms. Brown of Florida, Ms. DeLauro, Ms.
Brownley of California, Mr. Deutch, Mrs. Bustos, Mr. Doggett, Mrs.
Capps, Ms. Edwards, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Carson of Indiana,
Ms. Frankel of Florida, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Ms.
Chu, Ms. Fudge, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Ms. Clarke of New
York, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Clay, Ms. Hahn, Mr. Cleaver, Mrs. Hartzler, Mr.
Conyers, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Cook, Mr. Heck of Washington, Mr.
Cooper, Mr. Himes, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Honda, Mr. Jeffries, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Keating,
Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Kilmer, Ms. Kuster, Mr.
Langevin, Mr. Latham, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Lewis, Ms. Michelle
Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Mr.
Marino, Mr. Matheson, Ms. Matsui, Mr. McDermott, Mr. McGovern, Mr.
McNerney, Mr. Messer, Mr. Murphy of Florida, Ms. Norton, Mr. Nunnelee,
Mr. O'Rourke, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Payne, Mr. Peters of California, Mr.
Peterson, Mr. Pierluisi, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr.
Rangel, Mr. Reichert, Mr. Richmond, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Schiff, Mr.
David Scott of Georgia, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. Sewell of Alabama,
Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Sires, Ms. Speier, Mr. Stockman, Mr. Takano, Mr.
Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Thompson of California, Ms. Titus, Ms.
Tsongas, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Welch, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr.
Yarmuth, Mr. Holt, and Mr. Veasey) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing National Foster Care Month as an opportunity to raise
awareness about the challenges of children in the foster care system,
and encouraging Congress to implement policy to improve the lives of
children in the foster care system.
Whereas National Foster Care Month was established more than 20 years ago to--
(1) bring foster care issues to the forefront;
(2) highlight the importance of permanency for every child; and
(3) recognize the essential role that foster parents, social workers,
and advocates have in the lives of children in foster care throughout the
United States;
Whereas all children deserve a safe, loving, and permanent home;
Whereas the primary goal of the foster care system is to ensure the safety and
well-being of children while working to provide a safe, loving, and
permanent home for each child;
Whereas there are approximately 400,000 children living in foster care;
Whereas there were approximately 252,000 youth that entered the foster care
system in 2012, while nearly 102,000 youth were eligible and awaiting
adoption at the end of 2012;
Whereas foster care is intended to be a temporary placement, but children remain
in the foster care system for an average of 2 years;
Whereas African-American and Native American children are more likely to stay in
the foster care system for longer periods of time and are less likely to
be reunited with their biological families;
Whereas foster parents are the front-line caregivers for children who cannot
safely remain with their biological parents and provide physical care,
emotional support, education advocacy, and are the largest single source
of families providing permanent homes for children leaving foster care
to adoption;
Whereas children in foster care who are placed with relatives, compared to
children placed with nonrelatives, have more stability, including fewer
changes in placements, have more positive perceptions of their
placements, are more likely to be placed with their siblings, and
demonstrate fewer behavioral problems;
Whereas some relative caregivers receive less financial assistance and support
services than do foster caregivers;
Whereas recent studies show children in foster care are prescribed psychotropic
medication at rates up to 11 times higher than other children on
Medicaid and in amounts that exceed the Food and Drug Administration's
guidelines;
Whereas youth in foster care are much more likely to face educational
instability with 34 percent of foster youth ages 17 to 18 experiencing
at least 7 changes while in care;
Whereas youth in foster care are often cut off from other youth and face hurdles
in the participating in activities common to their peers, such as sports
or participating in extracurricular activities;
Whereas youth in foster care are more susceptible to being trafficked, and more
needs to be done to prevent, identify, and intervene when a child
becomes a victim of the crime;
Whereas an increased emphasis on prevention and reunification services is
necessary to reduce the number of children that are forced to remain in
the foster care system;
Whereas more than 23,400 youth ``age-out'' of foster care annually without a
legal permanent connection to an adult or family;
Whereas children who ``age-out'' of foster care lack the security or support of
a biological or adoptive family and frequently struggle to secure
affordable housing, obtain health insurance, pursue higher education,
and acquire adequate employment;
Whereas nearly half of children in foster care for five or more years experience
7 or more different foster care placements, which often leads to
disruption of routines and the need to change schools and move away from
siblings, extended families, and familiar surroundings;
Whereas children entering foster care often confront the widespread
misperception that children in foster care are disruptive, unruly, and
dangerous, even though placement in foster care is based on the actions
of a parent or guardian, not the child;
Whereas States, localities, and communities should be encouraged to invest
resources in preventative and reunification services and post-permanency
programs to ensure that more children in foster care are provided with
safe, loving, and permanent placements;
Whereas Federal legislation over the past three decades, including the Adoption
Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-272), the
Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-89), the
Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008
(Public Law 110-351), the Child and Family Services Improvement and
Innovation Act (Public Law 112-34), and the Uninterrupted Scholars Act
(Public Law 112-278) provided new investments and services to improve
the outcomes of children in the foster care system;
Whereas the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children Bureau has
designated May as National Foster Care Month under the theme ``to help
build blocks toward permanent families for foster youth'';
Whereas May would be an appropriate month to designate as National Foster Care
Month to provide an opportunity to acknowledge the accomplishments of
the child-welfare workforce, foster parents, advocacy community, and
mentors for their dedication, accomplishments, and positive impact they
have on the lives of children; and
Whereas much remains to be done to ensure that all children have a safe, loving,
nurturing, and permanent family, regardless of age or special needs:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes National Foster Care Month as an opportunity
to raise awareness about the challenges that children face in
the foster-care system;
(2) encourages Congress to implement policy to minimize the
number of children entering the foster care system, to improve
the lives of children in the foster care system, and to
maximize the number of children exiting foster care to the
protection of safe, loving, and permanent families;
(3) supports the designation of National Foster Care Month;
(4) acknowledges the unique needs of children in the
foster-care system;
(5) recognizes foster youth throughout the United States
for their ongoing tenacity, courage, and resilience while
facing life challenges;
(6) acknowledges the exceptional alumni of the foster-care
system who serve as advocates and role models for youth who
remain in care;
(7) honors the commitment and dedication of the individuals
who work tirelessly to provide assistance and services to
children in the foster-care system; and
(8) reaffirms the need to continue working to improve the
outcomes of all children in the foster-care system through
parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
601 et seq.) and other programs designed to--
(A) support vulnerable families;
(B) invest in prevention and reunification
services;
(C) promote guardianship, adoption, and other
permanent placement opportunities in cases where
reunification is not in the best interests of the
child;
(D) adequately serve those children brought into
the foster-care system; and
(E) facilitate the successful transition into
adulthood for children that ``age-out'' of the foster-
care system.
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