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.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 381 Recognizing National Foster Care Month as an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges of children in the foster care system, and encour- aging Congress to implement policy to improve the lives of children in the foster care system. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 11, 2021 Ms. BASS (for herself, Mr. BACON, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. TITUS, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. COHEN, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. KILDEE, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mrs. AXNE, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. RUSH, Mr. YAR- MUTH, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois) submitted the following resolution; which was re- ferred 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; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR381.IH HR381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 381 IH (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 en- sure the safety and well-being of children while working to provide a safe, loving, and permanent home for each child; Whereas, in 2019, there were approximately 423,997 children living in foster care; Whereas approximately 251,359 children entered foster care in 2019, while 122,216 children were eligible and waiting for adoption at the end of 2019; Whereas children of color 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 chil- dren who cannot safely remain with their biological par- ents and provide physical care, emotional support, edu- cation advocacy, and are the largest single source of fam- ilies providing permanent homes for children leaving fos- ter 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; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR381.IH HR381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 381 IH Whereas some relative caregivers receive less financial assist- ance and support services than do foster caregivers; Whereas recent studies show foster children enrolled in Med- icaid were prescribed antipsychotic medications at nearly 4 times the rate of other children receiving Medicaid; Whereas youth in foster care are much more likely to face educational instability with 65 percent of former foster children experiencing at least 7 school changes while in care; Whereas an increased emphasis on prevention and reunifica- tion services is necessary to reduce the number of chil- dren that are forced to remain in the foster care system; Whereas more than 16,880 youth ‘‘aged out’’ of foster care in 2019 without a legal permanent connection to an adult or family; Whereas the number of youth who age out of foster care has steadily increased for the past decade; Whereas foster care is intended to be a temporary placement, but children remain in the foster care system for an aver- age of 19.6 months; Whereas children in foster care experience an average of 3 different placements, which often leads to disruption of routines and the need to change schools and move away from siblings, extended families, and familiar sur- roundings; 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; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR381.IH HR381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 381 IH Whereas children who age out of foster care lack the security or support of a biological or adoptive family and fre- quently struggle to secure affordable housing, obtain health insurance, pursue higher education, and acquire adequate employment; Whereas on average, 8.5 percent of the positions in child pro- tective services remain vacant; Whereas due to heavy caseloads and limited resources, the average tenure for a worker in child protection services is just 3 years; Whereas States, localities, and communities should be encour- aged to invest resources in preventative and reunification services and postpermanency programs to ensure that more children in foster care are provided with safe, lov- ing, and permanent placements; Whereas Federal legislation over the past 3 decades, includ- ing the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (Public Law 96–272), the Adoption and Safe Fami- lies 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 Serv- ices Improvement and Innovation Act (Public Law 112– 34), the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (Public Law 113–183), and title VII of divi- sion E of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, also known as the Family First Prevention Services Act (Public Law 115–123), provided new investments and services to im- prove the outcomes of children in the foster care system; Whereas May 2021 is an appropriate month to designate as National Foster Care Month to provide an opportunity to acknowledge the accomplishments of the child welfare VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR381.IH HR381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 381 IH workforce, foster parents, advocacy community, and men- tors 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, re- gardless of age or special needs: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports the designation of National Foster 2 Care Month; 3 (2) recognizes National Foster Care Month as 4 an opportunity to raise awareness about the chal- 5 lenges that children face in the foster care system; 6 (3) encourages Congress to implement policy to 7 improve the lives of children in the foster care sys- 8 tem; 9 (4) acknowledges the special needs of children 10 in the foster care system; 11 (5) recognizes foster youth throughout the 12 United States for their ongoing tenacity, courage, 13 and resilience while facing life challenges; 14 (6) acknowledges the exceptional alumni of the 15 foster care system who serve as advocates and role 16 models for youth who remain in care; 17 (7) honors the commitment and dedication of 18 the individuals who work tirelessly to provide assist- 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR381.IH HR381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 381 IH ance and services to children in the foster care sys- 1 tem; and 2 (8) reaffirms the need to continue working to 3 improve the outcomes of all children in the foster 4 care system through parts B and E of title IV of the 5 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and 6 other programs designed to— 7 (A) support vulnerable families; 8 (B) invest in prevention and reunification 9 services; 10 (C) promote adoption in cases where reuni- 11 fication is not in the best interests of the child; 12 (D) adequately serve those children 13 brought into the foster care system; and 14 (E) facilitate the successful transition into 15 adulthood for children that ‘‘age out’’ of the 16 foster care system. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:54 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR381.IH HR381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS