A 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.

III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 226 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 23 (legislative day, MAY 22), 2019 Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. JONES, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. KING, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. KAINE, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. PETERS, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BROWN, Mr. CASEY, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. ENZI, and Mr. YOUNG) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 May 24, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR226.ATS SR226 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 226 ATS (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 there are approximately 443,000 children living in foster care; Whereas there were approximately 269,690 youth that en- tered the foster care system in 2017, while over 69,000 youth were eligible and awaiting adoption at the end of 2017; Whereas the number of children living in foster care and en- tering foster care has increased dramatically in recent years; Whereas over 96,000 children entered foster care in 2017 due to parental drug abuse; 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 and advocacy, and are the largest single source of families providing permanent homes for children leaving foster care to adoption; VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 May 24, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR226.ATS SR226 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 226 ATS 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 assist- ance and support services than do foster caregivers; 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 almost 20,000 youth ‘‘aged out’’ of foster care in 2017 without a legal permanent connection to an adult or family; Whereas children who age out of foster care lack the security and 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 foster care is intended to be a temporary placement, but children remain in the foster care system for an aver- age of 20 months; Whereas 35 percent of children in foster care experience more than 2 placements while in care, which often leads to dis- ruption of routines and the need to change schools and move away from siblings, extended families, and familiar surroundings; Whereas youth in foster care are much more likely to face educational instability with 34 percent of foster youth ex- periencing 5 or more school changes by the age of 18; VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 May 24, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR226.ATS SR226 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 226 ATS 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 30 percent of children in foster care are taking at least 1 anti-psychotic medication, and 34 percent of these children are not receiving adequate treatment planning or medication monitoring; Whereas, due to heavy caseloads and limited resources, the average turnover rate for a child welfare worker is 30 percent; 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, in 2018, Congress passed the Family First Preven- tion Services Act, which provided new investments in pre- vention and family reunification services to help more families stay together and ensure more children are in safe, loving, and permanent homes; 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), and the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strength- ening Families Act (Public Law 113–183) provided new VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 May 24, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR226.ATS SR226 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 226 ATS investments and services to improve the outcomes of chil- dren in the foster care system; Whereas May 2019 is 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 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 Senate— 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 unique 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 May 24, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR226.ATS SR226 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •SRES 226 ATS (6) acknowledges the exceptional alumni of the 1 foster care system who serve as advocates and role 2 models for youth who remain in care; 3 (7) honors the commitment and dedication of 4 the individuals who work tirelessly to provide assist- 5 ance and services to children in the foster care sys- 6 tem; 7 (8) supports the designation of May 31, 2019, 8 as National Foster Parent Appreciation Day; 9 (9) recognizes National Foster Parent Appre- 10 ciation Day as an opportunity to recognize the ef- 11 forts of foster parents to provide safe and loving 12 care for children in need and raise awareness about 13 the increasing need for foster parents to serve in 14 their communities; and 15 (10) reaffirms the need to continue working to 16 improve the outcomes of all children in the foster 17 care system through parts B and E of title IV of the 18 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and 19 other programs designed to— 20 (A) support vulnerable families; 21 (B) invest in prevention and reunification 22 services; 23 (C) promote adoption in cases where reuni- 24 fication is not in the best interests of the child; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 May 24, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR226.ATS SR226 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •SRES 226 ATS (D) adequately serve those children 1 brought into the foster care system; and 2 (E) facilitate the successful transition into 3 adulthood for children that ‘‘age out’’ of the 4 foster care system. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:30 May 24, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR226.ATS SR226 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS