May 9, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 77 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H3506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     MOURNING ANDREW ``AJ'' FREUND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Ms. Underwood) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, May 3, I attended the 
visitation of 5-year-old Andrew ``AJ'' Freund. His mother and father 
are awaiting trial for his murder.
  Our community is in mourning. AJ's death is heartbreaking, and so is 
the system that failed him. But one key part of the foster care system 
is stretched beyond capacity.
  In the county where AJ lived, 40 percent of children must leave the 
county to be placed in foster homes, which can have adverse impacts. 
The need for foster care in Illinois grew by 20 percent between 2017 
and 2018, while the number of foster homes is decreasing at the fastest 
rate in the country.
  Local agencies are reviewing the policies surrounding AJ's death, but 
Congress must act as well. Here are two things that I am doing and that 
our colleagues can do as well to prevent another tragedy like AJ.
  First, join me as a member of the Congressional Foster Youth Caucus 
to support people to become foster parents and to place children into 
stable homes. Second, seek data-informed solutions.
  This week, I championed a bipartisan amendment to the Child Abuse and 
Treatment Act, CAPTA, to study the effect of parental substance use 
disorders on children removed from a family.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting foster youth and 
families across this country. We must all work to ensure tragedies like 
AJ's death never happen again.

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