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[Pages H4226-H4227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ACKNOWLEDGING CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM WORKERS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Bass) for 5 minutes.
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, May was National Foster Care Month, a time for
our country to come together to acknowledge the half million people in
our child welfare system, the hundreds of thousands who work within the
system day in and day out, and the millions of adults who have exited
the system and are no longer in care.
No one knows the child welfare system like the foster youth who have
grown up in the system. Today, the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth
and the National Foster Youth Institute have brought more than 100
young people from every corner of the country here to Washington, D.C.,
to shadow their Member of Congress. I would like to take a second to
thank the nearly 100 Members of Congress who are spending this morning
learning from a constituent and delegate of this program about their
personal experiences and ideas to make impactful change in the child
welfare system.
The delegates of this program have been in town since Saturday and
have been learning about community activism and successful movement
building. Yesterday, we held a forum right here in the Capitol where
our delegates were able to ask Members of the leadership of Congress
questions about changes to the child welfare system. I can't wait for
the participants of this program to be up here serving in Congress,
making their voices even louder than they are now.
Each year, our participants have a real hand in making change. From
the Chafee Grant extensions to the passage of the Family First
Prevention Services Act just last year, this group's voices have
changed our child welfare system forever.
The reality is this: When the government removes children from their
parents, the government becomes that child's parent. Too often, the
government forgets this commitment and life goes on for those not in
the child welfare system; but for those in it, they come to feel
trapped and forgotten.
These young people here today have traveled thousands of miles to
share their stories of their challenges with abuse, trafficking,
overmedication, or homelessness. In addition, they are sharing their
successes with mentorship, adoption, family reunification, community
activism, and independent living. Their goal is to leave Congress with
a better understanding of the reality faced day in and day out by our
Nation's youth in care.
Today, Mr. Speaker, I would like to share the stories of four former
foster youth who are here shadowing me today.
Yeshi Vaughan graduated in the top 10 of her high school class. In
May 2019, she graduated with honors from Saint Martin's University with
a bachelor's in social work and a minor in sociology. She hopes that as
a social worker she can share her story to encourage other youth.
Fonda Williams is a former foster youth from California, born and
raised in the city of Watts. She is 27 years old and the sixth child of
eight. Her current occupation is a public safety dispatcher. She
attended UCLA and is currently attending El Camino College.
Racquell Perry is a Florida barred attorney and is the statewide
outreach for Keys to Independence at Educate Tomorrow. The Keys to
Independence program is designed to help youth in out-of-home care
overcome barriers to driving. Racquell is a proud two-time graduate of
Florida A&M University, earning a bachelor's degree in criminal justice
and a JD from its college of law.
Toni Criner, while attending Howard University, had the opportunity
to be an intern in my office, where she experienced child welfare and
foster care policy issues from a different viewpoint. After Toni's time
on the Hill, she went on to pioneer a White House initiative and was
given the opportunity to work with Washington, D.C.'s most vulnerable
transitioning-aged youth. In 2019, Toni founded her own company, T.C.
Mentoring and Consulting LLC. The company's mission is to help at-risk
youth and young adults find their path in life.
Mr. Speaker, our country is the richest country in the history of the
world, and there is no excuse for us not to take care of the half
million youth who are in the child welfare system. When the government
removes them, we are the ones responsible, and we should never be in a
situation where anyone
[[Page H4227]]
would accuse the government of abuse and neglect. This is why we need
to transform the Nation's child welfare system to make sure that all of
the children in our country have everything they need to be successful
adults.
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