Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Pages S2479-S2480]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH
Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, each year, I look forward to National
Foster Care Month as an opportunity to honor the more than 440,000
children and youth in foster care nationwide. It is also an opportunity
to honor the foster and kinship families and child welfare workers who
support them.
This year, in particular, the importance of supporting the children,
youth, families and skilled workers in the foster care system has been
underscored by the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is
essential that Congress not only honor those who give and receive care
as part of this system, but also those who take meaningful action to
protect families, children, youth, and workers from the spread of the
virus.
In my home State of Oregon, more than 11,000 children and youth enter
foster care in a given year, and about 7,900 children and youth are
living in out-of-home placements on any given day. Oregon provides
transition services to about 1,350 young adults, but many continue to
struggle to find work, go to college, or complete technical training.
The COVID-19 virus has hit these older youth particularly hard.
As we consider actions to help the nation weather this pandemic, I
would like to recognize a nonprofit organization in my State that
represents a critical part of the response to COVID-19 for children and
youth in the foster care system and those who have aged out of the
system without finding a home to call their own. FosterClub is based in
a beautiful town on the Oregon coast, Seaside. FosterClub is marking
its 20th anniversary working to improve the lives of children and youth
in foster care by connecting them to resources, teaching them how to
become self advocates, and helping elevate their lived experiences and
voices to members of Congress. By doing so, they are able to inform
positive changes in our federal foster care system.
And that is what this month is about: honoring the strength of those
currently in and those who have exited the foster care system. It is
about listening to their experiences and their needs.
Over the years, I have been proud to work with my colleagues on a
bipartisan basis to craft and get across the finish line legislation to
strengthen and improve the foster care policies in Oregon and around
the country. Not too long ago, then-Chairman Orrin Hatch and I were
able to come together and pass into law the landmark Family First
Prevention Services Act, commonly known as Family First.
Family First was Children Defense Fund Founder Marion Wright
Edelman's vision for a better Federal
[[Page S2480]]
foster care system focused on helping families stay together. This
bipartisan legislation transformed the child welfare system to provide
parents the help they need to prevent the trauma that occurs when
children and youth are removed unnecessarily from their homes and
placed in foster care. I remain committed to responding to the needs of
children and youth in foster care and am dedicated to pursuing
bipartisan ways to address the challenges faced by children, youth,
families, and workers in the foster care system and especially now
during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
I call on my colleagues, especially those across the aisle, to
remember our Nation's foster care recipients and acknowledge the strain
our Nation's most vulnerable are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As we work towards future ways to address the COVID-19 pandemic, we
must act swiftly to provide support for the children, youth, families,
and workforce involved in the foster care system and especially the
young adults who have aged out of the system without finding a forever
home.
I encourage my colleagues to listen carefully to the voices of
children and youth impacted by the foster care system, act quickly to
support these young people through this pandemic and help them
transition to adulthood successfully. They deserve nothing less from
their representatives in Congress.
____________________
