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Foster Care  Across America, there are nearly 500,000 children in foster care on any given day, with approximately 130,000 waiting to be adopted. As Chairman of the Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over foster care, it has been my goal to improve the lives of foster children and to strengthen families and prevent abuse and neglect. This past Congress my colleagues and I passed H.R. 6893, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, marking the most significant reform of America’s child welfare system in more than a decade. With this legislation we are going to be able to take better care of America’s most vulnerable children. We are clearly telling them that they are not alone in America, and they can grow up in a loving, caring home with a chance at the American Dream. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act provides major reforms in the nation’s child welfare system. Key provisions in the legislation include: Providing support to relatives – generally grandparents, aunts and uncles – so they are more able to provide care for children in their own families, Creating opportunities for children aging out of foster care so they are able to pursue education or vocational training after the age of 18, Allowing more Native American children to receive foster care in their own communities by providing Tribes with the same direct access to federal funding for foster care and adoption services that states currently receive, and Reauthorizing and improving the Adoption Incentives program to allow more families to receive adoption assistance, particularly for adoption of older children and children with special needs. I will continue to work to improve the lives of our nation’s foster children, and will always keep in mind the words and experiences of young people like Anthony Reeves, a former foster child in Georgia, who wrote something that defines our call to action. “Life is tough enough when transitioning out of care, and it is even tougher if you don’t have the support that you need from people who care about you, or if you don’t have resources and skills packed along with the rest of your belongings as you are shown out the door.” Anthony’s words remind us that Government, and ultimately society, acts as the legal guardian for foster children. These are our children and we must do our best find them loving homes and to give them the skills to become successful adults.
Related Press Releases and Speeches • Rep. McDermott’s Foster Care Legislation Signed Into Law
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