IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 349 

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, or at risk of entering, the foster care system. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 2, 2023 

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE (for herself, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. NUNN of 

Iowa, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. MACE, and Mr. BACON) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

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, or 

at risk of entering, the foster care system. 

Whereas National Foster Care Month was established more 

than 30 years ago to— 

(1) bring foster care issues to the forefront; 

(2) highlight the importance of permanency for 

every child; and 

(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; 


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•HRES 349 IH 

Whereas all children deserve a safe, loving, and permanent 

family; 

Whereas the primary goal of the foster care system is to ensure the safety and well-being of children while working 

to provide a safe, loving, and permanent home for each 

child; 

Whereas, in 2021, there were approximately 407,493 children 

officially living in foster care not counting those children 

whose physical custody has been shifted to caregivers outside of the foster care system; 

Whereas approximately 251,359 children entered foster care 

in 2019, while 122,216 children were eligible and waiting 

for adoption at the end of 2019; 

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, including kin families, are the frontline caregivers for children who cannot safely remain with 

their biological parents and provide physical care, emotional support, education advocacy, and are the largest 

single source of families providing permanent homes, for 

children leaving foster care to adoption; 

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 assistance and support services than do foster caregivers; 


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•HRES 349 IH 

Whereas recent studies show foster children enrolled in Medicaid were prescribed antipsychotic medications at nearly 

4 times the rate of other children receiving Medicaid; 

Whereas youth in foster care are much more likely to face 

educational instability, with 65 percent of former foster 

children experiencing at least 7 school changes while in 

care; 

Whereas an increased emphasis on prevention and reunification services is necessary to reduce the number of children that enter or reenter the foster care system; 

Whereas the effects of the COVID–19 pandemic have created 

additional challenges for youth and families in the child 

welfare system, including delays in permanency, economic 

hardships, and disruptions in education; 

Whereas more than 20,000 youth ‘‘age out’’ of foster care 

annually without a legal permanent connection to an 

adult or family, with 20 percent of them becoming instantly homeless; 

Whereas the number of youth who age out of foster care has 

steadily increased for the past decade; 

Whereas foster care is intended to be a temporary placement, 

but children remain in the foster care system for an average of 19.6 months; 

Whereas children in foster care experience an average of 3 

different placements, which often leads to disruption of 

routines and the need to change schools and move away 

from siblings, extended families, and familiar surroundings; 

Whereas children entering foster care often confront the 

widespread misperception that children in foster care are 

disruptive, unruly, and dangerous, even though placement 


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•HRES 349 IH 

in foster care is based on the actions of a parent or 

guardian, not the child; 

Whereas children who age out of foster care lack the security 

or support of a biological or adoptive family and frequently struggle to secure affordable housing, obtain 

health insurance, pursue higher education, and acquire 

adequate employment; 

Whereas, on average, 8.5 percent of the positions in child 

protection services remain vacant; 

Whereas, due to heavy caseloads and limited resources, the 

average tenure for a worker in child protection services 

is just 3 years; 

Whereas States, localities, and communities should be encouraged to invest resources in preventative and reunification 

services and postpermanency programs to ensure that 

more children in foster care are provided with safe, loving, and permanent placements; 

Whereas, in 2018, Congress passed the Family First Prevention Services Act (Public Law 115–123; 132 Stat. 232), 

which provided new investments in prevention, early 

intervention, and family reunification services to help 

more families stay together, provided support for kinship 

(relative) caregivers, and provided improved and more 

flexible services to older youth aging out of foster care, 

to ensure that more children can be in safe, loving, and 

permanent homes; 

Whereas Federal legislation over the past 3 decades, including the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 

1980 (Public Law 96–272), the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public Law 105–89), the Fostering 

Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 


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•HRES 349 IH 

2008 (Public Law 110–351), the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act (Public Law 112– 

34), and the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (Public Law 113–183), provided new 

investments and services to improve the outcomes of children in the foster care system; 

Whereas May 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, the advocacy community, and 

mentors for their dedication, accomplishments, and positive effects 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, regardless of age or special needs: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the designation of National Foster 

3 Care Month; 

4 (2) recognizes National Foster Care Month as 

5 an opportunity to raise awareness about the chal6 lenges that children face in the foster care system; 

7 (3) encourages Congress to implement policies 

8 to improve the lives of children in the foster care 

9 system; 

10 (4) acknowledges the special needs of children 

11 in the foster care system; 


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•HRES 349 IH 

1 (5) recognizes foster youth throughout the 

2 United States for their ongoing tenacity, courage, 

3 and resilience while facing life challenges; 

4 (6) acknowledges the exceptional alumni of the 

5 foster care system who serve as advocates and role 

6 models for youth who remain in foster care; 

7 (7) honors the commitment and dedication of 

8 the individuals who work tirelessly to provide assist9 ance and services to children in the foster care sys10 tem; and 

11 (8) reaffirms the need to continue working to 

12 improve the outcomes of all children in the foster 

13 care system through parts B and E of title IV of the 

14 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 

15 et seq.) and other programs designed to— 

16 (A) support vulnerable families; 

17 (B) invest in prevention, early intervention, 

18 and reunification services; 

19 (C) promote adoption in cases where reuni20 fication is not in the best interests of the child; 

21 (D) adequately serve those children 

22 brought into the foster care system; and 


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•HRES 349 IH 

1 (E) facilitate the successful transition into 

2 adulthood for children that ‘‘age out’’ of the 

3 foster care system. 

Æ 


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