•HRES 349 IH 
Whereas all children deserve a safe, loving, and permanent 
family; 
Whereas the primary goal of the foster care system is to en-
sure 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 out-
side 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 front-
line caregivers for children who cannot safely remain with 
their biological parents and provide physical care, emo-
tional 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 assist-
ance and support services than do foster caregivers; 
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•HRES 349 IH 
Whereas recent studies show foster children enrolled in Med-
icaid 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 reunifica-
tion services is necessary to reduce the number of chil-
dren 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 in-
stantly 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 aver-
age 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 sur-
roundings; 
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 fre-
quently 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 encour-
aged to invest resources in preventative and reunification 
services and postpermanency programs to ensure that 
more children in foster care are provided with safe, lov-
ing, and permanent placements; 
Whereas, in 2018, Congress passed the Family First Preven-
tion 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, includ-
ing the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 
1980 (Public Law 96–272), the Adoption and Safe Fami-
lies 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 Serv-
ices Improvement and Innovation Act (Public Law 112– 
34), and the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strength-
ening Families Act (Public Law 113–183), provided new 
investments and services to improve the outcomes of chil-
dren in the foster care system; 
Whereas May is an appropriate month to designate as Na-
tional 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 posi-
tive 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, re-
gardless of age or special needs: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of National Foster 
Care Month; 
(2) recognizes National Foster Care Month as 
an opportunity to raise awareness about the chal-
lenges that children face in the foster care system; 
(3) encourages Congress to implement policies 
to improve the lives of children in the foster care 
system; 
(4) acknowledges the special needs of children 
in the foster care system; 
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•HRES 349 IH 
(5) recognizes foster youth throughout the 
United States for their ongoing tenacity, courage, 
and resilience while facing life challenges; 
(6) acknowledges the exceptional alumni of the 
foster care system who serve as advocates and role 
models for youth who remain in foster care; 
(7) honors the commitment and dedication of 
the individuals who work tirelessly to provide assist-
ance and services to children in the foster care sys-
tem; and 
(8) reaffirms the need to continue working to 
improve the outcomes of all children in the foster 
care system through parts B and E of title IV of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 
et seq.) and other programs designed to— 
(A) support vulnerable families; 
(B) invest in prevention, early intervention, 
and reunification services; 
(C) promote adoption in cases where reuni-
fication is not in the best interests of the child; 
(D) 
adequately 
serve 
those 
children 
brought into the foster care system; and 
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•HRES 349 IH 
(E) facilitate the successful transition into 
adulthood for children that ‘‘age out’’ of the 
foster care system. 
Æ 
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