IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 391 
Recognizing May as ‘‘National Foster Care Month’’ and acknowledging that 
the House of Representatives should continue to work to improve the 
Nation’s foster care system. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2009 
Mr. MCDERMOTT (for himself and Mr. LINDER) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing May as ‘‘National Foster Care Month’’ and ac-
knowledging that the House of Representatives should 
continue to work to improve the Nation’s foster care 
system. 
Whereas on average, the Nation’s foster care system provides 
for more than a half a million children each day who are 
unable to live safely with their biological parents; 
Whereas National Foster Care Month provides an oppor-
tunity to recognize the important role that foster care 
parents, workers, and advocates have in the lives of chil-
dren in the foster care system throughout the United 
States; 
Whereas the primary goal of the foster care system is to en-
sure the safety and well-being of children, while working 
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•HRES 391 IH 
to provide such children with a permanent, safe, and lov-
ing home; 
Whereas foster parents give children the opportunity to live 
with families and make lasting attachments instead of 
living in institutions, where they face a reduced chance 
for permanency; 
Whereas States, localities, and communities should be encour-
aged to invest available resources on reunification serv-
ices and post-permanency supports designed to allow 
more children in the foster care system to safely return 
to their biological parents, or find permanent placements 
through adoption or guardianship; 
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 293,000 children entered the foster care system dur-
ing fiscal year 2007; 
Whereas in fiscal year 2007, there was an average of 131,000 
children in the foster care system each day who were 
waiting to be adopted; 
Whereas while a majority of children in the foster care sys-
tem have the goal of being reunited with their biological 
parents, more than 23 percent of children who were in 
the foster care system on the last day of fiscal year 2007 
were seeking placement through the adoption process; 
Whereas the overall reduction in the number of children in 
the foster care system in the last decade does not reflect 
a decline in the level of Federal assistance necessary to 
assist those living in foster care and the dedicated men 
and women in the child welfare workforce; 
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•HRES 391 IH 
Whereas the number of children ‘‘aging out’’ of the foster 
care system without finding a permanent family increased 
to an all-time high of nearly 28,000 in fiscal year 2007; 
Whereas children ‘‘aging out’’ of the foster care system lack 
the security of a biological or adoptive family to fall back 
on when struggling to secure affordable housing, obtain 
health insurance, pursue higher education, and acquire 
adequate employment; 
Whereas the foster care system is intended to be a temporary 
solution, however, on average, children remain in the sys-
tem for at least 2 years; 
Whereas studies suggest that nearly 60 percent of children in 
the foster care system experience a chronic medical con-
dition and 25 percent suffer from 3 or more chronic med-
ical conditions; 
Whereas while in the foster care system, children experience 
an average of 3 different placements, moves that often 
mean disrupting routines, changing schools, and moving 
away from brothers and sisters, extended family, and fa-
miliar surroundings; 
Whereas the Fostering Connections to Success and Increas-
ing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–351) pro-
vided new investments and services to improve the out-
comes of children and families in the foster care system; 
and 
Whereas all children deserve a loving and stable family, re-
gardless of age or special needs: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of a ‘‘National 
Foster Care Month’’; 
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