IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 251 
Recognizing National Foster Care Month as an opportunity to raise awareness 
about the challenges of children in the foster-care system, and encour-
aging Congress to implement policy to improve the lives of children 
in the foster-care system. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 5, 2015 
Ms. BASS (for herself, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. HANNA, Mr. 
STIVERS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DELAURO, 
Mr. RANGEL, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. 
TAKANO, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. MOORE, 
Mr. ASHFORD, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. JUDY CHU of 
California, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. KUSTER, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. 
CARSON of Indiana, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. KELLY of Penn-
sylvania, Ms. HAHN, Mr. COOK, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. DOG-
GETT, Mr. COOPER, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. VAN 
HOLLEN, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. PETERS, Mr. YOUNG 
of Indiana, Mr. POCAN, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. 
TITUS, Mr. BARLETTA, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New 
York, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of 
Georgia, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. SLAUGH-
TER, Ms. LEE, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mrs. 
LAWRENCE, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. 
FUDGE, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. KEATING, Mr. 
NADLER, Mr. LEWIS, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. HUELSKAMP, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. 
SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. POLIQUIN, Mr. CLAY, Mr. THOMP-
SON of California, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. CART-
WRIGHT, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRIS-
HAM of New Mexico, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. 
TAKAI, Mr. AGUILAR, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. 
PALLONE, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, 
Mr. FOSTER, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. STUTZMAN, Mr. RUIZ, Ms. 
EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. HECK of Washington, Mr. 
BLUM, Mr. WITTMAN, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. HILL, Mr. AL GREEN of 
Texas, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mrs. DAVIS of Cali-
fornia, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. 
RICHMOND, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. POLIS, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. 
COHEN, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. 
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•HRES 251 IH 
VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. BABIN, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. 
HARDY, Ms. STEFANIK, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. JODY B. HICE of Geor-
gia, and Mr. MOOLENAAR) 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 im-
plement policy to improve the lives of children in the 
foster-care system. 
Whereas National Foster Care Month was established more 
than 20 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; 
Whereas all children deserve a safe, loving, and permanent 
home; 
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 there are approximately 400,000 children living in 
foster care; 
Whereas there were approximately 255,000 youth that en-
tered the foster-care system in 2013, while over 101,000 
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youth were eligible and awaiting adoption at the end of 
2013; 
Whereas children of color are more likely to stay in the fos-
ter-care system for longer periods of time and are less 
likely to be reunited with their biological families; 
Whereas foster parents are the front-line caregivers for chil-
dren who cannot safely remain with their biological par-
ents and provide physical care, emotional support, edu-
cation advocacy, and are the largest single source of fam-
ilies providing permanent homes for children leaving fos-
ter 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; 
Whereas recent studies show foster children enrolled in Med-
icaid were prescribed antipsychotic medications at nearly 
9 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 are forced to remain in the foster-care system; 
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Whereas more than 23,000 youth ‘‘age out’’ of foster care 
without a legal permanent connection to an adult or fam-
ily; 
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 2 years; 
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 
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 pro-
tective 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 
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more children in foster care are provided with safe, lov-
ing, and permanent placements; 
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 
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 2015 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, advocacy community, and men-
tors for their dedication, accomplishments, and positive 
impact they have 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) recognizes National Foster Care Month as 
an opportunity to raise awareness about the chal-
lenges that children face in the foster-care system; 
(2) encourages Congress to implement policy to 
improve the lives of children in the foster-care sys-
tem; 
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(3) supports the designation of National Foster 
Care Month; 
(4) acknowledges the special needs of children 
in the foster-care system; 
(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 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. 601 et seq.) and 
other programs designed to— 
(A) support vulnerable families; 
(B) invest in prevention and reunification 
services; 
(C) promote adoption in cases where reuni-
fication is not in the best interests of the child; 
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(D) 
adequately 
serve 
those 
children 
brought into the foster-care system; and 
(E) facilitate the successful transition into 
adulthood for children that ‘‘age out’’ of the 
foster-care system. 
Æ 
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