Date: 2011-05-31
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me thank Dr. MCDERMOTT. first of all. for his consistent. yearslong support of our children that are in foster care. And I thank the manager and the Representative of the majority for their hard work. This bill was introduced in the 111th Congress. It was passed by voice vote. It is an important amendment to the Social Security Act to renew through FY 2016. where it authorizes up to 10 States and tribes to conduct demonstration projects that serve as tests for methods to improve child welfare programs. As a cochair of the Congressional Childrens Caucus. we have worked on a number of issues through the years. We have been privileged to deal with the question of mentoring. the question of bullying. the question of dealing with the disabled child. and. yes. the question of dealing with foster parenting. In fact. some years ago I served as a cochair with thenCongressman Mike Andrews to provide relief to foster parents by finding a process that would provide vacation time for them. I have gone to meetings dealing with grandparents who have become foster parents. So it is important to be able to find the best practices. The waivers that will come about are designed to afford more flexibility to States in determining how to use Federal funding for child welfare and foster care. The program gave more discretion to the State Departments that administer child welfare programs aimed to foster innovative and effective child welfare programs. One of the issues in the State of Texas is the ageold issue of aging out. What do you do with the 18- or 19yearold who had lived in foster care. ages out. and has no place to go? I hope in the course of this legislation we will find that creative thinking. This bill. of course. addresses delays to guardianship for children in foster care. provides early crisis intervention programs that are so important to improve the outcomes of the foster care system. and addresses domestic violence that results in placement in foster care. To the late Congressman Mickey Leland. I am reminded that we had a facility called the Mickey Leland refuge or relief area in our district. the 18th Congressional District. that provided an emergency placement for children that had to be taken out of the home immediately. We cradled children from zero to toddler age. Our children need us. and those who are in fact taking care of foster children need us as well. There are 423.000 children living in foster care. 26.000 of these children are from my home State of Texas. I frankly believe those numbers are even higher. But this legislation will continue a unique opportunity for States granted waivers to address the diverse needs of the cities and regions of the particular States. I cant think of a more precious resource than our children. I am very glad to be part of the Congressional Childrens Caucus. and I deeply believe this particular legislation. Mr. Speaker. provides a safety net for our children. I ask my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 1194. a bill to renew the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve demonstration projects designed to test innovative strategies in state child welfare programs. My colleague. JIM MCDERMOTT. introduced this bill in the 111th Congress. and it was passed by a voice vote. This legislation. which amends Title Xl of the Social Security Act to renew through FY2016. authorizes up to ten states and tribes to conduct demonstration projects that serve as tests for methods to improve child welfare programs. Under the previous authority. which began in 1997 and ended in 2006. 23 states and tribal jurisdictions received waivers to certain provisions of the Social Security Act. These waivers are designed to afford more flexibility to states in determining how to use federal funding for child welfare and foster care. The program gave more discretion to the state departments that administer child welfare programs. and aimed to foster innovative and effective child welfare programs. The waiver authority in this legislation requires states to report on Federal. state and local funding sources that support all services under a demonstration project. increasing our knowledge of waiver policies and allow for successful implementation of similar programs in the future. Under the previous waiver authority. many innovative and effective demonstration projects were successfully tested in States. providing the Department of Health and Human Services with new ideas for implementation at the national level. This legislation does not seek to reduce funding or services for child welfare at any level. but rather seeks to improve these services by allowing states the flexibility to test programs. The bill introduced by my colleague from Washington addresses delays to guardianship for children in foster care. provides early and crisis intervention programs to improve the outcomes of the foster system. and addresses domestic violence that results in placement in foster care. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) reports that at the end of 2009. there were 423.000 children living in foster care. 26.600 of those children were from my home state of Texas. In fact. the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services estimates that as of February 2011. 3.726 children in Houston were living in foster care. As the Representative for Texas 18th Congressional District in Houston. I am committed to increasing the efficiency and improving the outcomes of foster care and other child welfare systems. This legislation would continue a unique opportunity for states granted waivers to address the diverse needs of the cities and regions in that particular state. Of the 3.726 children in foster care throughout Houston. nearly 2.000 of those children are African American. While foster care disproportionately affects African Americans in Houston. these demographics change throughout the state. This program encourages innovation based on the needs of states. and will certainly contribute to national initiatives. Child welfare is a deeply important issue for this country. The Department of Health and Human Services estimates the 2010 Census will show the number of children in foster care is over half a million and will only continue to rise. It is our responsibility to take any possible measure to improve the outcomes of foster care. and renewing the authority granted to Health and Human Services under H.R. 1194 is essential to that goal.