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.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (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.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

The month of May marks National Foster Care Month, which provides Congress with an opportunity to recognize the contributions of the unsung heroes who commit their lives to children in foster care, including foster parents who unselfishly open their homes to our most vulnerable children. On any given day, half a million children seek safety, comfort and assistance through our Nation's foster care system. Roughly 130,000 of those children in foster care are unable to return safely to their parents and are now waiting for an adoptive home.

Sadly, in 2007, a record 28,000 of those children ``aged out'' of the foster care system at the age of 18 without finding a permanent home to call their own.

As the de facto parents or the real-life parents of the Nation's foster children, we, the Congress, have a responsibility to ensure that they have the same opportunity to succeed that our children and our grandchildren have.

Congress recently passed landmark bipartisan legislation which represented the most significant reform in the child welfare system in more than a decade. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act

included numerous provisions that were designed to significantly improve the outcomes of all children and their families who are in the foster care system.

As a result of this bipartisan legislation, grandparents and other relatives who became the legal guardian of a child for whom they cared for as a foster parent now receive greater assistance in caring for these children. The legislation also provides additional support to older foster children, up to the age of 21, who are engaged in school, work or other productive activities. The new law also requires much greater oversight of the health care system and education needs of each of these children in the foster care system.

Mr. Speaker, while last year's bipartisan child welfare legislation provided greater resources and services aimed at improving the outcomes of children and families in the foster care system, additional investments and reform are still needed. The job is not done.

I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating National Foster Care Month by recommitting themselves to continuing our bipartisan work to further improve the foster care system.

Finally, I want to recognize the children in the system that are waiting to be reunified with their families or waiting for an adoptive home. Many of these children have endured great pain and suffering at a very young age, but are able to overcome their grief and turmoil, and go on to succeed beyond anyone's expectation. I applaud these young children for the bravery and determination that they have shown. Behind each number is the face of a foster child who has the same hopes and aspirations as our very own children. We need to make these hopes and aspirations a reality.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin).

(Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman have has any further speakers?

Mr. Speaker, I only would like to add that when you meet these youngsters, Lupe, Chris and Nichole, and get to know them, you realize what they have gone through and why we should have a month that helps people think about this, and we realize that these youngsters have tremendous potential.

Many of the youngsters I met yesterday are going to college. They went through the system, many of them with a dozen or more placements, and still were able to put it together and carry on their lives.

We need to have this month to make us aware of the needs of foster kids in this country.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this Sunday, millions of American families will honor mom on Mother's Day. Next month, our Nation will celebrate Father's Day. So it is appropriate to also note the contribution of so many adults who step in as foster parents to care for children when biological moms and dads cannot do so.

This resolution recognizes those enormous contributions by foster parents. Every day they step in to care for hundreds of thousands of children across America who cannot safely remain with their own parents. For that, as this resolution expresses, our Nation says ``thank you.''

The children aided by foster care range in age from birth to 21 and come from a wide range of homes. In the congressional district I represent, they include the infant born to a drug-addicted mom, three boys taken in on Christmas Eve after their single mother died of pneumonia, and a little girl who lived in abandoned cars while her father was on drugs. Those are some stories relayed by Suzanne Geske, the executive director of the Foster Children's Foundation based in Duluth, Georgia. The Foster Children's Foundation reflects the efforts of organizations nationwide that coordinate thousands of volunteers, all to better support foster kids and foster parents.

As Ms. Geske says of kids in foster care, ``These children all experience the fear of their unknown futures. Thanks to the love and support they receive from foster parents, mentors and organizations that provide many services to them, there is hope. May is a time when we recognize these individuals and raise awareness so others can get involved to save our children. These children live in our own communities and need our help. Please encourage everyone you know to find out how they can reach out to make a difference in the lives of our children.''

Sound advice.

This town often focuses on policy questions about where billions of dollars will be spent and where the money will come from. We have these discussions in foster care, too, including developing major reforms last year. We hope those reforms work as intended and improve the lives of children and families.

But children care little about policy discussions. What matters to them is if mom is there to see them in the school play or if dad can play catch after work, or if their birthday is remembered and they get their favorite dinner that night. If only that's where the concerns ended for children who suffer from abuse or neglect.

Through this resolution today, we remind all Americans of the role they can play in helping children who have already missed out on much in life and who need assistance. These children surely deserve to make progress in life, like any other child. Through the efforts of tens of thousands of dedicated foster parents, they often do, against great odds. We owe these dedicated individuals our thanks and continued support.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

I do not. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be a cosponsor on this Resolution that recognizes May as ``National Foster Care Month'' and acknowledges that the House of Representatives should continue to work to improve the Nation's foster care system.

In FY 2007, the number of children in foster care was 496,000, a sharp decline from the number of foster children in 2002. However, over this same period, the number of older children in foster care increased. Children ages 13 through 17 comprised 34.7% of the children in foster care in FY 2006.

Our older youths who spend their teenage years in foster care and those who are likely to age out of foster care face challenges as they transition to adulthood that their counterparts in the general population might not. During their early adult years, these youth are much more likely than their peers

to forego higher education, more likely to be in poor health, and more likely to become homeless.

Taking care of our foster care youths is a very important issue for me. I have just re-introduced legislation that I had filed in the last Congress, which would help former foster youth find housing and guidance as they transition to becoming adults. Instead of celebrating their 18th birthday with family and friends, too many of our foster care youth are marking this milestone by aging out of the foster care system and abruptly losing their support system. Our responsibility to foster care youths should not expire when a young person reaches the age of majority.

Our most recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services show that each year about 26,500 youth age out of the foster care system. These foster care youth are vulnerable to becoming homeless. A national study of 21-year-olds who had aged out of foster care found the percentage of the population who experienced homelessness to be 25%. Of equal concern is the fact that these youths are very often without adult role models, and as such, have no one to guide or otherwise assist them as they transition to adulthood.

My legislation provides an incentive for individuals to mentor and house foster care youths who are no longer able to remain in the foster care system because they have attained the age of 18. We need to help these young adults, many of whom are homeless, jobless, and without any adult role model.

My bill allows a $1,000 nonrefundable tax credit to individual adults who provide housing and mentoring to former foster care youths between the ages of 18 and 21 who have aged out of the foster care system.

We need to do more to provide incentives for families to take all of our foster care children in, whether they be under the age of 18 and still in the system, or over the age of 18 and have aged out of the system.

Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in recognizing May as ``National Foster Care Month''. This occasion provides an opportunity to examine key issues affecting foster children. I am very pleased that Congress recently improved our child welfare laws greatly, extending coverage till the age of 21 and promoting kinship care. The Recovery Act also included additional funds for child welfare to support states in caring for vulnerable children during hard economic times.

As unemployment rates continue to rise, it is critical that we continue to invest in safety net programs that ensure our children are protected and are able to develop into healthy adults. Most children in the child welfare system are from low-income families. As policymakers, we must stand ready to provide the aid needed to help families so that child welfare supports are not needed. We must continue to promote all permanency options so that children do not remain in the foster care system longer than necessary. And, we must ensure to integrate the needs of foster care children in relevant policy areas. For example, there currently are federal protections for homeless youth to ensure that they have stability in their educational environments during elementary and high school. We should expand these protections to cover all foster children.

In the areas of health care reform, job training, and higher education, we must consider the needs of foster care children.

National Foster Care Month is a time for us to remember that it is crucial that we support foster care families and children by making a national investment in our children. Our children are entitled to stable, caring homes; if we deny them what they truly deserve, we can anticipate a colder, more uncertain future for our nation.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 391, which recognizes May as National Foster Care Month and calls for continued improvements in our foster care system. My parents welcomed many foster children into our family over the years, and I know firsthand the value, and the challenges, of the foster care system.

All children need love and support. And this is especially true for the more than half a million children currently in our foster care system, and many more who still need help. We also must address the issues affecting older youth as they transition out of foster care. Unfortunately, research shows that current and former foster youth are more likely to have difficulty making the transition to adulthood and are more likely to forgo higher education, be in poor health, become homeless and rely on public support. They deserve better, and we can do better.

Further, let me thank the many compassionate individuals who take in foster children. Foster parenting is an act of true selflessness, requiring significant financial and emotional investment. Sadly, many foster children have been abused or neglected, treatment that leaves indelible scars for years, which foster parents lovingly attempt to heal.

Mr. Speaker, these foster children need our continued support, our care and our love, as do the foster families who take them in. And we need to rededicate ourselves to improving our foster care system.

I want to thank the gentleman for yielding and his hard work on this resolution.