Find and Protect Foster Youth Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1146) to amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to identify obstacles to identifying and responding to reports of children missing from foster care and other vulnerable foster youth, to provide technical assistance relating to the removal of such obstacles, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, every year, thousands of families open their hearts and welcome into their homes children who have suffered abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Right now, there are nearly 400,000 children in foster care.

Youth in the foster care system often have experienced serious trauma and are at high risk of going missing or running away from their foster care placements, which increases their likelihood of experiencing homelessness, human trafficking, and other exploitation.

Over the past year, the Committee on Ways and Means has been hard at work reforming aspects of our child welfare programs. The Find and Protect Foster Youth Act, introduced by Senator John Cornyn and Representative Tony Gonzales, will bring us one step closer to realizing that goal.

This legislation requires the Department of Health and Human Services and States to improve tracking for children in the foster care system who have run away or gone missing at some point, including screening youth for signs of human trafficking or other trauma.

Under Federal law, States are required to report missing foster children within 24 hours to law enforcement, yet some States still struggle to implement those protocols. This means that in some cases, kids missing from foster care are not being tracked or reported as missing in a timely manner.

This legislation also requires HHS to evaluate State protocols for shortcomings and share that information with Congress so we can implement the changes to better track and protect youth in our foster care system.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, our foster care system is a lifeline for thousands of children who have been displaced, abused, and neglected. Many of these children are at risk for going missing or running away from their foster homes, which puts them at risk of experiencing homelessness and human trafficking.

As Members of Congress, our responsibility to protect foster youth doesn't end once they are placed in a home. We must ensure that States have the tools and guidance to locate these children when they go missing in a timely manner and work to make sure every child has a safe and loving home.

This legislation will strengthen communication between States and the Federal Government to help them find and protect missing foster youth who are in crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1146, the Find and Protect Foster Youth Act, as amended.

This bill builds on existing HHS guidance to ensure that States understand their grave responsibilities when youth go missing from foster care. It would require HHS to determine whether States are in full compliance with the law and guidance and also to identify best practices and provide technical support to States so that they can do better by our youth.

Our committee worked closely with HHS to update the original guidance and then advanced, last year, the bipartisan House companion bill, H.R. 2426.

Taking a child into foster care is a last resort, something that we should do only if a child cannot live safely at home even with services or support. Once a State takes custody of a child, they must keep that child safe and act in the child's best interest. There is no higher obligation than keeping a child safe in our care.

We know that children who run away from foster care are not safe. They are disproportionately likely to be homeless or to fall prey to sex traffickers and other predators. They often struggle with mental health challenges or substance abuse.

To our shame, many youth who run away from foster care also were not safe before they ran away. They ran away because they were placed in an unsafe home or separated from siblings and other family members.

This amended version of S. 1146 addresses that issue by requiring HHS to study and learn more about how to prevent the situation that causes youth to flee.

In crafting this bipartisan additional study requirement, I was fortunate to consult Bryan Samuels and the able team at Chapin Hall in my city of Chicago. Their deep expertise and prior work on this topic informed our thinking.

I take great pride in our committee's bipartisan work to strengthen families and protect vulnerable foster youth over the years, including the landmark Family First Prevention Services Act and the strong bill to reauthorize and invest in child welfare services that we are also considering today.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the Find and Protect Foster Youth Act and continue to work together to advance thoughtful legislation to help our most vulnerable youth and families.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she might consume to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Brown).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Smith and Chairman LaHood for their work and their assistance in moving this bill that would require HHS to determine whether States are in full compliance with the law when youth go missing from foster care, and also to identify best practices and provide technical support to States so that they can better serve these young people in our care and need our help.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, due to a previously scheduled medical procedure, I was unable to be in D.C. on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, and on Wednesday, September 18, 2024. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: YEA on Roll Call No. 418, H.R. 8314, the No Foreign Election Interference Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 420, H. Res. 1455, On ordering the previous question; YEA on Roll Call No. 421, H. Res. 1455, Providing for consideration of the bills H.R. 3724; H.R. 4790, H.R. 5179, H.R. 5339, H.R. 5717, and H.R. 7909, and the Joint resolution H.J. Res. 136; YEA on Roll Call No. 422, S. 1146, the Find and Protect Foster Youth Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 423, H.R. 9076, the Supporting America's Children and Families Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 424, H.R. 7213, the Autism CARES Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 425, H.R. 1513, the FUTURE Networks Act; NAY on Roll Call No. 426, H.R. 5339, on Motion to Recommit; YEA on Roll Call No. 427, H.R. 5339, the RETIRE Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 428, H.R. 5179, the Anti-BDS Labeling Act; YEA on Roll Call No. 429, H.R. 7909, the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act; NAY on Roll Call No. 430, H.R. 9494, on Motion to Recommit; and YEA on Roll Call No. 431, H.R. 9494, the Continuing Appropriations and Other Matters Act, 2025.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Find and Protect Foster Youth Act.

Every day 55 foster youth in the United States go missing. Their average age is 15. Missing means we don't know where they are or if they are safe, and all too often they are not safe.

Right now, the system is failing foster youth. So often, people say: They fell through the cracks. It is our job to find where those cracks are and to fill them.

That is what this bill does. It requires the Federal Government to coordinate with States to find the gaps and fill them so that we can keep foster youth safe.

Mr. Speaker, 55 new foster youth missing each day is 55 too many, and I urge my colleagues to pass this bill for foster youth in Ohio and across the country.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be discharged from further consideration of S. 1146 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.