The United States Senate recently approved a foster care financing reform amendment authored by Senator Mary Landrieu. The amendment to the Senate's budget would allow for reforming the foster care-financing system to shift resources to promote safe, stable and permanent homes for foster children. It represents another example of Sen. Landrieu's fight to improve the government's support for foster care children and families.
"It is critical that federal foster care funding be dedicated to children and not just programs," Sen. Landrieu said. "Federal dollars should follow the needs of children at all stages of the process - whether their placement is reunification, adoption or guardianship. My amendment ensures that the foster care system is focused on children in care and the families that provide loving homes."
"Each year, 26,000 children age out of foster care having never had the promise of a permanent family fulfilled and that is 26,000 too many," said Kathleen Strottman, executive director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. "What's more, over 70,000 children spend five years or more in a system that was never intended to be permanent replacement for a family. Federal law makes it clear that foster care is not the preferred solution, but federal funds promote the opposite. Senator Landrieu's amendment lays the foundation for a financing system that gives states both the flexibility and incentive they need to get children out of foster care and into loving families."
"Child welfare reform is critical as states and counties must string together a patchwork of fragmented federal funding streams to provide services and supports to children and families that come to our attention," said Jerry Friedman, executive director of the American Public Human Services Association. "Additionally, there are limited funds to prevent children from coming into the system in the first place."
Specifically, the Landrieu budget amendment establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation that would shift the federal foster care financing system from one that supports programs to one that supports children and permanency.
Last month, Congress adopted a Landrieu amendment to add programs for mentoring foster youth to the list of national service programs eligible for assistance. President Obama will sign the provision into law as part of bipartisan legislation, the Serve America Act. Mentoring programs that focus on children in foster care, such as those supported in the Landrieu amendment, are unique. They require specialized training and support to provide for consistent, long-term relationships for children in care.
"With this amendment's inclusion, the national service bill provides us with a great opportunity to have mentors from colleges and high schools serve as role models for children in foster care," Sen. Landrieu said. "My amendment builds on successes we have seen in mentoring programs around the country. We know of some tremendous pilot mentor programs that are producing positive results for foster children. We are seeing increased grades and levels of academic achievement. Dropout rates have decreased significantly. It is important that we promote programs that we know work, and that we know can make a difference. Foster children need our focus, our attention, our love and our support."
"President Obama has challenged each and every American to commit themselves in service to our nation," said Strottman. "Sen. Landrieu's amendment reminds us that there is perhaps no better way to improve the future of this country than to be a mentor to a young person in foster care. These youth have the potential to be our future leaders - they just need someone to help guide and support them along the way."
There are approximately 550,000 children in foster care, and 100,000 of them are waiting to find a home with a permanent, loving family. One in every three children in foster care has been in care for more than five years. Each year, 25,000 of them will "age out" without ever having the promise of a family fulfilled. Some studies report high school dropout rates among foster care youth as high as 55 percent, and 40 percent are forced to rely on public assistance. Fewer than 15 percent go on to college.
This article was originally published in the April 13, 2009 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper |
