Kids Are Waiting
News
KAW E-Updates

Kids Are Waiting Update - Making the case for financing reform

Kids Are Waiting 

"Now is the time for federal foster care reform," say former foster youth and others on the frontlines of the nation's foster care system. Many recently shared their experiences during Congressional hearings, at Capitol Hill events, and by authoring op-eds.

Congressional Hearings on Youth "Aging Out" of Foster Care

On July 12, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support convened a hearing on children who age out of the nation's foster care system. Each year, more than 24,000 young people "age out" of foster care with no permanent family to rely on and no home to return to.

The most recent Kids Are Waiting and Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative report, Time for Reform: Aging Out and On Their Own, determined that this number has now reached an all-time high, having increased 41% since 1998. The July 12 hearing was the latest in a series devoted to examining issues that face the U.S. child welfare system. The hearing featured several youth from across the nation who aged out of foster care and shared the difficulties they encountered. Nicole Dobbins from Portland, Oregon, Anthony Reeves from Atlanta, Georgia, Tyler Bacon from Jacksonville, Florida and Jamaal Nutall from Joliet, Illinois spoke about leaving foster care and confronting challenges including homelessness, illness and struggling to further their education with no help or support.

Read the testimony submitted by KAW for the record.

Upcoming Congressional Hearings on Foster Care

The next Congressional hearing to be convened by the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support on the nation's child welfare system is scheduled for today and will focus on health care for children in foster care.

CCAI Foster Youth Interns Make Case for System Reform

On July 13, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) hosted a breakfast briefing for Members of Congress and their staff. The annual CCAI FYI internship sponsors 15 college students, all of whom spent their formative years in foster care, to intern on Capitol Hill each summer.

Titled "Finding Our Place: The Importance of Permanency," the briefing featured youth speaking about the need for foster care reform. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), Co-Chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA) and President of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) underscored the importance of permanency for the nation's more than 500,000 foster youth.

MI Supreme Court Justice Authors Op-Ed on Foster Care Reform

Michigan Supreme Court Justice and Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care member Maura Corrigan authored a piece titled "Michigan scores a victory for foster kids," in the Detroit Free Press. The piece says federal foster care financing reform will improve the lives of children in foster care in Michigan and across the nation. Specifically, Justice Corrigan writes that it would allow states to provide services and supports that would help keep families together, keep children out of foster care, and limit the amount of time that children who are placed in care spend in the system before being reunited with their families or joining new families through adoption or legal guardianship.

Organizations Join the Kids Are Waiting Campaign

In recent weeks, a number of local, national and state-based child welfare organizations have joined Kids Are Waiting in its efforts to make the case that now is the time for foster care reform. Among these new partners are:

For more information about the Kids Are Waiting campaign, please visit our website at www.kidsarewaiting.org