DENNIS A. CARDOZA: “I am honored today to have four students in attendance here from Valley Community School in Merced, California. Valley…”

“I am honored today to have four students in attendance here from Valley Community School in Merced, California. Valley Community School, led by its principal, Jill Macha, is an alternative education program that serves at-risk youth throughout Merced County. I had the privilege of visiting Valley Community School in October during Red Ribbon Week festivities, and it left an impression with me and had a positive impact on alternative education and the impacts it was having on the students there. However, I also had a very moving experience while I was visiting. I see school groups in my district frequently, but nothing compares with the interaction I had with the students at Valley Community School that day. After the Red Ribbon Week assembly was over, a group of children, young people, came and met with me. Many of them were products of the foster care system, just like those who are fortunate enough to be here in Washington today. During our 90 minutes together, I heard many of their personal stories from the students that would shock anyone who cares. They told me about some of the horrible conditions that they had encountered as they moved from placement to placement in foster care. They told me about situations that have gotten them in trouble. They told me about a lot of things that I thought I would never hear or even have to hear from young people: abuse, neglect, domestic violence, sexual assault.…”