Karen Bass: “Thank you, Ranking Member Doggett. I rise today in support of the Promoting Adoption and Legal Guardianship for Children…”

“Thank you, Ranking Member Doggett. I rise today in support of the Promoting Adoption and Legal Guardianship for Children in Foster Care Act. First, I would like to commend Chairman Camp and Chairman Reichert and Ranking Members Levin and Doggett for their great work on this legislation and their ongoing commitment to our Nation's foster youth. As the cochair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth and the Congressional Caucus on Adoption, I sincerely appreciate your leadership and partnership on this issue. Since 1997, when the Adoption Incentives legislation became law, we have seen a significant reduction of the number of kids in foster care and, more importantly, an increased number of kids in forever families; yet there are still over 400,000 children in our Nation's child welfare system, many awaiting the stability and love of a permanent family. Unfortunately, studies show that foster youth, especially those who ``age out,'' are much more likely to experience poverty, unemployment, homelessness, incarceration, and compromised health after they leave foster care. Each year, nearly 30,000 teenagers age out of foster care without a permanent family. We know that this is unfair and unacceptable. We must strengthen policies that help to find forever families for our Nation's foster children, especially our older youth. I would like to focus my remarks on one of the noteworthy aspects of the bill--the enhanced support for legal guardianship.…”