Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in 1988, President Ronald Reagan first recognized May as National Foster Care Month. Every year since then, the month of May has been recognized as a time to bring awareness to the needs of America's young people who are placed in foster care. It is also important to recognize organizations in Iowa and around the country tirelessly serving kids and families in our foster care system. I salute these organizations and individuals for their year-round efforts to support the kids, kids who are most in need. In 2021, there were nearly 400,000 kids in foster care. More than 4,000 of those 400,000 are in my home State of Iowa. Older youth in foster care and adults who experienced foster care as a child can speak to what worked for them and what didn't work. They should have a seat at the table and a voice in making policy about foster care. When I founded the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth in 2009, the very special focus of the caucus was to hear directly from young people in foster care. We also wanted to hear from those who had been aged out of the system without having a permanent place to call home. Over and over again, I have heard an urgent point of view from these young people and also the teenagers who are in foster care. What I heard was that they would like some permanence. They would say it like they would like to have a mom and dad. They would like to have a family.…”