Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3058, the Recruiting Families Using Data Act of 2023, supports States in addressing the nationwide shortage of foster homes. In the United States of America, every child deserves a home. Unfortunately, our Nation's foster care system is facing enormous challenges, with a record number of children sleeping in social workers' offices, hotels, and hospitals because they have nowhere else to go. Iowa lost more than 200 licensed foster care homes since 2019. Washington, D.C., lost nearly half of their foster homes since 2019. States like South Carolina have seen a 60 percent decline. These foster homes are essential to providing vulnerable children with safe, loving homes, and we have to stop this dramatic decline. We need to make it easier to find families who are willing and able to foster children and those generous families who choose to foster to continue. Unfortunately, the ability for States and nonprofits to respond to the challenges is limited by the shortage of information. We need to know why foster families quit fostering if we are going to make it easier to recruit and retain them. We need to be able to evaluate what the needs of foster families and their children are so that States can set goals for improvement and be able to evaluate whether they are making progress in meeting those goals. Mr.…”