Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1146, the Find and Protect Foster Youth Act, as amended. This bill builds on existing HHS guidance to ensure that States understand their grave responsibilities when youth go missing from foster care. It would require HHS to determine whether States are in full compliance with the law and guidance and also to identify best practices and provide technical support to States so that they can do better by our youth. Our committee worked closely with HHS to update the original guidance and then advanced, last year, the bipartisan House companion bill, H.R. 2426. Taking a child into foster care is a last resort, something that we should do only if a child cannot live safely at home even with services or support. Once a State takes custody of a child, they must keep that child safe and act in the child's best interest. There is no higher obligation than keeping a child safe in our care. We know that children who run away from foster care are not safe. They are disproportionately likely to be homeless or to fall prey to sex traffickers and other predators. They often struggle with mental health challenges or substance abuse. To our shame, many youth who run away from foster care also were not safe before they ran away. They ran away because they were placed in an unsafe home or separated from siblings and other family members. This amended version of S.…”