Political Quotes

“Madam President, I am honored today to announce legislation that Senator Peters and I have introduced that provides another option for children in the foster care system in Montana and across the country. I worked with a host of Montana groups to develop the Child Protection and Family Support Act of 2017, including a handful of nonprofit organizations focused on foster youth, the Montana attorney general, Indian Tribes, and individual constituents. I am pleased to have their support on this legislation. Montana is in the midst of a child welfare crisis. We have a record 3,400 children in foster care, and about a third of those children are there because of methamphetamine use by their parents. Montana state law requires the Office of the Child and Family Ombudsman to investigate circumstances surrounding child fatalities when the child was involved with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Child and Family Services Division within 12 months of the date of the child's death. Last December, the Montana Department of Justice issued a report and the findings were devastating: It detailed 14 child deaths that met these parameters. Of the 14 cases reviewed, 11 involved children 2 years old or younger. In nine of those cases, the children were 1 year old or younger. Eleven cases included allegations of drug use, four of which indicated methamphetamine use.…”