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Every child deserves nurturing
parents and a safe and loving home to call their
own. Unfortunately, there are thousands of children
throughout the country whose parents are unable to
care for them. Many of these children rely on foster
parents to provide them with care and a home in
which they can grow and thrive.
It is critical
that state and federal governments recognize the
needs of these children, who deserve a stable and
secure foster home until they can either return to
their parents or establish a lifelong connection to
a nurturing adult.
Since 1988, May has been
known as National Foster Care Month. President
George H.W. Bush issued an annual proclamation
during each year of his presidency, providing an
impetus for state, county and city proclamations.
This month provides an
opportunity for people all across the nation to get
involved in the lives of disadvantaged children,
whether as foster parents, volunteers, mentors,
employers or in other ways. It is also an
opportunity to show appreciation for the dedication
of the foster families who care for these children
and the social workers who support them.
A 2004 Pew Commission report on children in foster
care contains some statistics that are truly
astonishing. There are
approximately 518,000 children and youth currently
living in foster care throughout the country. About
3,000 children are in the foster care system in
Maine and as of 2002, there were 1,329 licensed
kinship and non-relative foster homes in our state.
Most children are placed only temporarily in foster
care- the average length of stay in Maine is about
38 months. In addition to the time spent
waiting for a permanent placement, children in
foster care have, on average, three different foster
care placements.
The disruption children experience while moving from
home to home has obvious negative consequences.
Children shuffled around in foster care face
emotional, behavioral and academic challenges. This
situation is exacerbated by a shortage of licensed
homes, and a child welfare workforce that
experiences a turnover rate of 20% in public
agencies and 40% in private agencies.
In Maine, we have found that there are a variety of
reasons children are languishing in care. We need to
engage birth parents in services more quickly,
particularly in the area of substance abuse
treatment. Recruitment of potential foster parents
and development of more foster homes, especially for
children over 15, is also a problem.
Over 2 million American
children live with grandparents or other relatives
because their parents cannot care for them. When
relatives provide foster care (known as kinship
care), siblings can often stay together. Kinship
care improves stability by keeping displaced
children closer to their extended families, their
neighborhoods, and their schools. Children
are traumatized when they are separated from their
natural parents and being cared for by grandparents
or other relatives can soften that blow.
I believe we can do more to better equip the
relatives who sacrifice so much to provide safe,
loving homes. That is why I, along with Senator
Clinton (D-NY), have introduced legislation entitled
the “Kinship Caregiver Support Act” which gives
grandparents and other relatives some of the same
support and services that are currently available to
foster parents. Legislation such as the Kinship
Caregiver Support Act could make the difference for
many families between a child languishing in foster
care or remaining in a safe permanent home with a
loving relative and a welcoming family.
I would like to extend my appreciation and
recognition to those selfless foster parents who
open their hearts and homes to provide children with
a safe and secure place to live.
To learn about foster
parenting or learn how to become a foster parent,
you can call the National Foster Parent Association
at 1-800-557-5238 or visit
www.nfpainc.org. If you have room in your
heart and your home, I encourage you to get involved
in the foster care system to help children who are
in need of a loving family- for there is no greater
gift one could give a child than to give them a home
to call their own.
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