On May 24, the House approved, by voice vote, a bill (H.R. 5403) to expedite the placement of foster children across state lines. Sponsored by Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX), the legislation would require a 60-day time limit for states to conduct home studies of prospective foster parents in another state, and would authorize incentive grants of $1,500 for each interstate home study completed within 30 days. Caseworker visits would be increased from one to two times each year. A total of $10 million would be authorized for the bill annually in FY2007-2010.
During the debate, Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH) said, “Replacing a void in a child’s life or a parent’s life and filling it with love and laughter is one of the most wonderful gifts in the world. As twice an adoptive mother, I know this joy firsthand. And also I believe it is our duty as legislators to work with adoption and foster care advocates to break down barriers, to bring more children and families together. Today we have the opportunity to knock down a barrier to improve the lives of these kids right here in America. Right now, children are waiting as long as a year for paperwork to go through the system before they can be placed with a family. Imagine, Mr. Speaker, paperwork standing in the way of a permanent, loving home for a 100,000 lingering, at-risk kids. There is no excuse, and we can change it.”
Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) agreed, adding, “As an adoptive parent myself of foster children, I have seen firsthand the glaring problems of the system currently facing this Nation. At any time, there are roughly 500,000 children in foster care in the United States, moving from placement to placement, often living out of a suitcase or even worse, the symbol of foster children, which is a black garbage bag, hoping that one day a loving family will welcome them into their home. The children this bill seeks to help are already needy, neglected children without a voice who desperately want a permanent home, something that most all of us have always taken for granted. They want to go to school, the same school with the same friends for more than a few months. They want someone to tuck them in at night and help them with their homework. They want to stop living out of a black garbage bag that doubles as a suitcase and have a real home with a bed they can call their own.”
