Raise foster care age-eligibility to 21

Every child deserves a chance to succeed and prosper, especially in America, the richest nation on earth. Our responsibility as a generation to which much has been given is to provide for and protect the younger generation, especially those members who face challenges with which many of us cannot identify.

As leaders of the Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee that oversees foster care, we accept this responsibility. In that spirit, we introduced bipartisan legislation last month — The Fostering Connections to Success Act — to improve our nation’s foster care system and to improve the outcomes of children in care.

The House overwhelmingly passed our bill on a voice vote. It would help foster youth maintain or develop connections to the very sources that are critical during their involvement in the foster care system and after they leave care — family, communities, support services, healthcare and school.

Each year, roughly 26,000 youth “age out” of the foster care system when they turn 18 years old.

But, like other kids their age, many are unprepared to live on their own, especially without any support to help them transition into adulthood. To help these youth, our bill extends foster care services, at state option, to youths up to age 21.

Another issue confronting children in foster care is the lack of healthcare oversight.  Various studies have found 30 percent to 80 percent of children in foster care suffer from chronic medical conditions, while an estimated one in four foster youth are afflicted with at least three chronic conditions. One study found that children who had been in foster care suffered higher rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than war veterans.  

While Washington state, Illinois and others are working towards innovative solutions to help address this problem, a national response is needed. Our bill would require states to develop an oversight plan for the healthcare needs of foster children that would fully account for the assessment and treatment of their medical conditions, medical records and prescription drugs.

Studies have shown time and again that young people with a stable home environment do better in school, and become more productive members of society when they reach working age. For numerous and obvious reasons, this is sometimes difficult for kids in our foster care system. Our bill is aimed at providing solid footing for these young people and those who care for them.

One problem this bill addresses is an inequity in federal funding for child welfare caseworker training. Currently, private sector caseworkers receive lower federal funding for training than public sector caseworkers. We need to retain our best and brightest in the public and private sectors.

Another major thrust of our bill is the placement of foster children with blood relatives. One of the inspirations for this provision came from a young man from Joliet, Ill., Jamaal Nutall, who was a congressional intern. Jamaal was a foster child whose life was turned around by finally being placed in the care of relatives. Jamaal testified at a hearing before our subcommittee and is living proof that in most cases, placement with a child’s own family makes for the best environment for the child to grow and prosper.

The legislation also would help to ensure that foster kids graduate high school. This is especially important because a foster child may attend as many as nine different schools by the time he or she is 18, and that young people in foster care are more than twice as likely to have dropped out of high school as non-foster youth.

These are just a few specific examples of this bill’s positive impact. Other improvements — such as providing tribal governments who manage their own child welfare system with direct access to federal foster care and adoption services and encouraging sibling placements whenever possible — will also benefit foster children.  The bill is enthusiastically supported by a broad spectrum of child welfare experts, pediatricians, and organizations representing state and county governments.

We are proud that the impact of this legislation will be felt locally by the most vulnerable and sometimes forgotten members of our society. We will continue to work together to keep building and broadening support for this important legislation.

We are proud that the House unanimously passed this bipartisan legislation and hope that we will soon see similar quick action in the Senate because children in foster care cannot afford to wait any longer. When it comes to foster children we are, in effect, the last line of defense and we must not let them down.

McDermott and Weller are, respectively, chairman and ranking member of the Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee.