House Proceeding on Oct 28th, 2009 :: 2:30:45 to 2:36:20
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2:30:41 to 2:31:01( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: it's my pleasure now to yield time, such time as he might consume, to one of the real champions of child welfare in this country and one who knows exactly what is needed to make sure that children have safe and comfortable environments in

2:30:45 to 2:36:20( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Jim McDermott

2:31:02 to 2:31:23( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: which to live. chairman of the security and family support subcommittee, representative jim mcdermott from washington. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington recognized. without objection, so ordered. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, i want to begin by acknowledging

2:31:24 to 2:31:45( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: my colleagues, mr. davis a brown-waite, for bringing this resolution to the floor. this is an issue that deserves our unanimous support and i'm sure it will have it. h.r. 831 really is the -- expresses the ideals and the goals of national adoption day and national adoption month.

2:31:46 to 2:32:06( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: every child deserves to be raised in a home that is safe, loving and is permanent. unfortunately this basic principle is not a reality for the 129,000 children who are currently in our nation's foster care system waiting for a permanent home to call their

2:32:07 to 2:32:28( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: own. last year the congress passed bipartisan legislation that dramatically reformed our nation's foster care and adoption program. the foster act was designed to improve the outcomes of children's lives in foster care

2:32:29 to 2:32:49( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: system as well as increase the number of children who find permanency through placement with a grandparent or other relative or through adoption. the new law helps states provide greater financial assistance to relative caregivers who choose to become the legal guardian of a foster child.

2:32:50 to 2:33:10( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: also promotes the adoption of children with special needs and improves the adoption incentive program. while my colleagues and i were able to accomplish a great deal last year in improving foster care and adoption programs, our work is far from over. we must ensu that families are given the post adoption support

2:33:11 to 2:33:33( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: they need when they welcome an adoptive child into their home. any of white house have raised a child know that it's difficult to do. but it is an immensely rewarding endeavor and when the federal government has an ability to encourage these connecons we ought to do so. there are a wealth of families interested in adopting a child out of foster care.

2:33:34 to 2:33:54( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: a study last year showed that there are 600,000 women in the united states seeking to adopt. the majority of these women said they'd considered adopting older youth, siblings or children wit special needs. we can and must do a better job of connecting these would-be parents to kids growing up in

2:33:55 to 2:34:15( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: foster care. it's my hope that this bill and the resolution connected to it will lead to an overall increase in awareness of national adoption day and will help us close the gap so that it is possible to imagine a nation where every child indeed lives in safe and secu home -- in a

2:34:16 to 2:34:36( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: safe and secure home. we must also do a better job of keeping kids out of foster care systems to begin with. today we provide some or more financial assistance to states to remove children from homes and places and place them in care than we do in providing support to children in at-risk

2:34:37 to 2:34:57( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: homes where they're living in their homes. this timeast week i delivered remarks in front of a group of current and former foster youth and a topic of discussion was how can we better address the stresses of cris in the home that bring families to the door of the system in the first ace? the point i heard over and over

2:34:58 to 2:35:18( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: again from these young adults was, my parents weren't bad people, they just need some extra help and guidance to keep our family together. keeping children safely with their biological parents is almost always in the child's best interest. in an effort to move us in that direction, i've introduced

2:35:19 to 2:35:41( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: bipartisan legislation with respective danny davis and tom platts to provide states with mandatory grant funding to support evidence-based voluntary home v the president took representative davis' idea and put it in his budget. we put it in h.r. 3200 which is the health car

2:35:42 to 2:36:02( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: about to be considered in this body. the home visitation program provides services to pregnant women and families with preschool-aged children that are designed to enhance a child's health, well-being and development. i'm pleased that the proposal was introduced and it made its way into the health care bill and we expect it will pass out

2:36:03 to 2:36:23( Edit History Discussion )

Jim McDermott: of here in a few days. i ask my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 831 and by recommitng ourselves to working on legislation that improves the lives of all children and families and improving our child welfare system.