Foster care is broken, and we're so close to fixing it...
Our nation's foster care system is badly broken, and it's failing America's most vulnerable children.
Foster kids are suffering through terrible living conditions for no good reason. Our current system rewards all the wrong things, like when states put kids in group homes instead of helping loving family members retain custody. It encourages the warehousing of kids in packed group homes, compounding the suffering of children who have been taken from their family home.
We know how to fix the system. For years, I've fought for a major reform that seeks to keep children in loving, stable family homes instead of group houses. It has tremendous bipartisan support, and the endorsement of more than 500 child welfare groups from the Children's Defense Fund to the American Academy of Pediatrics. It passed the U.S. House earlier this year with broad support.
Foster care reform was on track to pass the U.S. Senate and be signed into law by the President -- until a handful of Senators acting on behalf of for-profit group home chains blocked it. With just days to go until Congress adjourns for the year, our hard-fought reform is on the verge of being swept under the rug.
We should always put the well-being of children and families ahead of profits. This is unacceptable and I'm going to keep up this fight with everything I've got.
Ron
