TIBERI COSPONSORED FOSTER CARE BILL PASSES HOUSE, AWAITS SENATE ACTION
Bill Would Help Foster Children Keep Connections To Family, Schools, and Healthcare
U.S. Congressman Pat Tiberi (R-OH) urges his colleagues in the U.S. Senate to consider H.R. 6307, the Fostering Connections to Success Act that passed the House by a voice vote Tuesday. Congressman Tiberi is a cosponsor of H.R.6307, which would strengthen foster care by creating a more stable environment for foster children.
"This bill goes a long way in improving our foster care system," said Congressman Tiberi. "Every child has the right to grow up in a safe and caring surrounding. Central Ohio children would benefit because this measure would help slow down the revolving door of guardians, schools, and healthcare providers many foster children often face."
Provisions included in this bill would:
Encourage families to stay together by continuing federal assistance to relatives who assume guardianship of eligible children, authorizing grants to increase involvement of relatives as caregivers, and requiring reasonable efforts to be made to place siblings together.
Promote educational stability by requiring plans for ensuring educational stability of foster children and mandating assurance of school attendance.
Improve healthcare oversight by requiring oversight plans for the health care needs of foster children including assessments and treatments.
Encourage adoption by improving the Adoption Incentives Program for children adopted out of foster care, improving the promotion of possible tax credits available to adoptive parents.
Extend assistance for foster children by extending federal foster care payments to the age of 19, 20, or 21 (at state option) for children living in supervised setting who in school, work, or related activity.
While this bill will now go to the Senate for consideration, action is already pending in the Senate on a number of bills that mirror portions of the Fostering Connections to Success Act.