Volume 17

Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care testifies before House Subcommittee on Human Resources

On the afternoon of Tuesday, July 13, Bill Frenzel, Chairman of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, testified before the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the House Committee on Ways and Means. The subcommittee has held a series of hearings examining high-profile child welfare cases in Maryland and New Jersey; the hearing was an examination of child welfare proposals.

Testimony Excerpt

Chairman Herger, Mr. Cardin and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I am testifying on behalf of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care. In particular, I am joined in my testimony by the Commission’s Vice Chair, former Congressman Bill Gray, whose schedule did not permit him to attend today.

On behalf of the Commission, we thank the Members of the Subcommittee for their continued commitment to improving outcomes for children in foster care. We also thank the staff, both majority and minority, for their dedicated work on this issue.

The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care shares this Committee’s desire to protect children from abuse and neglect, and ensure that they all have safe, permanent families. Efforts to help children who have suffered abuse and neglect have traditionally benefited from strong bipartisan support, and today’s hearing embodies the ongoing efforts of leaders from both parties and all branches and levels of government to ensure that the nation does a better job of caring for children in foster care.

Supported by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Commission examined two key aspects of the foster care system: Federal child welfare financing and court oversight of child welfare cases. Our charge was to develop far-reaching, yet achievable recommendations to improve outcomes for children in the foster care system. On May 18 of this year, the Commission released its final report and recommendations. Our full report, “Fostering the Future: Safety, Permanence and Well-Being for Children in Foster Care” and all supporting materials can be found on the Commission’s web site at www.pewfostercare.org.

Throughout an intensive year of work, we were guided by the principle that every child needs a safe, permanent family. This was the starting point for the Pew Commission and a steady compass throughout our deliberations. We revisited this principle at every meeting to ensure that our final recommendations were totally focused on producing better outcomes for children.

Federal financing and court oversight are at the root of many of the problems that frustrate child welfare administrators, case workers and judges as they seek to move children quickly from foster care to safe, permanent homes – or to avoid the need to put them in foster care in the first place. Indeed, reform in these two areas could pave the way for significant improvements in how the nation cares for children who have been abused or neglected.

As a Commission, we sought to craft practical recommendations that could win the support of Congress, the Administration, State officials, State court leadership, and the children and families involved with the child welfare system. We are encouraged by the positive responses we have received thus far from these key audiences, and we are honored to have the opportunity to share our recommendations with this Subcommittee today.

View complete testimony

View complete Pew Commission report

View all additional testimony on the Subcommittee website

For additional information about the Pew Commission, visit www.pewfostercare.org. To interview Chairman Frenzel or members of the Commission, please contact Gina Russo at 202-687-0697 or mediaiq@comcast.net