Moore, Carey Lead Bipartisan Effort to Strengthen Foster Youth Program

Moore, Carey Lead Bipartisan Effort to Strengthen Foster Youth Program

Representatives Gwen Moore (D-WI) and Mike Carey (R-OH), both members of the Ways and Means Work and Welfare Committee, introduced the Chafee Opportunities for New Networks and Existing Connection Trust (CONNECT) Act. The Chafee program provides supportive services to foster youth aging out of the system, including housing, education, and employment assistance. This bipartisan legislation calls for the Chafee program to focus on helping foster youth develop healthy, supportive relationships with adults and highlights the role that supportive relationships can play in helping individuals succeed.

"Healthy, long-term relationships are critical to helping young people through life, especially foster youth aging out of the system. When I attended Marquette University, I relied on a village to help me graduate and raise my baby girl. Foster youth face many challenges and healthy relationships with trusted adults are imperative to a successful transition to adulthood, which is a difficult process for anyone, but especially so for foster youth. Our bipartisan legislation recognizes that it often takes a village and supportive relationships should play a central role in helping foster youth reach their full potential," said Rep. Moore.

"The bipartisan CONNECT Act would empower older foster youth with greater options and increased participation to develop and achieve their personal goals for family reunification, permanent placement, adult independence, or more as they transition into adulthood," Rep. Carey said. "Additionally, the bill expands options for adult mentorship and peer support services for foster youth and requires the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on these changes to state agencies. I'm proud to support these updates to the Chafee program that will allow foster youths to take a greater role in charting and achieving their individual permanency targets."

"Youth in foster care consistently share how isolating the experience can be, and how peer support and strong family connections can create lifelong bonds. We're grateful that Representative Moore and Representative Carey listened to young people and reflected their recommendations in the CONNECT Act, creating meaningful pathways to lasting relationships and engaging youth as true partners in the permanency process," said Celeste Bodner, Executive Director of FosterClub.

"As someone who experienced the system firsthand, I know that isolation is one of the greatest risks foster youth face. This bill positions young people as partners in their own permanency. It says that connection to family, to kin, to peers, to caring adults is not an afterthought. It's a priority," said Sixto Cancel, CEO, Think of Us.