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United Methodist Family Services (UMS) supports HB 27, establishing a kinship foster care prevention program. This legislation will provide a much needed framework to promote increased kinship placements across the Commonwealth when a child cannot safely stay with their parent/guardians. It is imperative that we support relatives financially as well as establishing the legal framework for foster care prevention. This will provide access to relative support maintenance payments and the framework for local departments to make these placements more often, easily and in better support of families and also encourage legal permanency if returning to parent/guardians is not possible. Nationally, VA is out of step with kinship placements in foster care and this legislation will help move the Commonwealth in the right direction which will allow for better outcomes for our young people who have experienced abuse, neglect and trauma by allowing for stronger cultural connections, reducing placement disruptions and trauma.

With regard to HB27, I am in full support of this program. I am a local child welfare worker in the Richmond area. I work with kinship foster parents on a daily basis. For many families, the difference between foster care placement and custody transfer is simply the financial assistance afforded to them by becoming kinship foster parents. As you all are aware, there is a workforce crisis in child welfare. More kids entering foster care when many of these families and children can be served outside of foster care services save for the financial benefits contributes to higher caseloads. Children rarely leave foster care unscathed by any type of trauma. This program would reduce the foster care workers' workload, the unnecessary delays on permanency caused by Court timelines, and the undue trauma that youth in foster care face simply by being in the foster care system EVEN if they are placed with relatives. The impact statement for HB27 only captures the number of families currently served through In-Home services who would qualify for this plan. The Impact Statement fails to mention the hundreds to thousands of children and families who are in foster care with kinship foster parents who could otherwise be served through the Parental Child Safety Placement Program to avoid foster care altogether. That said, the impact of this program is much greater than the already stated data. Regarding HB 1313, Virginia's youth who aged out of foster care should be served for as long as the Commonwealth will allow. I am supportive of the age range for Fostering Futures be raised to 23. Many youth lose their footing between the ages of 18-20. By the time they are ready to return to Fostering Futures, they are closer to their 21st birthday and losing the support Fostering Futures offers them, and sometimes these youth are worse off than when they turned 18 in terms of readiness to support themselves. To have 2 additional years between 21 to 23 when they have experienced sometimes the lowest point in their lives and are truly ready to begin their adult life would make a profound difference in the outcomes for former foster youth. Please support this age amendment!

Since the pandemic, the foster care system has been in crisis after crisis. During the pandemic the children were sitting in isolation for 14 days at a time to confirm they were not carrying the corona virus. The isolation exasperated the mental health of those living and working in the foster care system. Virginia saw 65% of the foster homes close and end their license and we have not seen foster homes replace them. The Kinship Bills will open hundreds of homes for the youth suffering in foster care, and the best part is these are homes with individuals that know and love this child. Local DSS offices and placement facilities were short staffed and experiencing high rates of burnout. Youth were (and sometimes still are) living in temporary situations (such as DSS offices, Hotel rooms, shelters, etc.) until a foster home, group home or other permanent living situation can be found. Keep in mind that this was not just a Virginia problem, it was happening nationally. Since August many class action lawsuits have been brought against Child Protection Agencies for failing to provide quality services and meet requirements. California (Los Angelus County) is being sued for individuals in extended foster care being homeless. Organ, New York and Texas have similar actions around inadequate or unsafe housing arrangements. Virginia has an opportunity to reconcile the effects of the foster care crises by extending fostering futures to the age of 23. There are many concerns about the cost of extending foster care services. There is an opportunity to define the case management and qualifying expenses in the future. But these services are needed now, these young adults do not have good credit or someone to co-sign on a car loan, rental apartments or anything else. These youth have been living in crisis the last 4 years and preparing to do it without a safety net has been the last thing on the minds of social workers and youth themselves. The proof is in the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) results reflecting only 36% of youth received independent living skills support. Many of the localities are not meeting federal and state requirements for supporting individuals between the ages of 14 and 21 in teaching and preparing them for adulthood. When you are thinking about this big cost, I would like to remind you that 80% of individuals being trafficked are from foster care, one out of 5 individuals in jail/prisons are from foster care, 50% of individuals homeless are from foster care. The foster care system teaches individuals they do not need people to help them, they need systems and often spend a majority of their lives with economic assistance supporting them. The extension of fostering futures, more homes within families and support in getting vehicles can help increase the success rates of youth leaving foster care and decrease the cost to Virginia for the youth’s lifetimes. Please improve foster care by approving the kinship bills, extending support services till 23, and approving the budget to get them behind the wheel and off to a good start in their journey to becoming happy healthy adults!

Voices for Virginia's Children Strongly supports HB27 and HB 1313

Comments Document

The attached document contains comment on HB27 and HB1313 providing support and asking the House Appropriations Committee to pass and fund both of these bills, which will invest in the lives of Virginia's most vulnerable children and youth.

Kinship caregivers have the potential to significantly reduce the level of trauma experienced when a child is removed from their home. When someone takes a child into their home, their financial obligations increase. Current financial aid for kinship caregivers is very limited and all have extensive requirements. If passed, this will allow kinship caregivers to be eligible to receive the same payment as foster parents, removing a huge barrier.

Children's Home Society of Virginia supports establishing a Kinship as Foster Care Prevention program. Entering the foster care system is a traumatic event in any child's life. When there is an appropriate, safe, kinship placement option that would prevent a child from entering foster care, it would reduce the amount of trauma a child has to endure by ensuring permanent connections with that child's community are maintained and fostered. This can have lifelongB effects on a child. We thank Delegate Callsen for bringing this bill and hope you all will vote in support of it.