FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-1025
May 6, 1999
No. HR-6
Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on ways to assist States in strengthening and expanding programs for youth emancipating from foster care to help them establish independent living. The hearing will take place on Thursday, May 13, 1999, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include scholars, program administrators, foundation executives, and adolescents now participating in programs designed to help foster children achieve independence through employment or post-secondary education. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The Federal Government now provides States with about $70 million per year to conduct programs for adolescents leaving foster care that are designed to help them establish independent living. Research and numerous reports from States conducting these programs indicate that adolescents leaving foster care do not fare well. As compared with other adolescents and young adults their age, they are more likely to quit school, to be unemployed, to be on welfare, to have mental health problems, to be parents outside marriage, to be arrested, to be homeless, and to be the victims of violence and other crimes.
After conducting hearings, talking with program administrators and adolescents who are in foster care and who have left foster care, and reviewing research and program information, the Subcommittee is preparing to consider reform legislation. The central feature of the legislation now being developed would provide States with both a new framework and new resources to improve and expand their programs for adolescents likely to stay in foster care until age 18 and for young adults who have left foster care and are attempting to further their education or to work.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "The legislation we are developing gives States an opportunity to revise and expand their programs for this group of very needy and often victimized adolescents. Both research and our hearings have shown that most of these young people have tremendous potential and inner strength. With timely and concrete assistance, they can establish themselves as successful employees, spouses, parents, and citizens. This is a job that we as a nation can and must do."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing is being conducted to stimulate public comment on the Independent Living legislation that Chairman Johnson and Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD) are expected to introduce before the hearing. Members of the Subcommittee are especially interested in comments on whether States should be required to have programs for youths leaving foster care that provide services to both adolescents still in school and young adults who have left school up to age 21; whether the major goals of State programs should be to prepare adolescents for work or for post-secondary education or both; whether States should be required to help these young adults pay for health care; whether penalties should be imposed on States for violating Federal rules; and the types of program evaluation that should be used to determine the impacts of State programs.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, May 27, 1999, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Human Resources office, room B-317 Rayburn House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.