“This legislation requires the Department of Health and Human Services and states to improve tracking for children in the foster care system who have run away or gone missing at some point, including screening youth for signs of human trafficking or other trauma.”

As prepared for delivery.

“Every year, thousands of families open their hearts and welcome into their homes children who have suffered abuse, neglect, and abandonment. 

“Right now, there are nearly 400,000 children in foster care. 

“Youth in the foster care system often have experienced serious trauma and are at high risk of going missing or running away from their foster care placements, which increases their likelihood of experiencing homelessness, human trafficking, and other exploitation.

“Over the past year, the Ways and Means Committee has been hard at work reforming aspects of our child welfare programs. The Find and Protect Missing Foster Youth Act, introduced by Senator John Cornyn and Representative Tony Gonzalez, will bring us one step closer to realizing that goal.

“This legislation requires the Department of Health and Human Services and states to improve tracking for children in the foster care system who have run away or gone missing at some point, including screening youth for signs of human trafficking or other trauma. 

“Under federal law, states are required to report missing foster children within 24 hours to law enforcement, yet some states still struggle to implement these protocols. This means that, in some cases, kids missing from foster care are not being tracked or reported as missing in a timely manner. 

“This legislation also requires HHS to evaluate state protocols for shortcomings and share that information with Congress so we can implement the changes to better track and protect youth in our foster care system.”