U.S. Sens. Tim Scott and Raphael Warnock introduced legislation to connect young parents with foster care backgrounds to maternal health and parenting resources.
Based on a release from U.S. Sen. Tim Scott.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., introduced the Support for Expectant and Parenting Foster Youth Act, according to Scott’s office.
The bill aims to provide young parents who have experienced the foster care system with resources for healthy pregnancies, stable parenting and successful transitions into adulthood, according to Scott’s office. It would support evidence-based services, case management and resource coordination.
“Every child deserves the key to opportunity no matter his or her walk of life,” Scott said, according to his office. “I am proud to introduce the Support for Expectant and Parenting Foster Youth Act, which ensures young parents from the foster care system can create stable homes for themselves and their children.”
“Too many vulnerable youth in our foster care system are forced to contend with early parenthood while facing the complexities of the foster care system,” Warnock said, according to Scott’s office. “Together, we are putting foster youth front and center by expanding access to the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program through Chafee and providing the resources they and their children need to build brighter, more secure futures.”
The legislation would strengthen coordination between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood and the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, according to Scott’s office. The Chafee program supports children aging out of foster care with education, employment, housing and family-related needs, while the home visiting program supports voluntary, evidence-based services for pregnant women, new parents and families with young children.
The bill would require states to have processes in place to provide eligible foster youth who are expecting or parenting with information about services that can improve maternal health, child development, parenting skills and long-term family stability, according to Scott’s office.
The bill was included in the Fostering the Future Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives, according to Scott’s office. The Congressional Budget Office does not expect the bill to affect the federal budget, according to Scott’s office.
Source: U.S. Sen. Tim Scott original release.
