Congressman Steven Horsford Advocates for Emergency Relief to Foster Youth

Washington, D.C. -- Today, Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) announced his support for H.R. 7947, the Supporting Foster Youth and Families through the Pandemic Act, bipartisan legislation that provides temporary, targeted support to protect vulnerable foster youth and families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our government has a legal and moral obligation to the youth in our child welfare system. This pandemic has put additional burdens on foster youth who are already struggling without reliable or stable adults and other supports. We cannot abandon them," said Congressman Steven Horsford. "I am proud to cosponsor legislation that meets the urgent needs of our youth in foster care and prevents mandatory ‘aging out' of care during a national crisis. I will continue to ensure our vulnerable communities receive adequate support as we grapple with the challenges of this pandemic."

"Ensuring the 30,000 children in kinship care in Nevada are not overlooked during this pandemic is vital to their long-term wellbeing. Kinship Navigator programs provide critical services to grandparents and other relatives so that vulnerable children can be raised in their families," said Foster Kinship Executive Director Alison Caliendo. "We are grateful to the Congressman for ensuring kinship families have the support they deserve to raise healthy children."

"Prior to my work with Silver State Equality, I enjoyed a long tenure with the Clark County Department of Family Services where I saw first-hand the importance of improving systems and enacting policies that bolster and support children and families of all sizes, colors, and make-up," said Silver State Equality State Director André C. Wade. "For foster youth, especially LGBTQ+ youth in care, the everyday challenges of navigating life are real, and they are greatly compounded by the stresses created by the current pandemic. It is incumbent upon the greater community to do all we can to support these vulnerable populations through this crisis. And it's why Silver State Equality resoundingly endorses this Act that provides additional resources and flexibility to support families of all kinds through this difficult time."

The Supporting Foster Youth and Families through the Pandemic Act will provide additional temporary supports and flexibilities for older foster youth, grandparents and other kinship families, home visiting for pregnant and parenting families, and other child welfare services to the end of Fiscal Year 2021. Specifically, the bill:

• Provides supports for older youth who experienced foster care;
• Prevents youth from aging out of foster care, which would put them at risk of homelessness during the pandemic;
• Expands access to services that prevent child abuse and neglect;
• Increases supports for the Court Improvement Program;
• Provides emergency flexibilities for home visiting programs to continue safely serving at-risk pregnant and parenting families;
• Expands access to programs to support grandparents raising grandchildren, and other kinship families.

A fact sheet on the legislation is available here and a section-by-section summary of the bill can be found here.

Full text of the legislation is available here.