Overview

• Requires the President to call a White House Conference on Children and Youth in 2010, convening within 18 months after a 17-member Policy Committee is formed.
• Focuses on child welfare system improvements: reducing abuse and neglect, increasing permanent placements (adoption, family reunification, kinship care), and addressing overrepresentation of Native American, African-American, and Hispanic children in foster care.
• Introduced in the House on January 21, 2009, and referred to the Committee on Education and Labor.

Who does this affect?

• Main groups: Children in foster care (500,000+ annually), families involved with child welfare systems, state and local child welfare agencies, family courts, tribal governments, and child abuse prevention organizations.
• Who benefits: Children awaiting adoption (125,000+), youth aging out of foster care (25,000 annually), and families seeking reunification. State systems gain federal guidance and financial support for state-level conferences.
• Teen impact score: 7/10 (indirect impact via family and community child welfare systems)
• Teen-specific impact: Teens in foster care or at risk of abuse directly benefit from improved placement permanency and prevention efforts. Teens aging out of foster care (approximately 25,000 annually) could see better transition support.

What This Bill Does

• Authorizes $10 million to fund the conference and related activities.
• Establishes a 17-member Policy Committee: 9 presidential appointees (including 3 federal employees and 6 child welfare experts), 4 House appointees (2 majority, 2 minority), and 4 Senate appointees (2 majority, 2 minority).
• Policy Committee must submit a proposed conference agenda within 90 days of its first meeting and select delegates representing child welfare directors, family court judges, elected officials, advocates, health professionals, and families/children affected by the system.
• Secretary of Health and Human Services must provide financial assistance to states at least 18 months before the conference to organize state-level preparatory conferences.
• Conference agenda must be published in the Federal Register at least 180 days before the event, with a 60-day public comment period.
• Secretary must prepare a proposed conference report within 60 days after the conference adjourns, solicit state feedback for 180 days, then issue a final report within 90 days recommending federal, state, and local policy changes.
• Final report must include recommendations for reducing child abuse incidence, improving child health outcomes, and addressing racial/ethnic overrepresentation in foster care.

Legislative Status

• Introduced in the House on January 21, 2009.
• Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor; no further action recorded.

In short

• President must convene a 2010 White House Conference bringing together child welfare experts, families, and officials to address foster care system failures.
• Conference aims to reduce the 900,000 annual child abuse reports, increase adoptions beyond the current 51,000 per year, and prevent 25,000 youth from aging out of foster care without permanent homes.
• A 17-member bipartisan Policy Committee plans the event, with $10 million authorized for conference costs and state-level preparatory meetings.
• Final report to Congress and the President will recommend federal and state policy changes to improve child welfare outcomes.

Why should I care?

Every year, nearly 900,000 children experience confirmed abuse or neglect, and 25,000 teens leave foster care without permanent families simply because they turned 18. This conference tackles systemic failures that leave vulnerable kids without stable homes or protection. For teens in or near the foster care system, the recommendations could mean better mental health services, more adoption opportunities, and stronger support when transitioning to adulthood. Even if foster care doesn't touch a teen's life directly, the $104 billion annual cost of child abuse affects taxpayer-funded programs like schools and healthcare. Fixing the child welfare system means safer communities and better futures for all young people.