Generations United to Host Congressional Briefing on Policies Impacting Children in Foster Care, Relative Caregivers

There are more than 500,000 children in our nation's foster care system. A significant number of these children live with grandparents or other relative caregivers. For 20,000 of these children - for whom reunification or adoption are not an option - living with grandparents or relative caregivers means the difference between a safe, permanent home or languishing permanently in foster care.

Yet grandparent and relative caregivers face a myriad of obstacles in providing safe, permanent homes for the children in their care. Generations United will convene a Congressional briefing to address the difficulties facing grandparent caregivers and the children in their care. The briefing will focus on pending federal policies on subsidized guardianship, housing, and other supports and services that can help these families. A new report will also be released which contains the most recent state-by-state data on the number of children living with relative caregivers.

The event will be held on:

Tuesday, April 25, 2006
9:30a.m. - 10:30a.m.
U.S. Capitol, Room SC-4
Washington, D.C. 20510

Confirmed participants will include:

ROBERT BLANCATO
White House Conference on Aging Policy Member,
Executive Director of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging

DONNA BUTTS
Executive Director, Generations United

CAROL EMIG
Executive Director, Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care

DOROTHY JENKINS
New York City grandparent raising her grandchild

ANDREAH MOYER
Young woman from Des Moines, Iowa who left foster care to live with relatives

Invited participants include:

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH), Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL)

RSVP: Space is limited. Please contact Roxana Martinez at 202-289-3979 or [email protected]. FOR PRESS QUESTIONS Contact Gina Russo 202-421-3578 (phone) or [email protected]