BILL NUMBER: ACR 63INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bass (Principal coauthor: Senator Steinberg) APRIL 20, 2009 Relative to Foster Care Month. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 63, as introduced, Bass. Foster Care Month. This measure would declare the month of May 2009 as Foster Care Month. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, In California there are 75,000 children and youth in foster care who need and deserve safe permanent connections to loving adults, a stable home, and adequate preparation for a secure future; and WHEREAS, The needs of children and youth for belonging and unconditional emotional commitment are best met in families; and WHEREAS, Many California counties have successfully supported permanent family connections for foster youth, provided support for families at risk of entering the child welfare system, and changed practices to fully engage youth, family, and communities, thereby reducing the number of children in foster care; and WHEREAS, California recognizes the enduring and valuable contribution of relatives and foster and adoptive parents who open their hearts, families, and homes to vulnerable children and youth; and WHEREAS, California recognizes the numerous individuals and public and private organizations that work to ensure that the needs of children and youth living in and leaving foster care are met, that help provide foster and former foster children and youth with vital connections to their siblings, and that help launch young people into successful adulthood; and WHEREAS, The new federal law, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, offers opportunities to promote permanent families for children in foster care, improve outcomes for older youth in foster care, increase support for Native American foster children, improve the quality of staff working with youth in the child welfare system, expand our support of relative and adoptive caregivers, and assist older youth in securing meaningful supportive transitions from foster care; and WHEREAS, The new federal law affirms California's leadership and success in pioneering innovative child welfare approaches; and WHEREAS, California is committed to working in partnership with the federal government to improve the lives and futures of all children and youth touched by the child welfare system; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature declares the month of May 2009 as Foster Care Month; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.