HLS 15RS-4501 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 171
BY REPRESENTATIVE WESLEY BISHOP
CHILDREN/FOSTER CARE: Requests the Dept. of Children and Family Services to study
and report on the problem of homelessness among persons who have aged out of
foster care
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the Department of Children and Family Services to study and make
3 recommendations concerning the problem of homelessness among persons who have
4 aged out of foster care.
5 WHEREAS, House Concurrent Resolution No. 168 of this 2015 Regular Session of
6the Legislature of Louisiana creates the Task Force on Youth Aging Out of Foster Care; and
7 WHEREAS, as evidence by the passage of House Concurrent Resolution No. 168,
8the legislature has a deep concern for the well-being of our state's young adults who have
9been in foster care; and
10 WHEREAS, Louisiana has faced challenges in assisting this population since 2013
11when funding for the Young Adult Program, which formerly provided financial assistance
12for housing and education to young adults age eighteen to twenty-one who had aged out of
13foster care, was eliminated through mid-year budget cuts; and
14 WHEREAS, national studies have shown that more than one in five former foster
15youth will become homeless after the age of eighteen; and
16 WHEREAS, homeless persons with a foster care history are more likely than other
17homeless persons to have their own children in foster care; and
18 WHEREAS, research conducted by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, a
19leading policy institute focused on the well-being of children and youth, indicates that
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HR NO. 171
1among the greatest of several challenges faced by youth who age out of foster care is
2achieving housing stability.
3 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
4Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Department of Children and
5Family Services to study and make recommendations concerning the problem of
6homelessness among persons who have aged out of foster care.
7 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department, at the discretion of the secretary,
8may conduct this study in connection with the work of the Task Force on Youth Aging Out
9of Foster Care.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in developing the study, the department shall
11engage, collaborate with, and obtain information and perspective from stakeholder groups
12with appropriate expertise selected by the secretary.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department shall submit a written report of
14its findings and recommendations to the House Committee on Health and Welfare on or
15before February 1, 2016.
16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department, at the discretion of the secretary,
17may include the report within any materials submitted to the legislature by the Task Force
18on Youth Aging Out of Foster Care.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
20secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 171 Original 2015 Regular Session Wesley Bishop
Requests the Dept. of Children and Family Services to study the problem of homelessness
among persons who have aged out of foster care, and to report findings and
recommendations to the House Committee on Health and Welfare on or before Feb. 1, 2016.
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