WASHINGTON -- United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today joined Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, to announce the formation of a Senate Caucus on Foster Youth. The launch of the new caucus marked the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the John H. Chafee Foster Care and came as foster care alumni, stakeholders, and advocates discussed the important the work accomplished by the program. During the announcement, Senators Landrieu and Grassley discussed the challenges faced by older youth in care and those who age out, and the policy implications for the federal government.

"As the chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, the bipartisan, bicameral caucus with 220 Members of Congress, we work each and every day to forge comprehensive legislative policies to advance adoption and permanency," Landrieu said. "The creation of the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth is another great step in the right direction, as we increase our efforts to improve the outcomes for older youth in care and those who age out of the system."

"We want to focus attention on the needs of older kids who remain in foster care and the young adults who have just 'aged out' of foster care and don't have the support and stability of a permanent family," Grassley said. "The issues challenging these young people -- school attendance and performance, substance abuse, financial literacy, teen pregnancy, homelessness, and juvenile delinquency -- have come to my attention through my efforts on foster care and adoption over the last 12 years."

The statistics associated with young people who leave the foster care system without a safe, permanent family are significant. One study found that 25 percent of foster care alumni who "aged out," which occurs between ages 18 and 21, depending on the state, don't have a high school diploma or GED. Over half of them experience some homelessness. And, nearly 30 percent of them are incarcerated. They're also less likely to be employed.

Landrieu and Grassley said the new Senate Caucus on Foster Youth will focus on this group. It's a way for current and former foster youth to have their voices heard. It's a way to make senators more aware of these issues and to generate ideas for preventing negative outcomes and creating opportunities for success, they said. Since 1998, more than 200,000 young people nationwide have aged out of foster care. Today, 463,000 children in America are in the foster care system.

The senators said the caucus will provide briefings for senators by think-tank experts, foster-care coalitions and other groups close to these kids and familiar with the issues they face. The Senate caucus will also be a clearinghouse for up-to-date research and policy initiatives in this area of child welfare.

Last year, Congress passed and the President signed legislation Sen. Grassley initiated and Sen. Landrieu co-sponsored to make major updates to foster care laws and dramatically increase adoption into permanent, loving homes. The law -- Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Act -- also broke new ground by establishing opportunities for states to extend care and help aged out kids with education and vocational training. Today, Landrieu and Grassley said that monitoring implementation of this new law is another goal of the new Senate caucus.

Several foster care alumni, who completed the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute's Foster Youth Internship (FYI) program and now are actively involved in helping other young adults who've aged out, participated in today's announcement in Washington, D.C. "Foster care was designed to be a temporary placement that heals and strengthens these young people," said Senator Landrieu. "To look around this room and see so many youth who aged out of care, using their personal stories to educate legislators and impact policy is evidence that they are the best advocates for this population. Just imagine what we could do if we expanded the FYI program."

The following organizations have expressed support for the new Senate caucus: the American Public Human Services Association, Voices for America's Children, the Child Welfare League of America, the National Foster Care Coalition, the Children's Defense Fund, the Foster Care Alumni of America, First Focus, Court Appointed Special Advocates, the John Burton Foundation, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness.