Vermont H.C.R. 104: House concurrent resolution designating May 2017 as HOBY Youth Service Month in Vermont

Bill Text

R-128 Page 1 of 1
2025

VT LEG #383159 v.1
No. R-128. House concurrent resolution recognizing May 2025 as National Foster
Care Month in Vermont.
(H.C.R.104)
Offered by Committee on Human Services
House concurrent resolution recognizing May 2025 as National Foster Care Month in
Vermont
Whereas, according to the U.S. Child Welfare Information Gateway, there are over
365,000 children and youth in foster care, and “77 percent of eligible youth in foster care,
ages 14–21 years old, left care without receiving the federally funded services necessary
to prepare them for adulthood and independent living,” and
Whereas, the Department for Children and Families reports that as of April 1, 2025,
868 Vermont children were in foster care, there were 820 licensed foster caregivers and
174 caregiver licenses were pending, and approximately 35 percent of foster caregivers
were family members or close friends who voluntarily secured foster care licensure, and
Whereas, on May 10, 1988, at the initiative of the U.S. Children’s Bureau, President
Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5820 establishing Foster Care Month, which
continues to be observed annually to direct the public’s attention to the nation’s system of
foster care, and
Whereas, Proclamation 5820 acknowledged that “the family has the prime
responsibility for nurturing children...[but] some parents are unable to provide a
minimally acceptable level of care for their children, and temporary or permanent
alternative placement is necessary...[and that] foster care must... [focus] on the well-
being of the child,” and
Whereas, the 2025 theme for National Foster Care Month is “Engaging Youth.
Building Supports. Strengthening Opportunities.” — a theme that “highlights the need to
create a child welfare system that authentically engages and supports young people who
are preparing to leave foster care,” a current topic of great concern in the foster care
community, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly recognizes May 2025 as National Foster Care Month in
Vermont, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
the System of Care Unit Director at the Department for Children and Families’ Family
Services Division.