House Passes Foster Youth Safety Bill Co-Led by Congresswoman Brown

Washington D.C.— Today, the House passed the Find and Protect Foster Youth Act (S. 1146), legislation to improve coordination and communication between the federal government and states related to missing foster youth.

Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11)co-led the House version of the Find and Protect Foster Youth Act, filed by Congressman Tony Gonzalez (TX-23), which creates an improved feedback mechanism between states and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to provide better oversight and information-sharing related to missing and runaway foster youth. The Find and Protect Forster Youth Act also requires the federal government to support state screening efforts to identify foster youth who are victims of trafficking or are at risk of trafficking. According to one estimate, 55 foster youth go missing each day, over 20,000 per year.

Congresswoman Brown spoke on the House floor in support of the bill during debate on Tuesday. (VIDEO HERE) The legislation now heads to President Biden’s desk for signature.

“We have to do more to keep foster youth safe and locate those that have gone missing,” said Congresswoman Brown. “The Find and Protect Foster Youth Act will help the federal government better coordinate with states, identify existing problems, and improve safety screening. The system has failed too many foster youth and this bill is the first step in improving services by identifying the problem and recommending proper action.”

The Find and Protect Act is endorsed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Divinity Family Services, and Child Welfare League of America.

Congresswoman Brown is a member of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth.

The Find and Protect Foster Youth Act requires:

• the Administration for Children and Families to conduct an evaluation of the protocols established by states relating to children missing from foster care, analyze their effectiveness, determination of obstacles to identifying and locating missing individuals, and identification of best practices
• a report to Congress from the Department of Health and Human Services on the results of the evaluation, as well as a report from the Comptroller General on the causes of missing foster youth and best practices for prevention
• the federal government to provide information, advice, educational materials, and technical assistance to states and tribal governments to improve screening of returning foster youth for risk of sex trafficking.

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