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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, President Ronald Reagan declared May as National | ||||||
| 3 | Foster Care Month to recognize the important contributions that | ||||||
| 4 | foster parents make to society and to the most vulnerable among | ||||||
| 5 | us by opening their homes to abused and abandoned children; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, The number of children in foster care in Illinois | ||||||
| 7 | has been increasing at an alarming pace; thousands of Illinois | ||||||
| 8 | children, through no fault of their own, have been separated | ||||||
| 9 | from their families and are living in foster care; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, The number of foster children in Illinois has | ||||||
| 11 | reached more than 18,000 and has increased by more than 1,000 | ||||||
| 12 | over the past four years; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, Children in foster care are of all ages and | ||||||
| 14 | backgrounds; many of them are accompanied by younger brothers | ||||||
| 15 | and sisters; they need the comfort, support, and security that | ||||||
| 16 | only a family can provide; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Many foster children will never be re-united with | ||||||
| 18 | their biological families; approximately half of foster | ||||||
| 19 | children will not be returned to their birth families; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Most of the children under care of the State live | ||||||
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| 1 | in temporary situations with either relatives or foster | ||||||
| 2 | families; some live in professionally-staffed group settings; | ||||||
| 3 | and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Children deserve the love and security of a home | ||||||
| 5 | and a 'forever' family; adoption offers stability and better | ||||||
| 6 | outcomes for children in foster care, allowing them to flourish | ||||||
| 7 | in a safe, welcoming, and stable environment; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Illinois lags the nation, ranking last among the | ||||||
| 9 | 50 states, in the permanent placement and adoption of children | ||||||
| 10 | in its foster care system; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Illinois is committed to ensuring that children | ||||||
| 12 | grow up in healthy, safe, and loving homes; therefore, be it
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| 13 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
| 14 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare May of 2019 | ||||||
| 15 | as Foster Care Month in Illinois and urge the Department of | ||||||
| 16 | Children and Family Services to facilitate and encourage the | ||||||
| 17 | adoption of children in foster care throughout the State; and | ||||||
| 18 | be it further
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| 19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 20 | presented to the Director of Children and Family Services.
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