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WASHINGTON – House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) today joined the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources for their hearing to examine child welfare reform proposals, including a bill sponsored by DeLay that expedites the procedures states use to place a foster child in another state for the purpose of finding a permanent, loving family.

At the hearing, DeLay reiterated the need for the House to act on his legislation so more children in need of families can find safe and loving homes without the artificial barrier of a state border. DeLay’s bill pushes forward much-needed efforts to reform the outdated Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children by setting enforceable time limits for the placement of children across state lines and by removing other potential barriers to timely, permanent placements for children.

“More than 126,000 abused and neglected children in the U.S. are waiting for permanent homes, and 20,000 of these children will not find the appropriate family without going out of state. Yet, on average these children end up waiting a year longer than other children to find permanent homes, just because they had to go out of state,” DeLay said.

“The median time spent in the foster care system by a child needing out-of-state placement is 43 months, two full years longer than the federal law limit of 15 months. These kids are languishing in the limbo of foster care, and it is time for the grown-ups of this nation to act,” DeLay said.

“Child welfare has taken a back seat to bureaucratic turf wars for too long. This legislation will streamline bureaucracies and put the interests of children first, where they belong.”

In addition to his testimony, DeLay submitted into the record letters of support from a wide array of child welfare organizations, including the National Foster Parent Association and the National Association of Psychiatric Systems. The letters are attached to this release.

DeLay and his wife Christine have been involved in children's issues since September of 1994, when Christine DeLay became a trained Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Since then, the DeLays have been foster parents and have dedicated themselves to improving the plight of abused children. The DeLays are currently developing a community called The Oaks at Rio Bend, which provides a permanent, safe home for abused and neglected children.