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Stop $600 Million in Foster Care Cuts - Action Needed Immediately

Target: U.S. House of Representatives
Sponsored by: American Humane Association

On Wednesday, February 1st, Congress will vote on the budget reconciliation bill, which may cut $600 million in foster care and other pro-family programs. These cuts include funding for programs that children and families depend on, including Medicaid, child support enforcement, and student assistance.

These children are defenseless against political whims, and this is our last opportunity to protect America's children.

Title IV-E Foster Care is a vital safety net for America's children. This financing is used for programs that ensure children receive the care they need, and to assist children who have been abused or neglected. Furthermore, programs designed to intervene before at risk children are forced to enter the foster care system will be severely impacted.

The true cost of these cuts will be in the lives of children - those who are already the most vulnerable. Those children will suffer from the lack of safe, nurturing foster care simply because relatives and others who love them can no longer afford to care for them. Those children may be separated from loved ones, important programs will be damaged, and children with special needs wonĀ’t receive appropriate treatment.

This vote will be extremely close and this is the last opportunity to tell your Representative in Congress not to desert America's children.

deadline: 1-27-2007
goal: 30,000

16,746
signatures!

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The House of Representatives has passed the budget reconciliation bill by a vote of 216 to 214. Thank you to everyone that submitted a letter to their Congressional Represenative and helped make this vote so close. Please click here for more petitions.

Dear Rep. [Your Congressional Representative],

As your constituent and as a concerned citizen, I urge you to oppose the budget reconciliation bill as long as it includes cuts to federal foster care funding. The massive cuts in the Senate-approved version of the bill are cruel and threaten the ability of our nation’s foster care system to continue to provide children with the care they need.

The bill must represent our country’s concerns and priorities regarding child safety and well-being. The current reconciliation bill contains more than $600 million in cuts to federal foster care programs. The bill would slash funding for programs that support children being cared for by grandparents and other relatives, impose inflexible eligibility requirements for federal aid that would deny aid to many children in need, and damage programs that are designed to support children in hospitals and juvenile facilities. Such provisions are short-sighted and will have disastrous consequences for children, families, and our future.

Please support our state’s and our nation’s children and families by opposing the budget reconciliation bill until the cuts to foster care funding are removed. I look forward to your leadership and action on this important issue.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]

We signed the “Stop $600 Million in Foster Care Cuts - Action Needed Immediately” petition!

# 16,700:

3:40 pm PST, Feb 1, Ronald Brown, Colorado
Children and families should always come before tax cuts for the wealthy or for spreading the military empire.

# 16,699:

3:40 pm PST, Feb 1, Nikki Hahn, Washington

# 16,698:

3:39 pm PST, Feb 1, Challice Shaw, California

# 16,697:

3:39 pm PST, Feb 1, Marci Yoakum, Texas

# 16,696:

3:38 pm PST, Feb 1, Kristen Rubis, Washington
Hello, please take a moment and try to understand if we don't continue to help the children then we don't continue to help our future, as people or as a planet.

# 16,695:

3:38 pm PST, Feb 1, Jaime Lankford, South Carolina

# 16,694:

3:38 pm PST, Feb 1, Robert Simonsen, Wisconsin

# 16,693:

3:38 pm PST, Feb 1, Monica Caldwell, Nevada
This is definately not the place to make cuts. There has been enough child abuse & murder from foster parents. This needs more monitoring not cuts!!!

# 16,692:

3:37 pm PST, Feb 1, Michael Willemsen, Minnesota
Children need a strong and positive foundation. They are our future!

# 16,691:

3:37 pm PST, Feb 1, Meghan Greer, Rhode Island

# 16,690:

3:36 pm PST, Feb 1, Minx Bachand, California

# 16,689:

3:36 pm PST, Feb 1, Name not displayed, New Jersey

# 16,688:

3:36 pm PST, Feb 1, Carole Keene, Texas

# 16,687:

3:35 pm PST, Feb 1, David Radcliff, Illinois
Better to be cutting spending for the war in Iraq--a war tearing families apart--than to cut spending on foster care.

# 16,686:

3:35 pm PST, Feb 1, John Ping, Illinois

# 16,685:

3:34 pm PST, Feb 1, Dorena Goding, California

# 16,684:

3:33 pm PST, Feb 1, David Getter, New Jersey

# 16,683:

3:33 pm PST, Feb 1, Eli Hernandez, Nevada
This is Sad and Absurd. The Congress just passed tax cuts that will literally put additional thousands of dollars annually (about 12 to 16 K) in the pockets of the top 5% income earners of the United States who already have tremendous tax breaks. The top 5% income earners make over 100,000.00 annually. Most of these people are millionaires and many are multi generational millionaires that really don't need or want these tax cuts. Weeks later the Congress is taking away the very funds many children and agencies that support children depend on to simply get by. There is a word for this. I just don't think any words express this obscenity well enough. Many of these Right Wing Congress People consider themselves Christians. They should remember what the Bible says about how God feels and what God thinks regarding the orphaned. (Ref: Psalm 146:9, and Proverbs 23:9-11)

# 16,682:

3:33 pm PST, Feb 1, Kimberly Spray , New Mexico

# 16,681:

3:32 pm PST, Feb 1, Valerie Revander, Montana
These programs help build good citizens for our country's future. Please keep funding them.

# 16,680:

3:31 pm PST, Feb 1, Angela Moreno, Illinois

# 16,679:

3:31 pm PST, Feb 1, Lorraine Pettit, Michigan

# 16,678:

3:31 pm PST, Feb 1, JERRY SMITH, South Carolina

# 16,677:

3:31 pm PST, Feb 1, Arthur Maglin, New York

# 16,676:

3:31 pm PST, Feb 1, Amy Moore, Virginia

# 16,675:

3:30 pm PST, Feb 1, Cindy Leitzow, California

# 16,674:

3:30 pm PST, Feb 1, Dave Pettit, Michigan

# 16,673:

3:30 pm PST, Feb 1, Mary Williams, Utah

# 16,672:

3:28 pm PST, Feb 1, Challen Bomont, Oregon

# 16,671:

3:28 pm PST, Feb 1, Lisa Saxton, Missouri

# 16,670:

3:28 pm PST, Feb 1, Doris Sundeen, California
Many of the children I have worked with in Special Ed. have come from foster homes and juvenile facilities and would be negatively affected by these cuts.

# 16,669:

3:28 pm PST, Feb 1, Name not displayed, Missouri

# 16,668:

3:26 pm PST, Feb 1, Daniel Fuller, Minnesota

# 16,667:

3:25 pm PST, Feb 1, Mary Rhudy, Tennessee
I work as a social services case manager in Tennessee. I can tell you from personal experience that we need more funding for foster care services, not less. Cutting this funding would be nothing short of criminal.

# 16,666:

3:25 pm PST, Feb 1, Lisa Elliott, Indiana

# 16,665:

3:23 pm PST, Feb 1, Skylla S, Maryland

# 16,664:

3:23 pm PST, Feb 1, Karen Schweighofer, New Jersey
Please reconsider!!!! Children are our future, don't all children deserve a future????!!!

# 16,663:

3:22 pm PST, Feb 1, Laura Roe, Oregon

# 16,662:

3:22 pm PST, Feb 1, Rob Hartshorne, New York

# 16,661:

3:21 pm PST, Feb 1, Dessa Whitlow, Georgia

# 16,660:

3:21 pm PST, Feb 1, L France, California

# 16,659:

3:20 pm PST, Feb 1, Thomas Brown, Wisconsin
I continue to be dismayed at the direction our country is taking. We have misplaced our priorities. Please do not let the least able to protect and provide for themselves be abandoned so the rich can enjoy more tax breaks.

# 16,658:

3:20 pm PST, Feb 1, Holly Cuciz, California

# 16,657:

3:20 pm PST, Feb 1, Don Sankovitch, Florida

# 16,656:

3:19 pm PST, Feb 1, Roy Rich, Michigan

# 16,655:

3:19 pm PST, Feb 1, VS Miller, Oregon

# 16,654:

3:18 pm PST, Feb 1, Debra Jobson, California

# 16,653:

3:18 pm PST, Feb 1, Samuel Beebe, California
Please stop this we donot need anymore children that grow up to be homeless

# 16,652:

3:17 pm PST, Feb 1, Alexandra Baker, Indiana
As a legal child, I cannot condone the cutting of $600 million dollars to children less fortunate than I. I cannot really do anything about it now, except sign this petition. When I am ready to have a child, I'm adopting.

# 16,651:

3:17 pm PST, Feb 1, Shirley Buttrey, Georgia
Please don't do this to the children!!!! Can't you see they need help!?!

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