Foster Care & Adoption
I think of every child in the community as my own child. Each deserves a safe and loving home. Parents don’t always make the right decisions or have the necessary resources to give their children a proper home. In those cases, it’s critical that we first assist those adults to become the parents their children need. And if parents still can’t make it work, we have an obligation to find a new safe and loving home for those children.
That’s why I became a foster parent and why I adopted my son out of foster care. It’s also why I support policies that make it easier for responsible adults to become foster parents and stay foster parents. That includes ensuring Medicaid coverage for every foster child, including access to high-quality, trauma-informed mental health care. It also includes extending benefits past the point of adoption so that no child is left without a permanent family simply because of their healthcare needs.
Paid Parental Leave
Giving mothers and babies time to be together in the early weeks of a child’s life is critical. Too often, however, mothers are forced to return to work far too quickly, and infants are forced into unsuitable child care arrangements.
Republicans and Democrats agree that parental leave is needed, so now it’s time to get over our partisanship and get it done for working families across the nation. Whether financed through payroll taxes, tax credits for employers, or some other combination, this is a policy that is desperately needed and long overdue.