NFYI Presents Congresswoman Bass with Champion of Youth & Children Award

   The NFYI Board awards Congresswoman Karen Bass the Champion of Youth & Children Award at NFYI’s annual fundraiser, An Afternoon of Learning and Celebration, hosted on December 4, 2021, by “Flipping Out” star Jenni Pulos.    LOS ANGELES (December 4, 2021) On Saturday afternoon, NFYI members, board members, staff, donors, and former foster youth gathered […]

Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth Profile Series: Representative Karen Bass

Someone Is Listening It’s no secret that when it comes to politics in America these days, no one is getting along. Turn on any news program at any time of day and you will be inundated with anger from the left, right and middle. If there is one thing everyone in Washington D.C.  can agree […]

Q&A with Rep. Karen Bass: Engaging Youth, Educating Congress

  Since coming to Washington, D.C. in 2010, Los Angeles Congresswoman Karen Bass has fast become one of the House’s lead champions on child welfare issues. Her first major piece of legislation, the Uninterrupted Scholars Act, was signed into law in 2013 and allows for caregivers to access education records of foster youth to help guide […]

Rep. Bass Statement on Passage of Child Welfare Package | Congresswoman Karen Bass

Shadow Day 2017: Rep. Karen Bass with Foster Youth Voices

  June 21, 2017 | Press Release WASHINGTON— Today, the 115th Congress passed their first child welfare package through the House of Representatives. The package, which includes five separate bills, aims at improving critical components of care within the child welfare system, particularly aimed at increasing the age of eligibility for education and vocational services for […]

Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth Co-Chairs Endorse Bipartisan Child Welfare Package | Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth

It’s time to modernize our child welfare system. 5 bills take that leap.

June 15th, 2017 – The Co-Chairs of the Bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth endorsed five bipartisan bills that were previously provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in the 114th Congress. This package includes five separate bills designed to improve critical components of care within […]

Foster kids spend the day shadowing California members of Congress – LA Times

On Wednesday, May 24th, 2017, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) spoke about Jimenez and the more than 100 other young people participating in the Congressional Foster Youth Shadow Program in a speech on the House floor.

Leonardo Jimenez, 21, of Los Angeles said after a lifetime in foster care, he never expected to have his congresswoman speak his name on the House floor, or to become a part of the historical record of the United States. “We have someone that is advocating for us that hasn’t been in our shoes, but is willing to […]