This page contains bills sponsored by incumbent Senators who are running for re-election in 2008, plus House incumbents running for Senate in 2008. Bill sponsorships indicate the topics that legislators are most interested in, and spend the most time on. These bills are selected as the "signature issue" that each legislator focused on.

08-S2771 on Mar 13, 2008

1. In 2005 there were over 3,000,000 reports of child abuse and neglect, and only 60% of the children from the substantiated reports received follow-up services and 20% were placed in foster care as a result of an investigation.
2. Almost 500,000 children and youth were in foster care at the end of 2004 and nearly 800,000 spent at least some time in foster care throughout the year.
3. There is an over-representation of certain populations, including Native Americans and African-Americans, in the child welfare system.
4. The State courts make key decisions in the lives of children involved in the child welfare system, including decisions of whether children have been victims of child abuse, whether parental rights should be terminated, and whether children should be reunified with their families, adopted, or placed in other settings.

• Topic: Families & Children
• Headline: Call for a White House Conference on Children and Youth
• Headline 2: Call for a White House Conference on Children and Youth
• Key for participation codes:
• Sponsorships: p=sponsored; o=co-sponsored; s=signed
• Memberships: c=chair; m=member; e=endorsed; f=profiled; s=scored
• Resolutions: i=introduced; w=wrote; a=adopted
• Cases: w=wrote; j=joined; d=dissented; c=concurred