In early April, Angelique Day, School of Social Work’s associate professor, presented an overview of her research at a dinner sponsored by U.S. Representative Karen Bass and the National Foster Youth Institute in Washington, D.C.
The event called attention to a bill that Rep. Bass introduced to remove barriers and encourage kinship guardianship, foster or adoptive placements for children who cannot be safely cared for in their own homes. The new legislation, H.R. 7416, tentatively titled Promoting Permanency Through Kinship Families Act, was referred to the House Committee on Ways & Means for further discussion.
The bill was created using research Angelique obtained through two of her currently funded grants (Amara and the Washington Department of Child and Family Services) and the work she is doing with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation in North Carolina.
The photo shows Angelique (second from right) flanked by Representatives Brenda Lawrence and Karen Bass and accompanied by Robert Romero, a former foster youth who spoke about his past and testified about the need for this new legislation. Representatives Lawrence and Bass are co-chairs of the Foster Youth Caucus.
In addition to her work at the School, Angelique serves on the steering committee of the National Technical Assistance Center on Kinship and Grandfamilies at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She is also the lead evaluator for five federally funded research projects at the Children’s Bureau.
Read more about Angelique’s visit to the U.S. Capitol and the proposed legislation here.