national foster care month was established more than 20 years ago to bring foster care issues to the forefront. today we continue to see almost half a million children who are unable to remain at home because of abuse or neglect or because of other family issues. during this separation, foster youth face loneliness, instability, and grief. unfortunately, children in foster care experience an average of three different placements, which often lead to disruption of routines. some are required to change schools and move away from siblings, extended families, and familiar surroundings. they face educational instability and as a result, score lower on all academic measures than peers. foster youth have to overcome misperceptions and stigmas and deal with emotional pain and trauma that comes from such separation. it becomes a reality for many children every day. in 2010, about 254,000 children entered into care. while many are reunified with their families or adopted into new ones, more than 107,000 children -- were awaiting adoption at tend of 2010. the senat -- stay in the senate caucus

we work with them as a result of being traumatized and being in foster care. >> so you are looking more foster parents who fit this bill? >> absolutely. >> we need foster parents willing to work with someone to meet their therapeutic goals. wups they turn 21 they age out and they are on their own to survive as an adult. we are training them and helping them to help the children meet their goals. >> foster care parents get a bad rap. how does one become a foster parent? >> we have so many dedicated families that are part of the kids -- they are meeting their needs as they would their own kid. to become a foster parent, it starts by having the love in your heart. they have to be at least 21 years of age. they have to meet an income retirement. they have to pass background clearances. >> that's a lot to go through just to get paid. which is another thing that foster kids are accused of, they are just doing it for money. >> foster parents get goals to meet the needs of the child. of course it is expensive to raise a child. >> there is a huge gap when you talk about foster kids ages 18 to 21

each may is foster care month. it provides an opportunity to shine the light on the experiences of the more than 400,000 children and the thousands of dedicated families and the social workers who support them. and this may the advocates who support the youth, are youthed in the elimination of the block grant. within the complex system of federal, state and local child welfare financing, ssbg funds play a critical role in supplementing other more restrictive fundal welfare extreme such as title 4 e. and one of the things that research has shown over the years is that you can prevent thousands of children from entering the foster care system, period, if you provide services to address a family crisis up front. the flexibility provided by ssbg funds aloes this flexibility to take place, which, over the long haul, saves money for taxpayers. 13% of these funds are dedicated specifically to foster care services. 36 states spend a total of $133 million from ssbg for foster care services for children, typically 454,000 ch

parent -- to be a good foster care parent, the perkins say you need lots of patience but it is ience that changes lives. >> love them deeply, care for them deeply and let them go when it's that time. >> that was jc hayward reporting. the perkins family says foster care babies help their own children learn about life's serious issues like drug and alcohol abuse. with assistance from northern virginia family service, the family tends to the babies' medical needs. for more information about these heroes, go to jchayward.com. we're going to be right back. >>> would you look at this beautiful spread. not too late to turn your lawn into something gorgeous. my friend john from bell's nursery is along. they supply the home depot in the area with plants and flowers. you say we can still plant. >> it's not too late. a little warm but not too late. >> you like hanging baskets, containers potentially for folks. >> correct. the proven winner hanging basket, you can remove the hanger and it can be a container or hang it up and it's set to go with a great selection of weather tolerant, heat to

of the bipartisan congressional foster youth caucus, i rise today to recognize may as national foster care month. there are clearly over 107,000 foster youth eligible and waiting for adoption and more than 400,000 youth in the foster care system. in an effort to raise awareness about the needs and experience of these youth, i am honored to join my colleagues in a bipartisan manner to acknowledge the importance of this special month. through increased understanding and dedicated caregivers, we can and must continue to make important advances in providing more stable and caring environments for all foster youth. we must focus on learning from state and local child welfare providers, advocates and foster

hands and you've done what you can do. >> reporter: northern virginia family service works with 60 foster careilies, but the need is always there. >> there are hundreds of kids in foster homes and, you know, we need parents of all types, you know, all different cultures, races, ages, single parent, married. >> reporter: to be a good foster care parent the perkins say you need lots of patience, but it is an experience that changes lives. >> love them deeply, care for they deeply and then let them go when it's that time. >> that's an incredible set of parents. they say foster care parents help their own children learn about life's serious issues like drug

. >>> the month is almost over but may we're marking the national foster care month. special people to take on this special responsibility. >> the perkins family in fairfax has been loving foster children and opening their home for years to them. jc hayward salutes the foster care family and the northern virginia family service as well. >> reporter: gail perkins cuddles with a new foster baby. her family is a mix of biological children and one adopted child. along with her husband jerry, everyone cares for the little ones. >> we have seen very, very sick little ones turn out to be amazingly great little kids. we do it for the love of the kids. that's for sure. >> reporter: seven years ago the perkins helped a friend care for a sick foster baby. they worked with the nonprofit organization the northern virginia family service, and they were quickly hooked and even adopted one foster baby. >> we never got into foster care to adopt. we actually got in to do weekend respite care. 17 kids later here we are. >> reporter: foster care is tough, especially when the baby comes w

our welfare program for families in california, our federally required ha foster care program as well as a host of federal matching support services and other programs. supervisor chu: what constitutes the category that you call realignment? >> realignment 1 was crafted in 1991 that goes to support services, wages, foster care, aid payments predominantly. for the second realignment, that as child welfare services, that is the big realignment with the public protection realignment. so not only including what has been talked about a lot, the probation and county jail, the child welfare services was part of the public protection peace. again, we will reflect that, but it goes to pay for foster care payments, the staffing of workers and adoption assistance. from a policy point of view, it is good for us because it pulls child welfare services out of a state and the general fund debate every year. and it is obviously not subject to reductions by the legislature and the governor. in the break down, i mentioned a mandated portions of the budget, they comprised of federal, state, and local. i

coming up five thousand american children are in foster care that day because their parents have been deported so how do we prevent another fifteen thousand american children from eating the same fate some answers after the birth. decline of american power continues. things are so bad. might actually be time for revolution. where it turns out that a drink of starbucks says it's surprising. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then. some other part of it and realize that everything you. are welcome is a big issue. here is what i. love and they alone are so they'll get the real headline with none of them are the problem with the mainstream media today is that they're completely disconnected from the viewers and what actually matters to those viewers and so that's why young people just don't watch t.v. anymore if they want news they go online and read it but we're trying to take those stories that people actually care about and transfer them back in t.v. . mr. now a quick update coming from the badger state wisconsin voters hit the polls toda

and cutting money to foster care during foster care month, can't go with that. >> i need to switch gears really quickly to talk about the student loan debate. when it come to freezing the interest rate, how far are democrats willing to go to compromise on this? is the republican plan to pay for it by cutting an obama health care program completely off the table? where can everybody come to consensus on it? >> well, you know, i think it is completely unacceptable to tell the youth of our country that if you don't want your student loans to double, then you need to forego your cancer screening. essentially, if you cut the preventive health services in the health care reform act, you're telling students to make a choice like we're telling seniors to make a choice between whether or not you pay for your medication or whether you pay for food. these are choices that are not acceptable and i do believe the democrats in the senate have an acceptable alternative. and i'm hoping that it passes out and can come to our house and we can be responsible to the next generation. >> congresswoman bass, t

. >> that perspective from the 20 three-year-old who remembers being emancipated from foster care, suddenly she was on her own. statistics show that foster you can be at high risk for homelessness, incarceration. they decided to extend foster care to age 21. >> the importance was that you would have support for use past the age of 18 because at 18, who is an adult? >> daniel is a foster care advocate who points out that there was one problem with the wall. to save money it was phased in. >> so what that did was create a bubble in funding, where in all kids that turned 19 in 2012, are in danger of being kicked out of the system. >> some counties are coming up with the money to keep the young adults in the system cut across the state more than 2119 year- old could find themselves out on their own. >> we're at the bottom of the totem pole. if we don't have this fix, then once again we are out on the streets. and then having someone say " you can come back eventually ". we have heard that our whole lives. >> for so long they felt invisible, there had not been many people in their lives that the

of the bipartisan congressional foster youth caucus, i rise today to recognize may as national foster care month. there are clearly over 107,000 foster youth eligible and waiting for adoption and more than 400,000 youth in the foster care system. in an effort to raise awareness about the needs and experience of these youth, i am honored to join my colleagues in a bipartisan manner to acknowledge the importance of this special month. through increased understanding and dedicated caregivers, we can and must continue to make important advances in providing more stable and caring environments for all foster youth. we must focus on learning from state and local child welfare providers, advocates and foster children to better know how we can help. the needs of these youth are urgent and real and while there are many alarming facts and figures that reflect the challenges -- challenges these children face, we must all continue to do our part. together we can make national foster care month a success. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair would recogniz

i can go down foster care and adoption, which as my colleague miss bass from california i as well. has $7 billion a year. but there's a component of this that also supplements that. the child care block grant. for those who need child care and can't afford child care, it also -- this supplements that. right now $5 billion a year is in that fund. and i can go on with a number of other of those, and i think what i said in the previous motion was that we've got to take a look at all these programs and say are we duplicating? are we doing what we really want to do? is there coordination? are the dollars being well spent. let's go over to a program that is near and deer to my heart, i have worked in and been a part of and that's meals on bheels. meals on wheels has 80% of its convictions that come from private folks. just 8% is using government funds. 2% are dues, 4% come from conferences and 6% from other areas. so obviously this is a program that is not going to fall apart as is represented here if it doesn't have these dollars. but these are duplications and they need to be looked at.

. >>> kids in foster care are they better off with other family members?> child experts say yes but are the families getting the help they need to take care of the children? why the local government may need to step in. >> plus, nick wallenda will walk across. >> i alare a -- niagara falls but the producers of the television shows he does it for says he has to wear protective gear. let's play indoors this weekend. all we need is a couple of gallons of our hardest-working paint... ...from the home depot. the place that gives us more top-rated brands than anywhere else... ...at prices that won't shake up our budget. let's make a one-wall statement... ...or tackle a total room takeover ...with paint that'll get the job done in fewer trips up and down the ladder. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. the number one brand of paint just got better. starting at $24.96. still thinking of replacing the truck? i just don't know where to start. glad you made it. start by choosing from over 30,000 used cars and trucks. carmax. start here. switch

. >> he will spend about six weeks at this foster care home and then will be adopted to a loving family. fifth it is a long waiting lists of people would like to adoptive including the woman who rescued the dog. he means society says she would have priority. >>james: here is a quick look outside. we are back with more in just a minute. when the first crews arrived they sought a crowd of 150 protesters, some wielding harass and crowbars. first responders felt they were outnumbered it had to hang back to trail the group to try to mitigate the destruction. parking enforcement officers nearby came in to help. only one person was arrested. >> i do not want anyone in this city that we as were the people who wanted to do damage. that is totally false. fax i can understand what people felt that way. >> the police chief met with local business owners and they are regrouping to discuss new tactics. >>erica: it looks like the weather is not slated to hit as until later this afternoon. were thick communities will be impacted first. keep an umbrella handy. conditions are continuing to unfold. as we

it's the leading reason why children are removed from their homes and sent into foster care. it's very hard to go to any part of oregon and not experience the effects of methamphetamine on ordinary people. >> narrator: in 2002, the "oregonian's" editors decided to go after the story behind the story-- how and why did the meth epidemic get so out of control? reporter steve suo was assigned to the investigation. >> we gathered about a million different types of records-- possession arrests, emergency room admissions, identity theft arrests. and all of them really pointed in the same direction. >> narrator: suo transformed his data into maps. the darker a state's color, the higher its percentage of addicts. the maps told a chilling story. in 1992, only oregon had enough addicts to be shaded black. by 1997, the number of addicts west of the mississippi had risen dramatically. and by 2003, meth was starting to reach the east. >> oregonians know very well from experience what the east coast can expect from this drug, and it's not a pretty picture. >> narrator: portland cop travis f

speaker, rye rise today to recognize may of national foster care month. ms. ass: it is to raise awareness of the needs of 400,000 youth in the foster system. we asked young people around the country to tell us our experiences via our website. throughout the month you will hear both democrats and republicans sharing these stories. for example, renee, a young woman from los angeles, was in foster care for over eight years. she was placed in six different homes until she aged out of the system in june, 2008. she currently attends ucla and hopes to pursue a career in social work or community help. renee now says, i quote, being in foster care has played an integral role in shaping and developing my character and person i am today. my experience with the foster care system has exposed me to speaking up, communicating with adults, and being open with my peers about my situation. not ashamed of who i am. in honor of renee's courage and tenacity, i invite my colleagues to join the congressional caucus on foster youth and co-sponsor the bipartisan resolution in recogni

. >> in recognition of foster care awareness month, the state honored women who reached out for childrenbrown hosted more than 30 women in the sculpture garden at gertrude's restaurant to recognize three special groups from across the state that served more than 25 years and provided homes for more than 50 children in the system. in 2007, governor martin o'malley and lieutenant brown launched a program to increase the number of children in homes in foster care, reduce the number of children living in group homes and increase the rate of adoption. >> coming up, a verdict in the murders of jennifer hudson's mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew. >> police, caught this man bearing it all while riding' une cycle. which should be a feat in and of itself. >> i can't imagine it was comfortable. >> it was not to win the lottery. >> those are the numbers in case you have them. >> the man convicted of killing jennifer hudson will be spending the rest of his life behind bars. he was found guilty on first-degree murder. prosecutors said balfourt killed hudson's mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephe

the 12-year-old and two siblings now in foster care. >> there is a controversial bill forcing parents that don't want to vaccinate their kids to see a hnl care professional. and in the san jose unified school district just over 1% of the families opt out of the recommended vaccinations. and this is why the author says he wants to help parents make an informed decision. many parents worry classrooms can be an incubator for germs and disease. >> there is antibacterial stuff that doesn't cut it school districts want kids to get a number of vaccinations and parents can skrks do get personal belief wafers. >> folks don't have to outline what their reasons are, they can say there is a personal reason. we accept that. >> assembly passed a bill by democrat dr. richard cann adding one more piece of paper to this process requiring parents who don't immunize to talk with a licensed health care professional. >> this is important to ensure parents are able to make an informed decision about vaccinating their children for school entry. >> california medical association supports the bill saying ther

exposure to violence and foster care and chronic absenteeism. those are priority areas. the next step was to identify work plan. we are focusing on a 325 your work plan. -- on a three to five year work plan. this has been done in regard to the joint rfp that went out. as well as the current subsidy issues. as you have heard in the past, there are some real challenges that the state level with regard to potential restructuring and the potential $29 million budget deficit in this area. we are absolutely taking those considerations in mind as we work toward the goal of creating this office. but our main goal is to create an infrastructure that can handle these issues as they come into the office instead of creating the office to accommodate these issues. we have agreement that it is absolutely a priority to take into consideration the challenges the governor has put on to early care and education. those will all be priorities for us to consider with in the work plan. the new office logistical details was the next that we took. we asked the department to join us in a meeting

. >> reporter: freeway will spend about six weeks here at his foster care parents' home then he will be adopted to a loving family. the humane society says there's a long waiting list of people who would like to adopt him, including the woman who rescued the dog. and the ruman society says she'll have -- humane society says she'll have priority. - ( music playing ) - we know technology can make you more connected. but now it can make you more connected to your doctor through e-mail. test results from home. check records. change appointments. now doctors, nurses, techs, pharmacists are all digitally connected to each other. and ultimately connected to you. at kaiser permanente, we believe that if knowledge is power, shared knowledge is even more powerful. kaiser permanente. thrive. >>> a new dig is underway in the search for victims of the so called "speed freak killers". investigators believe that wesley shermantine, along with his partner killed more than a dozen people. and since herzog committed suicide earlier this year, shermantine has been leading authorities to burial sites ac

in the new york city foster care system.mmerses herself as much into her work as she does into working out. >> one client of mine said, i think you exercise a lot for a particular reason. i asked her what the reason was. she said because exercise won't disappoint you, because the gym will always be there. in a psychological sense, i think she hit it right on the nail. >> i think that in many cases for both women and men, the ritual of going to the gym and working out hard has a clear psychiatric, therapeutic benefit. it may be in many of these cases that individuals are self-treating an underlying depression. or protecting themselves against a depression that might otherwise erupt. >> hi. >> hi, terry, how are you? >> good. >> two days before terry's competition, she's doing last minute errands, tanning, buying a costume for her dance routine. >> can i try on this outfit right here. the chain bra and the chain skirt? >> getting her hair and nails done. muscles aren't all that matter in a body building competition. it's about

. >> right now we have more animals in foster care than we currently have in the building. >> reporterthey are maxed out beyond capacity for the cats. the fairfax county animal shelter is counting on people for them to provide a forever home. >> actually, i would want to see milk shake. looking at them the most. >> they are experiencing at influx of the lines. they come in sick and injured. i feel bad that there are too many cats. >> reporter: a big reason why the shelters are overcapacity. it's kitten season where there is a huge number of the births happening to cats that are not spayed or neuters. >> and because this is a very mild winter. you can see that the breeding section was much longer. >> reporter: just $15 to adopt, that's half off and plus free spayed and neuters for cats five years and older. >> i just came in here by myself and i'm so upset. looking at all these cats because they don't look happy. i mean they are definitely happier than i'm sure where they were before, but i mean, i really feel like they need a home. >> reporter: but in the end after meeting with several

he grew up in foster care. bruce johnson, 9news now. >> sources tell 9news now, other plea deals are in the works. >>> d.c. councilman and former mayor, marion barry is out of the hospital in las vegas. he was admitted to get treatment for blood clots. barry announced on twitter that a clot formed while he was waiting on a plane in memphis. his chief of staff is expected to make a full recovery. >>> # wants you to know about the problem of teenage drinks and in court today, it was the owner of a local store we had caught on camera selling teenagers alcohol. richard kim owns town square market in northwest and he's on trial charged with selling alcohol to minors. following the court testimony today, the prosecution and the defense rested. the judge is expected to issue a verdict tomorrow. >>> the president of the naacp is magessing a passionate plea to african americans in maryland. he's urging hem to back the group's decision to support same-sex marriage and vote for the cause if it makes november's ballot. tha

it will provide housing for homeless youth and teens aging out foster care. the residents, ranges there will be 18 to 25 years old. the facility houses mentors to provide guidance and active role models for the residents. peacock commons opens up tonight. >>> last call at least for now. san francisco landmark closes its doors this week. but now there's talk of the lounge reopening somewhere else. we will tell you where. >>> also, an investigation into secret service moves -- as it moves forward today. what the agency's director plans to tell lawmakers. >> he already paid the fees for luggage and early boarding but now you could have to pay a little extra just to sit next to your kids on a flight. >>> for all your news, weather and traffic check us out facebook. we make it very simple. search nbc bay area. >>> well co-- welcome back, everybody. we have the fountain flowing, the sun shining. lot happening out there. some of it interesting. we will tell you about that coming up. 4:45. >> the director of the secret service will deliver a statement to lawmakers to

there are thousands of children in foster care who will take you just as you are. >>> for one man, jugglingjust walking a tight rope. he's our "slice of life." >> look at the screen for the magnificent, new york's very n own. >> it may be the fantasy of every little kid to run away and join the circus. >> i love the circus. >> when you kiss the lion, it was gross. >> jonathan lee iverson is living that dream. >> welcome to the greatest show on earth! >> he's in the spotlight as the first african-american ringmaster at ringling brothers and barnum & bailey circus. >> you know, one of the things i always tell people about circus life and especially here at the greatest show on earth is you don't play a ringmaster. you don't play a trapeze artist, you don't play a daredevil. you are these things and everything you do in your personal life centers around what you're going to do later that night or three times on saturday. >> it was the chance of a lifetime that suddenly appeared just after he graduated college. >> this opportunity to be the ringmaster of the greatest show on effort was prefrnse

, whereas 11% of children of mothers who are incarcerated end up in foster care.ause it feels to me like as we talk about incarceration, we may have viewers that say you give up your rights to be a mom when you break the law, when you go to jail. this is just the cost you pay. but i think i would like us to have a clearer understanding of why women end up incarcerated in the first place. >> as you mention, the vast majority of women in prison are there for nonviolent offenses, largely drug related or survival crimes, trying to pay to help your family, pay the bills. so that's first of all what we're seeing for women inside prison. again, more than two-thirds of them are the primary care takers of minor children. so they are the first line. and if they are sent to prison, then it is far more likely their children are going to go into foster care. >> robin, as an attorney, do judges take this into account when a judge is potentially sentencing? in the case of marissa alexander, the judge made a variety of decisions, but was bound by a mandatory minimum sentencing la

otherwise, you spend money putting kids into foster care with course outcomes. he will spend more money having kids on the street. you are going to spend more money -- god forbid having kids in hospitals from abuse or because of suicides. i'm out of time, but i appreciate it. i would love to meet with you afterwards. [applause] >> now we have sarah, who will be talking about seniors and a dull day programs. when i work with seniors, i know how important that is. . >> thank you, good evening. my name is sarah chan, the director for the self-help for the elderly adults services. i am here to talk about seniors and their families. really, representing the frail seniors to attend our adult day services center in district 1. because we are so grateful to mayor lee, supervisor mar, supervisor chu, olague, for your continuous support for the adult day services in the adult community. as you know, providing services to the seniors, providing an opportunity for them to continue to stay with their family, spending quality time, instead of going to a nursing home or other

he's from ohio and he has been in foster care because he's obese. the boy who weighed in at more than 200 pounds then was pulled from his home. this happened last october. he is now slimmed down to 166 pounds after living with his uncle in columbus, ohio. we want to know what you think about the story. should obesity be grounds for child abuse and the child be taken away from the parents? head to the facebook fan page and give us your thoughts on what you think about the story. >>> a new jersey woman with the extreme tanning problem now back in the news this morning. it may not be a problem to some but it looks weird. now it appears some tanning salons have banned krentcil from their facilities, planet sun has even ordered her picture posted at all branches so employees can recognize her, krentcil was arrested last month for allegedly taking her young daughter into that tanning booth alongside her. >>> the torch starts its journey around the uk this morning. >> highlights from a lighting ceremony that took place in greeced "good morning maryland" wa