Lee Marshall Brings Frontline Insight to National Foster Care Conversation

As momentum builds for meaningful foster care reform nationwide, Kids to Love Founder and CEO Lee Marshall joined Fox and Friends to highlight both the challenges facing foster youth and the promise of First Lady Melania Trump’s initiative.

In a committee meeting on Capitol Hill Wednesday, the First Lady called on Congress to improve opportunities in housing, education, and other support services for youth who are aging out of foster care, saying it is our “ethical obligation” to care for America’s children.

Fox News reached out to Kids to Love for Lee’s expert insight into the national foster care crisis and what our organization has witnessed as we work to serve foster children.

“Just like the First Lady said yesterday, this doesn’t need awareness, this needs action and we are excited to see six new pieces of legislation heading to Congress to change funding opportunities for children in foster care,” Lee said. “The hesitation we have is how those funds will be distributed and more importantly the accessibility to children in foster care.”

The current wait time for HUD housing in north Alabama is approximately three years, presenting a barrier that is not easy to break down.

“When you’re talking about a child that’s aging out of foster care, that’s a critical barrier,” Lee says. “So while I do believe the awareness is so important, the new legislation is absolutely in the right direction, what we have to do now as community leaders in this arena of service is we have to make sure that the protocols and the accessibility to those funds actually get to the children.”