H.R. No. 63
                                  R E S O L U T I O N
    1-1        WHEREAS, Childhood is a special time of life; the character
    1-2  and attitudes that lay the foundation for a person's future are
    1-3  often formed in these first years; and
    1-4        WHEREAS, To nurture children and encourage their growth
    1-5  toward a healthy, productive adulthood must be one of the primary
    1-6  goals of any society; to achieve this goal, children need a home in
    1-7  which they can receive the love, warmth, and security they deserve,
    1-8  yet parents in crisis aren't always able to provide their children
    1-9  with such an environment; and
   1-10        WHEREAS, During such times, children often must be placed
   1-11  temporarily outside the home and, when relatives are unable to
   1-12  house and care for the children, volunteer foster families step in
   1-13  to fill this critical need; and
   1-14        WHEREAS, These compassionate individuals open their homes and
   1-15  their hearts to children in crisis, providing stability and support
   1-16  to children and their parents in times of trouble; through the
   1-17  foster families' love and generosity, children have a safe place to
   1-18  call their own, where they will be treated with kindness and
   1-19  understanding while their parents work on overcoming the challenges
   1-20  at hand to get their lives back on track; and
   1-21        WHEREAS, Despite the strong bonds that are formed between a
   1-22  foster family and the child in their care, the families must one
   1-23  day say goodbye to the child they have grown to love; though this
   1-24  difficult task must be repeated by foster families time and again,
    2-1  these special people may take comfort in the fact that they have
    2-2  played a vital role in shaping a child's future; and
    2-3        WHEREAS, The State of Texas currently has 3,600 foster
    2-4  families who are certified by the Department of Protective and
    2-5  Regulatory Services and an additional 2,100 foster families that
    2-6  are certified by private child placing agencies; together, these
    2-7  remarkable individuals provide quality family care to approximately
    2-8  10,000 abused and neglected children and from 15,000 to 20,000
    2-9  other children in need of temporary care each year, and their
   2-10  selfless service is indeed deserving of our highest praise and
   2-11  recognition; now, therefore, be it
   2-12        RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 74th Texas
   2-13  Legislature hereby commend the foster families of Texas for their
   2-14  exceptional compassion and generosity in helping to secure a
   2-15  brighter future for our state's youngest citizens.