SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Casey Family Programs President and CEO William C. Bell will testify before the California Assembly Select Committee on Foster Care, scheduled for Friday, May 12. Seattle-based Casey Family Programs is the largest national operating foundation whose sole mission is to provide and improve - and ultimately prevent the need for - foster care.

Bell, who has spent his entire career working to protect and improve the lives of children and youth in foster care, will provide testimony around the supports needed to ensure success for young people who age out of foster care when they become legal adults-typically at age 18. Before joining Casey Family Programs Bell was commissioner of New York City's Administration for Children's Services, where during his tenure foster care admissions decreased significantly with more children being placed with their families safely and more adoptions completed.

Casey Family Programs has a 40-year history of serving the needs of children in foster care, including more than 25 years of service in California through offices in Oakland, San Diego, Los Angeles and Sacramento.

Assembly Member Karen Bass, Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Foster Care, earlier this year unveiled a comprehensive legislative package designed to improve the lives of California's most vulnerable children. The May 12 hearing will provide a general overview of the services and issues facing youth transitioning from foster care, who are striving to build productive, successful adult lives in the state of California and across the U.S.

"I commend the Select Committee and the State of California for its focus and dedication to supporting positive change for our most vulnerable children," said Bell. "It is only with committed bi-partisan leadership and shared political will that we can improve the lives of children in foster care."

In the United States, at any point in time, there are over 500,000 children and youth in foster care - an increase of approximately 60% over the past two decades. And each year, more than 20,000 youth age-out of foster care and leave the system, often with little financial or family supports. In the state of California, about 4,000 children age out of foster care annually.