WASHINGTON, D.C.-William C. Bell, Casey Family Programs' president and CEO, will testify before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources today. 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 to the subcommittee on how to improve child protective services in America, and on specific components of the proposed bill being considered for reauthorization of the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program.

Casey Family Programs has a 40-year history of serving the needs of children in foster care, focusing its efforts and funding on permanency and transition issues to help prepare children for long-term success.

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.

The hearing will be led by Congressman Wally Herger (R-CA), Chairman, and Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), Ranking Minority Member, of the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means. Oral testimony will include both invited and public witnesses. The Subcommittee on Human Resources is responsible for the public assistance provisions of the Social Security Act, including Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program, TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), child care, child protection, child support enforcement, disability and unemployment insurance programs.

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, without the financial and family supports they need to reach successful independence.