Letters: Here's why foster parents matter

You may have heard heart-tugging interviews of celebrities who spent part of their childhood in foster care. You've seen the feel-good story of a foster parent who "made all the difference" for a child who grew up to be a change-maker. Or maybe you recognized foster care language in a politician's campaign, vowing to "keep our kids out of group houses" and find them homes. Foster care is not for the stories, interviews and campaigns.

We have many youth experiencing foster care, especially teenagers, who need safe, temporary homes while they await reunification with their families. Older youth are not the ones getting placed in our available foster homes. Teens often end up placed in group homes and shelters because there are not enough foster homes available. These teens in foster care are friends of our children. They are our nieces, nephews and youth of family friends. They are our neighbors.

Youth in the foster care system need foster parents who will stand by them and walk through uncertainty to help them heal. They need positive adult role models.

This is why our foster parents matter. This is why adults — young, old, married, single, gay, straight — who commit themselves to teens by opening their homes and hearts are instilling hope.

May is National Foster Care Month. National Youth Advocate Program appreciates foster parents everywhere. Just like our own children, teens experiencing foster care thrive when they're placed in loving, safe, empowering homes with foster parents who genuinely want them to succeed.

Kayla Heckaman

National Youth Advocate Program, Inc.

South Bend

Championing waste

Amazon’s decision to build an $11 billion data center near New Carlisle is good news for the local economy. But like all too many developments, it will be built on prime farmland and be accessible only by automobile, even though there are huge tracts of unused land on the west side of South Bend. American business continues to build as if land and resources were unlimited. Welcome to the Culture of Waste.

Nearly 50 years ago, I supported Arizona congressman Morris K. Udall for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination. His message was that the days of cheap land, cheap oil and cheap resources were over. He urged conservation of our precious farmland and the development of energy-efficient passenger rail and public transit. Alas, Udall’s message did not connect with voters. And while the winner, Jimmy Carter, tried to persuade Americans to conserve, his successor, Ronald Reagan, celebrated wastefulness by ripping down the solar panels from the White House roof.

While the Biden Administration has revived an emphasis of conservation and efficiency, corporate America continues to champion waste — waste of land, waste of fuel and waste of resources. It’s time to reconsider.

Stephen Wylder

Elkhart

Smaller government

Unfortunately, the basic ideas that small government is best and more power in the hands of unelected government bureaucrats is bad are oftentimes overlooked — or not considered at all — when it comes to public policy that’s introduced. As I’ve served as chairman of the House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee, I have seen ideas discussed that would create more government interference in the lives of individuals and businesses. Thankfully, I — along with some good small government minded colleagues — have been in a position to put a stop to policies that would create bigger government and work against Hoosiers.

The same can’t always be said for the policies that come out of Washington, D.C. Oftentimes, we see policies out of DC that create big government, and gives growing power to agencies that aren’t accountable to anyone.

One such bill in the US Senate would create credit card mandates. In creating these mandates, Congress is giving more authority to the Federal Reserve. Additionally, American consumers who rely on credit card rewards programs for food, gas, or points that might offset higher costs of living these days could lose those rewards.

It’s estimated that $75 billion in rewards for consumers would disappear each year if this bill were to pass. Not to mention, there’s an expected $5 billion cost associated the legislation.

I am optimistic that our own senator, Mike Braun, will stand with Hoosiers for a smaller, more accountable government.

Doug Miller

Elkhart

The writer is the state representative for Indiana's 48th House District.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Foster care parents make a difference.