On Monday, September 27, 2021, Congressperson Karen Bass (D-CA), co-chair of the House Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, announced she would be leaving Congress to run for Mayor of Los Angeles. The primary for that office is scheduled for June 7, 2022, with a November 8, general election. Mayor Eric Garcetti has been nominated for Ambassador to India by President Biden and is awaiting action by the U.S. Senate.
Congressperson Bass is in her sixth term and has also served as the head of the Congressional Black Caucus, been a leading advocate on juvenile justice and justice issues but within the child welfare community she is known for her high priority for child welfare issues. She has addressed CWLA national conferences and been recognized as a Congressional Advocate of the Year. Bass has been responsible for getting Congress to participate in the annual “Shadow Day” that allows youth who are or have been in foster care to follow a member of Congress around on their official duties to inform both members of Congress and the young people.
In the 2018 CWLA National Conference program we said: “Congressperson Bass is also playing a leadership role in the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), where she serves as Second Vice Chair for the 115th Congress. Throughout her career, she has maintained a focus on our nation’s foster care system. In her first term, she created the bipartisan Congressional Foster Youth Caucus and has built that bipartisan caucus into a platform to shine congressional light on the issues and challenges of foster care and child welfare.”
For now, Ms. Bass remains in her vital congressional roll and leadership position.
