Representative Johnson (Polk County) used the House floor Black History Month presentation to honor his mother, Janice Deborah Johnson, and to describe her work on kinship care and its practical impact on families.

Johnson framed his remarks around the life of his mother, saying she "faced a system that often seemed built to break her, but yet she stood strong." He described her advocacy as instrumental in creating what he called "the fund that we all know now as subsidized guardianship, or some may know it as kinship care in 33 states across this country," and urged lawmakers to remember how laws affect families.

Why it matters: kinship care or subsidized guardianship programs help children remain with relatives rather than entering foster care. Johnson’s floor remarks connected the policy concept to personal family history and to the broader significance of Black History Month.

During the address Johnson noted several family details from the transcript: one daughter catered the food from Joppa Experience restaurant on Sixth Avenue in Des Moines, another daughter works in the White House, and "her son stands right before you today as a state representative," a reference Johnson used to underline the family’s public-service legacy. He closed the remarks by saying, "Janice Deborah Johnson is Black history," and identified her as his mother.

The remarks were delivered when the chair recognized the representative for the Black History Month presentation and occurred before other routine introductions and adjournment motions.