Honoring Emancipated Youth (HEY)State Foster Care Policy Updates

Meet With Your State Legislators and Show Your Support for AB 12!

Justin Slaughter — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:54:18 +0000

[From John Burton Foundation, July 1, 2010]

Full day of meetings and advocacy for foster youth legislation.

When: Wednesday, August 4th at
Where: the State Capitol in Sacramento

Senate Appropriations Committee will be the biggest challenge yet for AB 12. Let’s give AB 12 the best shot possible by educating our elected officials about this important legislation. The John Burton Foundation will be holding a full day of meetings on Wednesday, August 4th. If you have been waiting until crunch time to get involved, now is your time! To register for the day, click HERE. If you have any questions, please contact Sara Rhodes at sara@johnburtonfoundation.org or at 415-693-1326.

[AB 12 is a state version of the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, which was signed into law in 2008, and opens up federal resources for states to extend foster care to specified individuals up to 21 years of age. Additionally, AB 12 will mandate California to seek federal finances for kinship guardianship assistance payments. For continued updates on AB12]

AB 12 Passes Senate Judiciary Committee!

Justin Slaughter — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:42:08 +0000

California State Capitol, Sacramento

[From the John Burton Foundation, July 1, 2010]

On June 22nd, AB 12 passed 4 to 0 out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Thank you Senators Corbett, Harman, Hancock and Leno for your support. From here, AB 12 will move to the Senate Appropriations Committee, where it will be heard in August.

Senate Appropriations Committee will be the biggest challenge yet for AB 12. Let’s give AB 12 the best shot possible by educating our elected officials about this important legislation. The John Burton Foundation will be holding a full day of meetings on Wednesday, August 4th at the State Capitol in Sacramento. If you have been waiting until crunch time to get involved, now is your time! To register for the day, click HERE. If you have any questions, please contact Sara Rhodes at sara@johnburtonfoundation.org or at 415-693-1326.

Advocates concerned over proposed cuts to foster care transition services

Justin Slaughter — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:28:39 +0000

[From Elizabeth Larson, Lake County News, June 15, 2010]

LAKE COUNTY – With the governor seeking to slash social services programs because of the state’s serious budget problems, advocates are concerned about the future of programs that aid young adults making the transition from foster care to independent adulthood.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing to cut $80 million from the state’s child welfare services, which local advocates reported would result in the loss of another $53.5 million.

Those kinds of cuts could hurt the Transitional Housing Program for Emancipated Foster/Probation Youth (THP-Plus). Several years ago the California Department of Social Services conducted a state survey on youth housing issues for emancipated foster youth. The agency’s research found that 65 percent of the 4,355 youth who emancipated from foster care during the 2000-01 fiscal years were in need of safe and affordable housing.

In 2002, the state Legislature passed Assembly Bill 1119 to assist counties in their efforts to provide housing for this population, which resulted in the creation of the THP-Plus program, the California Department of Social Services reported. Another piece of legislation, Assembly Bill 824, passed in 2005, raised the age limit for participating in a THP-Plus program to age 24.

The state reported that 17 counties statewide – including Lake, which joined the program in 2008 – now participate in THP-Plus, with 100 housing programs established statewide to serve emancipated youth and foster children.

But this year, THP-Plus has been on the chopping block for the first time, with funding proposed to be eliminated altogether in the governor’s January budget, according Patti Gorden, special projects coordinator with Redwood Children’s Services Inc. in Lake and Mendocino counties.

Schwarzenegger’s original cuts would have impacted 1,400 former foster youth living in the state’s transitional housing program, Gorden said.

That proposal was pulled back, but Gorden said the THP-Plus program’s future status still isn’t certain.

Two local young people – part of the nearly one dozen in Lake and Mendocino counties who rely on the program – illustrate the program’s importance and the safety net it offers, as well as its goal to help young people transition off of government funding.

One is Tamara Davidson, 18, who entered the program on March 1 with her new baby daughter, and Lawrence Lazaro of Ukiah, who turned 21 not long after he left the program this spring.

Davidson’s mother died when she was 14, leaving behind five children.

Noting that she was “out of control,” Davidson said she went through “many, many” foster homes. She was released from foster care when she turned 18 last August, and afterward had been living around Hidden Valley Lake and Clearlake with her baby daughter, born in December.

The young mother had been “couch surfing” and sleeping in her car, and trying to get her diploma so she could get a job.

Then she came into the program. “They helped me right away, actually,” Davidson said.

Gorden said the program provides young people like Davidson and Lazaro with a certain amount of money each month for rent, food and utilities.

Over the 24 months of the program the young people are required to pay more of their own way, gradually removing their dependence on the program’s resources. Deanna Hamel, THP-Plus coordinator for Redwood Children’s Services, said the goal is to get the young people out on their own.

“I feel safer now,” Davidson said, who is thinking about studying to become a nurse.

In Lazaro’s case, he entered the program at age 16, entering himself into foster care in Lake County, moving from his home in Willits.

He said his mother had been on welfare her entire life, and wasn’t interested in moving up and out of the system.

Lazaro lived in dismal conditions, with seven families members occupying a rundown travel trailer in a Willits trailer park.

He didn’t go to school – he stopped attending in the ninth grade and went on independent study – he had few clothes and he had watched as many young men his age went straight to jail.

Lazaro said his friends were mostly drug users; one of them told him one day “not to fall off of a cliff.”

Originally, he had called authorities for help for his mother, who was panhandling. “I really just wasn’t in a good place at all” with his family, he said.

Lazaro ended up placing himself voluntarily into foster care, where he formed bonds with his foster families. He attended Upper Lake High School before transferring to Ukiah High.

At age 17, he got into the Transitional Housing Placement Program – or THPP – when he moved to Ukiah. When he turned 18, he went into THP-Plus, where he received additional help and mentoring so he could learn to live on his own, receiving job search and resume building techniques, and learning scheduling.

“They were teaching me to be independent,” he said.

Lazaro went on to get two different part-time jobs and has mentored at summer camps. He said he wants to get his associate’s degree and become a case manager with Redwood Children’s Services.

“I’m a really strong person now,” he said, adding, “It’s really an amazing thing that happened.”

He even traveled to Sacramento earlier this year to speak to North Coast Assemblyman Wes Chesbro about preserving the THP-Plus program.

“I know I have a bright future because of the program,” he said.

“I think it would be horrible” if the program were cut, said Davidson.

THP-Plus program staff relate other stories of young people who, had it not been for the program, wouldn’t have been able to finish school or otherwise have a safe place to call home.

“If they do away with this program, we have nowhere for these youth to go,” said Gorden.

Redwood Children’s Services cites studies including one that showed that only 10.8 percent of youth who “age out” of the foster care system without continued support will complete high school, which is a number that’s less than half the rate for their peers of the same age and race. In addition, only 2 percent of that group would ever graduate from college.

The John Burton Foundation for Children Without Homes reported that former foster youth were 2.8 times more likely to be arrested and 70 percent more likely to be incarcerated.

Advocates also point to a 2009 study conducted by the University of Washington’s School of Social Work, which found that caring for young adults until the age of 21 will represent a return of $2.40 on every government dollar spent in California.

Gorden said there is a hopeful piece of news on the horizon in the form of AB 12, the California Fostering Connections Act.

AB 12 – which would begin no later than July 1, 2011 – would and extend foster youth support to the age of 21, according to the bill’s language.

Introduced in October 2008 by Assembly members Jim Beall Jr. and Karen Bass, the two-year bill continues to work its way through the Legislature.

It’s set to go before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 22, according to the State Legislative Counsel.

AB 12 Passes Human Services Committee!

Justin Slaughter — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:45:49 +0000

Image from John Burton Foundation

[From Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance, June 16, 2010]

On June 10th, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act (AB 12) cleared the Senate Human Services Committee. The bill passed out of Human Services by a vote of 3-0, with Senators Liu, Runner, and Yee voting for the bill. AB12 will next be heard in the Judiciary Committee on June 22nd.

AB 12 is a state version of the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, which was signed into law in 2008, and opens up federal resources for states to extend foster care to specified individuals up to 21 years of age. Additionally, AB 12 will mandate California to seek federal finances for kinship guardianship assistance payments. For continued updates on AB12, click here.

Support AB 12 California Fostering Connections to Success Act Today

Justin Slaughter — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:37:53 +0000

[from California Fostering Connections, created by the John Burton Foundation, http://cafosteringconnections.org/, May 2010]

In October 2008, the federal government enacted the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (FCSIA). This new law gives states the ability to establish relative guardianship programs with federal financial participation in the costs. This new federal law also makes federal funds available for foster care, kinship-guardianship, and adoption assistance benefits to youth who meet certain conditions (e.g., employment and education related requirements) until age 21.

Because the FCSIA provides California with an unprecedented opportunity to access federal funding to improve the lives of our state’s most vulnerable youth, AB 12, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act, would ensure that California opts into these essential federal funding opportunities.

AB 12 would:

1) re-enact our existing Kin-GAP program to align it with new federal requirements
2) provide transitional support to qualifying foster youth until age 21. These changes represent both fiscally and socially responsible improvements to California’s foster care system. As a result, California would utilize federal funds to meet costs currently borne by the state and counties, and would realize proven savings from declines in unemployment, homelessness, teen pregnancy, public assistance, and the other costly outcomes for young adults who “age out” of foster care.

Having passed in the state assembly in January, AB 12 now awaits passage out of the state Senate Human Services Committee for a final vote in the State Senate.

We need individuals and organizations to add their names to California Fostering Connections to Success’ sign on letter. By doing so, you ask the state’s leadership to take advantage of important new opportunities to better support foster youth.

You can also share your opinions or print and send an individualized support letter through California Fostering Connections to Success.

Training to Improve the Transition for Foster Youth with Disabilities, to Promote Implementation of AB 1331 (June 28)

Josefina — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:30:30 +0000

Assembly Bill 1331 went into effect January 1, 2008, requiring that every youth in foster care be screened for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This training will help counties, providers and advocates improve implementation, discuss other issues related to the transition for foster youth with disabilities, and help stakeholders understand their role in facilitating a smooth transition.

Date and Time: Monday, June 28, 2010 • Registration: 10:00 to 10:30
Plenary Session and Workshops: 10:30 to 3:30 (Lunch and Refreshments Provided)
Location: Oakland Conference Center, The California Endowment
1111 Broadway, 7th Floor • Oakland, CA 94607

Training Topics:
• What does SSI mean for foster youth with disabilities?
• How can I improve the screening process for SSI eligibility?
• How do I put together a strong application?
• How can I ensure a youth’s transition goes smoothly after an application is approved?
• What can people outside the Child Welfare Department do to improve the transitions of foster youth with disabilities?

Who Should Attend?
County child welfare case workers, supervisors and directors, probation staff, minor’s attorneys, ILP workers, community-based ILSP providers, Title IV-E and social work professors and students, court personnel, caregivers, CASA staff, and anyone who works with or on behalf of foster youth.

How to Register:
Space is limited so register early to ensure your spot!
Click HERE, visit www.SSITransitions.org or email hannah@johnburtonfoundation.org for a mail in
registration form.

For more information click here to download a flyer.

Karen Bass: This Foster Care Month Sees Hope Ahead

Josefina — Fri, 21 May 2010 18:03:00 +0000

May is National Foster Care Month and for California’s 65,000 foster children and those who advocate on their behalf, it’s a month to raise awareness of both some progress made and the ongoing need for more improvement in the services we provide our foster youth as they start their adult lives. After a nearly unanimous vote of support out of the State Assembly, a bill I have co-authored with Assembly Member Jim Beall, Jr. of San Jose to support foster youth in California until they are 21 years old is now moving in the State Senate. The bill is called the California Fostering Connections to Success Act. This legislation extends support for foster youth to the age of 21. Currently foster youth are forced to “age out” of the system at age 18–often with no place to go. One young man told us of having birthday cake at his group home–and then being asked by them where he was going to go that night? He was told they were sorry, but he had to leave. States which have provided foster youth support to 21 have produced far better outcomes when it comes to foster youth’s education, health, employment and incarceration rates. In these tough economic times, this support is critical. Let’s take stock of what we know happens to foster youth when they are forced to leave without support. Less than half have a high school diploma. Only 27% are able to find employment in the current job market, and even that is usually part time and for minimum wage. Only 15% of youth have access to supportive transitional housing and almost one out of ten receive absolutely no financial support whatsoever. A major study comparing Illinois foster youth supported to the age of 21 and Wisconsin and Iowa foster youth left without support at 18 shows the Illinois youth to be three times more likely to enroll in college and 65% less likely to be arrested. The support also contributed to a 38% reduction in the risk of teen pregnancy. Our foster youth in California deserve better, and by supporting them in the period of their lives that we all know to be uncertain and unstable, we can set them on the path to becoming contributing members of society. California stands to receive significant federal support for the California Fostering Connections to Success Act. This will help us give our foster youth the education and opportunities they need to help California contribute to a national economic recovery. With bipartisan support, I’m hopeful we can move this bill to the Governor’s desk and create that opportunity. Our foster youth – and these are our kids — have been down difficult roads toward adulthood and they deserve every chance to succeed.

Excerpt from:
Karen Bass: This Foster Care Month Sees Hope Ahead

Chafee Grant’s broken promises

Josefina — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:49:57 +0000

The California Chafee Grant program is a vital lifeline for foster children who are aging out of the system and want to pursue technical or higher education. The program, which is federally funded, offers former foster youth up to $5,000 per school year. For these young people, the grants may offer their only chance to continue their education.

In order to give its foster children access to this important program, the state of California has to chip in a minimum of 20 percent matching funds. It comes as little surprise, then, that the program is in trouble.

There are two dimensions to the problem. First, the state has cut the amount of funding it puts into the program. The California Department of Social Services reduced the state’s match by about 12 percent for the 2009-2010 award year. Since the program stipulates that students who are already receiving grants have first priority for the next year, the result of this decision has been that very few foster children who are currently aging out of the system have been able to get grants. These children may never have a chance to continue their educations, just because they had the bad luck to age out of the system in a tough budget year. These are our children, and their loss belongs to the entire state of California.

The second problem is an organizational one. At a time when funding is tight, it would behoove the state to make sure that the grant money it does have is distributed as efficiently as possible. According to people who have experience with the program, that’s not happening.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/11/MNHB1DCRLF.DTL#ixzz0oaFLKIRl

Hundreds of Youth, Families and Providers Pack City Hall for Budget Hearing:

Josefina — Wed, 19 May 2010 01:05:13 +0000

Two weeks ago, 500 youth, parents and service providers packed City Hall waiting to testify about the budget cuts to children, youth and families—and many were there specifically to speak about the results of the DCYF RFP, which has been released the day before. With only $20 million to allocate, and $72 million in requests, it is clear that the community need outweighs the resources available in the DCYF RFP; over 150 agencies had programs that received no funding at all—and that doesn’t even begin to look at the programs that received funding but at significantly smaller amounts. The challenge is that it is really difficult to assess the impact based on the available information from DCYF, since there is no way to decipher between new programs and those that have received DCYF funding previously.

This is a devastating year for our communities on many levels. The budget fight—for both individual agencies and for us collectively—is going to be tough for the next couple of months. The Budget and Finance Committee will be looking at options for alternative cuts and revenue—and it has to be a part of our messaging if we really want some funding restored to DCYF for services. In particular, progressive revenue and fair taxes on the city’s wealth is a message we have to keep in our messaging to City Hall. There are community and labor groups who are working hard to make sure that there are options for progressive revenue that go on the ballot for November… but we need support from those within City Hall to make sure that happens!

UPCOMING DATES:

Thursday, May 20th: One Mission, One City: Don’t Cut Youth Funding!

3:30pm: Rally at Fox Plaza (outside DCYF building)
4:00pm: March to City Hall
4:30pm: Press Conference on steps of City Hall
Many community-based organizations are organizing an action to protest the budget cuts to youth programs through the recent RFP results. Join them in their message to City Hall to restore funding for critical preventative services!

Wednesday, May 26^th: Project Budget (re)Connect

2:00pm: Rally at Civic Center
3:00pm: Procession around City Hall
A city-wide coalition representing families, seniors, homeless and low-income people is organizing a huge action at Civic Center, mobilizing over 1000 people to demand that the Mayor and Board of Supervisors pass a budget the protects the most vulnerable and that they commit to passing fair taxes on wealth in the November election! The action will include on-site advocacy training for groups wanting to go inside and lobby!

Monday, June 21^st & Monday, June 28^th: Budget Hearings

On June 1^st, the budget passes from the hands of the Mayor to those of the Budget and Finance Committee of the Board of Supervisors. The above dates are when the first and second hearings will take place for DCYF and other health & human services departments.

For information about our budget advocacy work, contact Chelsea at (415) 239-0161 x19.

Jimmy Wayne Speaks to California Senate on Foster Youth

Josefina — Wed, 19 May 2010 00:37:33 +0000

Jimmy Wayne recently took a break from his Meet Me Halfway solo-walk across America to speak before the California Senate. Jimmy was asked to take part in California’s kick-off event for National Foster Care Awareness Month in Sacramento where he spoke before the California Senate.

To read the whole article, click here.