Fostering Homelessness: One Emancipated Youth At A Time

That’s the title of a chapter in my book on how emancipated foster youth are becoming homeless. It looks like the State Legislature is also catching on to the fact that just because foster youth turn 18-years-old doesn’t mean they can live self-sufficiently.

A press conference was held yesterday to announce proposed new legislation that would hopefully create a safety net for the 86,000 California youth who are in the foster care system.

Here is the list of legislation:

-- SB1576 (Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Los Angeles) Transitional housing for emancipated youth: Builds on THP-Plus housing program for emancipated youth by restructuring funding, which currently requires a 60 percent match from counties to participate. Only three counties participate, due to this requirement.

-- AB2495 (Assemblywoman Karen Bass) Parity of services between Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (Kin-GAP) and foster care: Gives relative caregivers the same funding as basic foster-care families. Under the Kin-GAP program, relatives who gain permanent guardianship of foster youth are given a stipend, but not a clothing allowance or additional funds for youth with special needs.

-- SB1667 (Sen Shelia Kuehl, D-Santa Monica) Review hearings: Authorizes foster parents and relative caregivers to attend all review hearings relating to the adoption or legal guardianship of the minor, and to submit relevant information to court in writing. Many life-altering decisions regarding a foster youth are made by attorneys and judges who barely know the child, if at all. This bill ensures that foster parents have access to hearings.

-- AB2216 (Assemblywoman Karen Bass) Child Welfare Leadership and Performance Accountability Act of 2006: Addresses the lack of coordination among state and county agencies, leading to vast inconsistencies in services. This measure attempts to create a structure for leadership and accountability for all who provide foster-care services by calling on the state to review ways to unify counties, courts and the state.