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In 2024, JBAY will ensure the needs of youth who have experienced foster care or homelessness continue to be prioritized in California, despite the state's current budget deficit. Join us in advocating for California's youth.
Protecting Foster Youth in the State Budget: Sustain Funding for Two Key Housing Support Programs
On January 10th, the Newsom Administration proposed to eliminate two critical programs for foster youth in its 2024-25 state budget: The $13.7 million Housing Navigation & Maintenance Program (HNMP), which provides services to over 1,300 former foster youth with federal Housing Choice Vouchers; and the $18.8 million Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) Housing Supplement, which will provide over 3,000 older youth in foster care with funding to pay their rent, ending the shameful practice of homelessness among current foster youth. These proposed cuts will be debated during the budget season ahead. Please join JBAY in advocating for sustaining these investments!
AB 2137 (Quirk-Silva): Supporting Homeless and Foster Youth in Education
In California, roughly 225,000 K-12 students experience homelessness each year and over 46,000 are in foster care. Research shows that these students face immense obstacles in attaining a high school diploma and successfully matriculating to higher education. John Burton Advocates for Youth and the National Center for Youth Law propose to address these outcomes through several key policy changes that will utilize existing resources to increase direct support for students, streamline services through better collaboration, and reduce gaps in financial aid application completion.
AB 2508 (McCarty): Expanding College Savings Accounts for Youth in Foster Care
The California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program (CalKIDS) was created by the state of California to help more children have an opportunity to save for higher education. Research shows that children with higher education savings accounts are more likely to go to college and graduate than children without any savings. Foster youth are eligible for an enhanced deposit of $500 into their Cal KIDS account, but only if they were in foster care in the first grade. This proposal would expand eligibility commencing in the 2025-26 fiscal year and require that a CalKIDS account be opened for foster youth students in grades 1-12 if they have not yet already received their enhanced deposit.
Cal Grant Reform: Expanding Access to Financial Aid
In 2022, the State Legislature adopted a restructuring of the Cal Grant program, California’s largest financial aid program. Implementation of the changes is predicated on a budget allocation in 2024. Once implemented, Cal Grant reform will streamline the existing program, remove high school GPA requirements for community college students, remove all age and time out of high school requirements, and align income ceilings with the lower ceilings used in the federal Pell Grant program. JBAY is part of a broad coalition working towards funding these changes, which are expected to result in an additional 137,000 students receiving an award.
Protecting Foster Youth in the State Budget: Sustain Funding for Two Key Housing Support Programs
On January 10th, the Newsom Administration proposed to eliminate two critical programs for foster youth in its 2024-25 state budget: The $13.7 million Housing Navigation & Maintenance Program (HNMP), which provides services to over 1,300 former foster youth with federal Housing Choice Vouchers; and the $18.8 million Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) Housing Supplement, which will provide over 3,000 older youth in foster care with funding to pay their rent, ending the shameful practice of homelessness among current foster youth. These proposed cuts will be debated during the budget season ahead. Please join JBAY in advocating for sustaining these investments!
