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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.
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.
AB 2137 (Quirk-Silva): Supporting Foster Youth in Education
In California, students in foster care are falling behind academically: they 30% less likely to complete high school and are 70% less likely to complete a 2- or 4-year degree by age 23. Each county office of education has a Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program (FYSCP). FYSCPs are currently prohibited from providing direct service to foster youth unless school districts certify in writing that they cannot provide these services. John Burton Advocates for Youth and the National Center for Youth Law propose to address this administrative barrier by removing this restriction and allowing programs more flexibility to provide direct services to foster youth that they are uniquely qualified to provide.
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!