A House of Cards: JBAY Helps Foster Youth Afford Stable Housing
When Aja Dunlap learned about a new foster care placement designed to give young people more autonomy, it sounded like a good idea. It would allow her to choose where she wanted to live and would pay her the foster care rate directly. To Aja, it sounded like a good mix of financial support and […]
A Winning Goal: JBAY Scores Better Foster Care Rates to Support Youth
Rising rent: it’s a cause of concern for tenants across California. Now, imagine it’s not just your own rent you had to worry about, but 49 current and former foster youth! That was the position of Vanetta Johnson, Executive Director of Beyond Emancipation, a transitional housing provider in Oakland. Beyond Emancipation watched as rents grew […]
“I Yell Because I Care!” Celebrating 90 Years of John Burton on December 15th
What do most people want to do in retirement? Golf? Grandchildren? Travel? Not John Burton. When he retired from the California State Senate in 2004, he set his sights on something far less relaxing: reforming California’s foster care system. He founded the John Burton Foundation, which became John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) in 2016. […]
Donor Spotlight: JBAY Board Member Pat Dodson – A Lifetime of Service and Beyond
Pat Dodson never imagined being able to make a significant financial contribution to a nonprofit organization like John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY). Through a combination of hard work and good fortune, she is helping young people today and into the future. As a child, her father worked as a waiter. Although he didn’t make […]
Blueprint Conference: Drawing Up Plans for Foster Youth Success
Singing, dancing, spoken word… Doesn’t sound like a professional conference, does it? Well, these activities and more were part of John Burton Advocates for Youth’s (JBAY) Blueprint Conference in Los Angeles on October 3rd and 4th. JBAY set a new record with 700 registered attendees, including over 140 current and former foster youth enrolled in […]
Up for the Challenge: Making Financial Aid Accessible for Foster and Homeless Youth
On October 1st, JBAY kicked off another year of the Foster Youth Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and California Dream Act Application (CADAA) Challenge. Through the 2022-2023 school year, California counties plan to increase the number of high school seniors in foster care who apply for financial aid and receive the maximum amount […]
Money Moves: JBAY Puts California’s Foster Youth Tax Credit in Motion
California has become the first state ever to establish a tax credit for foster youth! Thanks to JBAY’s advocacy, around 20,000 current and former foster youth from ages 18 to 25 will now claim a $1,000 refundable credit. However, many foster youth are unaware of how to access this credit, or how to file their […]
Unlocking More Degrees for Foster Youth: JBAY Shows The Power of Foster Parents and Caregivers
We know that a college degree opens a lot of doors for foster youth. Yet many young people in foster care do not view it as a viable option. Why? Often, they do not have positive role models in their lives. That’s why caregivers play a very important role. In fact, youth who discuss college […]
Learning a New Language: JBAY Helps Foster Youth Become Fluent in Education
For many foster youth, the path to higher education is like navigating a completely foreign language. Thanks to JBAY, Allyson Olivas has become more fluent in this aspect of her life. Allyson is a student at Hartnell College in Salinas. She recently received $100 from the Burton Critical Needs and Opportunity Fund to help her […]