Welcome to 2022! For those of us at John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY), 2022 means it’s time to get busy advocating for our legislative agenda!
This year, we are proposing our most ambitious agenda yet. We know how deeply young people have been impacted by the pandemic and we are proposing policy solutions to help them get back on track.
Housing has long been a priority at JBAY. This year we are taking the work to the next level. The Health and Housing team is proposing a $25.3 million expansion of the state’s Transitional Housing Program. This would increase the length of time youth can participate in the program and increase the number of youth who will be served. We’re working again with Assemblymember Phil Ting, a long-time, fearless champion on behalf of foster youth.
JBAY is also proposing an ambitious education proposal. We know that foster youth are enrolling in college at record levels, and are not making corresponding gains in retention and degree completion. JBAY’s Education team is taking this issue head-on by doubling the state’s investment in college retention services at community colleges to $40 million. We are planning to establish a college retention program for foster youth at California’s 31 public universities, with $18 million in state funds. Together, these programs will help 6,000 foster youth annually.
In 2022, JBAY will be pursuing its take on universal basic income, with the creation of the Foster Youth Tax Credit, a $1,000 refundable state tax credit for an estimated 55,000 former foster youth, aged 18 to 26. We developed this approach as part of a pilot project in Santa Clara County and were excited to see the many benefits that came from it, including increased income, knowledge of tax filing and repaired identity theft.
JBAY will also work to assist the 246,350 K to 12 students experiencing homelessness. We are requesting $200 million of the state’s projected $46 billion budget surplus to assist homeless students.
And finally, JBAY remains committed to assisting youth experiencing homelessness, regardless of whether they were in foster care. Many foster youth experience homelessness and many homeless youth were either in foster care at some time in their childhood or could have been. In 2022, we’ll continue to increase housing access for youth by advocating for a permanent funding source for unaccompanied homeless youth.
To learn more about our 2022 legislative agenda, follow this link.