Diapers, wipes, onesies, car seat, stroller, crib… As any parent knows, these are among the many items that expectant parents purchase in preparation for the big day: the birth of their child!
Thanks to John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY), youth in foster care can start their lives as parents prepared. JBAY was part of a statewide coalition that successfully advocated for the creation of the Expectant Parent Payment. Assemblymember Blanca Rubio championed the proposal and it went into effect January 1, 2022.
This new public benefit provides pregnant foster youth with a $900 monthly payment for the three months prior to the birth of their child. The purpose of the payment is to help young parents purchase supplies for the birth of their child, which on average cost over $2,000.
The establishment of the Expectant Parent Payment is a big improvement for young parents in foster care. Previously, foster youth who gave birth often returned home from the hospital with their newborn unprepared, and without the basic supplies for their child. This lack of preparation compounded the stress experienced by young parents in foster care, putting them at risk for post-partum depression.
Junely Merwin is a JBAY Youth Advocate and knows first-hand how challenging it is to be a young parent in foster care. She entered foster care in Los Angeles at 15, with her one-month-old son. She recalls receiving no support, “A foster parent told me that my child was not her problem and that I had made my own bed. I was often left to figure things out on my own, moving from placement to placement.”
Despite the lack of support, Junely persevered and earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University at Fullerton. She is glad that young people today will be prepared and supported, “I am happy that pregnant and parenting youths’ needs are being recognized. Helping these families will break the intergenerational cycle of abuse and poverty. This will also give them an opportunity to thrive.”
JBAY has a long track record of supporting pregnant and parenting youth in foster care. In 2017, JBAY successfully advocated for an increase to the “infant supplement,” monthly financial assistance provided to young parents and in 2020, increased the rate paid for parenting foster youth in transitional housing.
JBAY also has worked to ensure all foster youth have access to comprehensive reproductive and sexual health education in middle and high school through passage of Senate Bill 89. Just this month, JBAY co-hosted a web seminar to educate caregivers about an on-line comprehensive sexual health curriculum for youth in foster care.
According to Junely Merwin, JBAY’s work is in this area is critical. “Pregnant and parent foster youth have experienced trauma, may lack a positive parental figure, and may not know where to begin when it comes to caring for a baby. The foster care system has a responsibility to ensure they have the resources and support from the foster family to care for their child.”