For JBAY Youth Advocate Emmerald Evans, California’s transitional housing program for youth exiting foster care was a godsend. It helped her make a safe transition from foster care and gave her the kind of safety net often provided by an extended family.
After two years, Emmerald was close to reaching the program time limit. Fortunately, she was able to participate in a one-year extension for youth enrolled in school. For Emmerald, this extension made all the difference, particularly her ability to remain enrolled in California State University Sacramento.
“If I had to work full-time this semester, I would have had to drop out of school. How would I have paid $1,600 in rent, worked full time, and gone to school? I would be doing it and failing at it. Instead, my housing program has been so supportive. They have made it so that I don’t have to work in my last semester. It has been huge relief, a burden lifted off.”
Emmerald had reason for concern. A recent study found housing insecurity during students’ first year of college was associated with a 10 percentage point reduction in the probability of earning a degree or being enrolled four years later, after controlling for other characteristics such as race and income.
Today, Emmerald is getting ready to graduate with a B.A. in Criminal Justice. She wants to work in the nonprofit field before going on to law school, “I want to help young people, creating impact and change.”
JBAY is working to help young people like Emmerald by advocating to extend the length of time they can participate in the state’s transitional housing program, known as the Transitional Housing Placement Plus (THP-Plus) from two to three years.
JBAY’s proposal builds on an existing policy, adopted by the California State Legislature in 2015, that allowed an extra year of housing for former foster youth enrolled in school. While well intended, a JBAY analysis found that youth most in need were the least likely to receive a third year of housing.
JBAY is working on the housing extension proposal with Assemblymember Phil Ting, a long-time champion of housing for foster youth. The proposal would also increase the overall amount of housing available to former foster youth and improve access to housing navigation, which is critical to quickly connecting foster youth to housing.
Housing and Health Director Simone Tureck Lee is leading JBAY’s housing proposal and is excited about what this change can make possible for young people. “With young adults generally living with their parents into their late 20’s, extending our state’s housing safety net for former foster youth for an additional year will be a life-line for thousands of young people in our state.”