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Findings and Recommendations 8 findings
F1
Participation in foster care after age 18 under AB 12 is voluntary and youth may opt-out of the program before they turn 21.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
Youth who opt out of foster care after age 18 can re-enter before they turn 21 if they re-enter within six months after opting out of the program.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
Contra Costa County informs foster youth about AB 12 and works with governmental agencies and other organizations to offer programs and information about how the system works to this population.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Contra Costa County Children and Family Services should continue to pro-actively inform foster care youth about AB 12’s programs.
F4
Extension of foster care to emancipated or aged out youth (ages 18-21) benefits society because foster youth receiving extended services are less likely to rely on public resources and more likely to become self-sufficient adults.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
Emancipated youth who face housing instability and employment difficulties are frequently financially insecure and often have health and mental health issues.
Related Recommendations (2)
R2
Contra Costa County Children and Family Services Program should consider establishing more local housing options for aging out and emancipated youth, and identify funds to do so.
R3
Contra Costa County Children and Family Services Program should continue to provide scholarship opportunities for youth so that they can have financial support while being trained or educated.
F6
Emancipated youth often need strong supplemental supports into adulthood.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Contra Costa County Children and Family Services Program should consider establishing more local housing options for aging out and emancipated youth, and identify funds to do so.
F7
ILSP Programs help improve the lives of at-risk foster care youth by helping them secure housing, employment, educational opportunities, healthcare and community support, among other necessities.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The County should continue to support the dedicated and professional skills offered by the ILSP service providers.
F8
The County has established a database called Gold Mine to track the progress of foster youth served by the County programs.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The County should maintain the Gold Mine database to monitor the progress and outcomes for County foster youth served by the County programs in order to help make future funding decisions about support services for foster youth.
Conclusions 2
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CL1 Page 12On January 1, 2014, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act became effective. As of that date, foster care benefits, Kin-GAP and AAP benefits became available to youth who meet the eligibility requirements and are under 21 years. Transitioning youth are an especially vulnerable group. They need support navigating the challenges of emancipating from foster care into adulthood. They often have housing instability, employment problems, financial insecurity, and health and mental health challenges. While efforts are made to prepare them for a successful adulthood, many of these foster youth need strong supplemental supports into adulthood, partially necessitated by the lack of developmental opportunities for these youth earlier in their lives. Support for this group has significantly increased over the years. The 1999 Foster Care Independence Act amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to create the Chafee
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CL2 Page 13Foster Care Independence Program. This amendment doubled the maximum amount of funds available to states for independent living services and gave states greater discretion over the use of such funds. With these funds, states are able to provide training in daily living skills, education and employment assistance, counseling, case management, and written transitional independent living plans. States are also able to use up to 30% of the funds for room and board. A more recent provision in the Foster Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Act in 2008 gives states the option to extend eligibility for Title IV-E foster care youth beyond age 18, until age 21. States exercising this option allow targeted foster youth an additional three years of foster care support to help prepare them for the transition to adulthood. Contra Costa County fully participates in the program having close to 100% of youth opting-in. In the past, there was a dearth of information about foster youth who leave the foster care system because after emancipation, youth are difficult to stay in contact with due to the fact they are highly mobile. However, since the implementation of AB 12, homelessness among foster youth has been easier to track because more youth are opting to stay in the system, and the County can track these youth through a database called Gold Mine. It appears that homelessness is less of a problem than prior to the implementation of AB12 because the legislation made more housing funds available to foster youth. ILSP will be partnering with a new program called Foster A Dream, which has been awarded a grant for $85,000 to improve services for youth transitioning out of foster care. The monies will be used to conduct research and evaluations to determine where gaps exist in provided services. This program may lead to additional funding from the Walter S. Johnson Foundation to improve outcomes for foster youth.
No Responses Found 1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Elected County Office