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Question of the Week
Q: I understand that foster care rates have changed as of January 1, 2017 as a result of California’s Continuum of Care Reform (CCR). What about the clothing allowance and the Specialized Care Increment? Do these still exist under CCR? For the answer, follow this LINK.
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Program Snapshot Shows Most Youth Not in College, Despite Having Received their High School Diploma
John Burton Advocates for Youth has released program snapshots for the two transitional housing programs for non-minor, current and former foster youth. The snapshots will be released quarterly and provide moment-in-time, statewide, aggregate data for the two programs in the areas of education, employment, income, criminal justice involvement and parenting status. They serve as a complement to the annual report, released each year for both programs.
The Transitional Housing Placement Plus (THP-Plus) Program provides affordable housing and supportive services to former foster and probation youth ages 18 to 24. THP-Plus Foster Care (THP+FC) is a foster care placement for non-minor dependents participating in Extended Foster Care (ages 18 to 21).
Information provided by the snapshots has some good news and some bad news. In both programs, the vast majority of youth have completed high school: 85% in THP+FC and 88% in THP-Plus. Despite this, the report shows most youth are not continuing their education: just half of youth in THP+FC are enrolled in school and even fewer in THP-Plus (44%). This speaks to a need for more intensive preparation and support for youth to enroll and persist in college.
The snapshots are based on data from the THP-Plus and THP+FC Participant Tracking Systems, online databases that provide demographic and outcome data on 614 THP-Plus participants and 572 THP+FC participants. To view the THP-Plus Program Snapshot, follow this LINK. To view the THP+FC Program Snapshot, follow this LINK.
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Skits, Comics & Memes Demystify California's Continuum of Care Reform in Youth Toolkit
California Youth Connection has created a guide to help educate current and former foster youth about California’s Continuum of Care Reform (CCR), and equip them with the tools they need to engage in CCR.
The guide lists fourteen “need to know” facts about CCR, including the creation of Child and Family Teams, the transition of foster families and relative caregivers to being called “Resource Families”, the implementation of standardized Resource Family Approval (RFA), access to individualized care and treatment regardless of placement type, and the transition of group homes to Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs (STRTPs) and their role as last resort placements.
A departure from traditional publications, this guide uses illustrations, skits, comics and memes to outline the process the state has undergone; explain where CCR will land upon full implementation in 2018; describe how placements are different under CCR; and layout CCR’s Core Services, the RFA process, and STRTPs. To download CYC’s CCR Toolkit, follow this LINK.
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Let's Talk THP-Plus Rates: Regional Housing Costs & Serving Parenting Youth
THP-Plus has been underspent each year for the last three years, which given the crisis in housing affordability for former foster youth, raises serious concerns. According to the most recent 2011 Realignment report, counties spent $25.6 million on THP-Plus in 2014-15, down 21% from $32.4 million in 2011-12.
To promote full utilization of THP-Plus, John Burton Advocates for Youth has proposed a series of strategies, including increasing the rate paid to THP-Plus providers, which in many counties has not kept pace with the growth in housing costs.
One approach to increase the THP-Plus rate is for the rate to reflect the cost of housing in each county, as measured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Market Rents (FMRs). Of the 48 counties in California that operate a THP-Plus program, 30 have a THP-Plus rate that is at Fair Market Rent for their county or above it; 18 have a THP-Plus rate that is below Fair Market Rent.
Another approach to increasing the THP-Plus rate is to establish a higher rate for youth who are custodial parents. A “parenting rate” reflects the increased costs both of housing and providing supportive services to parenting youth in the THP-Plus program which, unlike foster care placements with statewide rates, does not have an infant supplement.
On Thursday, February 23 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., John Burton Advocates for Youth is hosting a web seminar to share more information about establishing a THP-Plus rate based on a county’s FMR, and developing a parenting rate. County administrators and THP-Plus providers are encouraged to attend. To register for the web seminar, follow this LINK. To download a flyer, follow this LINK.
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Organizations Collecting Stories about the Impact of the Proposed Repeal of the ACA
The potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without a comprehensive plan to replace it has prompted concern among many communities that have been afforded health insurance through the ACA.
California led the nation in expanding Medicaid, giving working families subsidies in Covered California in order to afford private insurance, preventing people from being denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions, letting young people stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26, and likewise, expanding Medi-Cal for former foster youth up to age 26.
Advocacy organizations in California are working to capture and disseminate stories about those who will be impacted by the ACA’s proposed repeal. Former foster youth interested in sharing their stories about how they are benefiting from Medi-Cal coverage can do so through Health Access by following this LINK, through California Pan-Ethnic Health Network by following this LINK, or by e-mailing their story to Children Now at coveredtil26@childrennow.org.
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New Website Go-To Resource for Issues & Trends Impacting Older Foster Youth
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has launched FosterPort, a website and searchable database exclusively focused on issues and trends that impact older youth in and transitioning out of foster care. Visitors can search FosterPort for resources by impact issue, including adolescent brain science, domestic violence, education, employment, health insurance, immigration, mental health, older youth permanence, research and data, substance abuse, and many more.
Visitors can also search for resources by special population, including boys and young men, commercially sexually exploited children survivors, crossover youth, expectant and parenting youth, girls and young women, LGBTQI, runaway and homeless youth, siblings, young people of color, and youth with disabilities. The FosterPort website can be accessed at www.fosterport.org.
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