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AB 12 Question of the Week
Q: I'm helping a Non-Minor Dependent (NMD) who is placed in our THP+FC program apply for CalFresh (food stamps). Does she include the monthly stipend our program gives her as unearned income, or the entire monthly foster care payment (THP+FC rate) we receive on her behalf? For the answer, follow this LINK.
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Thurmond Bill Establishes Graduation and Loan Default Standards for Chafee ETV
Students are returning to college campuses across California, making it a good time to ask Governor Brown to sign Assembly Bill 2506, (Thurmond), which would improve access to quality college options for foster youth by establishing graduation and loan-default standards for schools that receive the Chafee Education and Training Voucher.
The catalyst for the bill was low-performing colleges that left foster youth with high levels of college debt, such as ITT Educational Services, Inc., which recently had its ability to receive federal financial aid restricted. In 2013, California adopted minimum requirements for institutional eligibility for Cal Grants to address this issue among the larger post-secondary education population.
Currently, the Chafee ETV may be used at post-secondary schools that do not meet these minimum requirements. AB 2506 would prohibit the use of the Chafee ETV at post-secondary institutions that do not meet the following criteria: 30% graduation rate and no higher than a 15.5% cohort default rate. These provisions would ensure that foster youth are able to utilize valuable Chafee funding at quality institutions.
Please take a moment to ask Governor Brown to sign this important legislation by adapting a sample support letter and forwarding to the John Burton Foundation, which is collecting the letters to submit together. Please submit your letter by Friday, September 16.
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State Gives Instructions to End MFG, Effective January 1, 2017
California’s Department of Social Services issued a historic All County Letter in late August, providing counties with instructions to repeal the long-maligned Maximum Family Grant (MFG) rule.
This rule, established in 1994, denied financial assistance to any child born into a household that is receiving CalWORKs, California’s welfare program. Under the MFG rule, a second child born to this mother on CalWORKs did not receive financial assistance, leaving both children in the household to be raised in deep poverty.
Senator Holly Mitchell championed the repeal of the MFG and was successful this year with the passage and signature of AB 1603. The ACL states in plain language the immediate effect of this policy change: Effective January 1, 2017, no child will be denied aid because he or she was born into a family that received cash aid continuously for ten months immediately prior to their birth.
In addition to eliminating this restriction for future children, it makes children previously determined ineligible now eligible for inclusion on the family’s CalWORKs grant effective January 1, 2017, if all other conditions of eligibility are met. An April 2016 analysis by the Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated this policy change would provide approximately $250 million to California’s most needy families.
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New Report Explores Debate between Family Preservation and Abuse Prevention
CQ Researcher has released a new report on child welfare in the United States. The report raises several important questions, and explores the tension between prioritizing family preservation versus prioritizing preventing abuse and neglect. Also included in the report is a brief history of the child welfare system.
In addition to other current issues, the report discusses the ongoing debate about use of congregate care, referencing California’s Continuum of Care Reform and Assembly Bill 403. Also mentioned is California advocates’ criticism of the Families First Prevention Services Act for, among other flaws, proposing restrictions on funding for group homes while failing to adequately differentiate between homes for children with no significant needs, and medically focused homes that serve children with acute challenges for short periods of time.
The report also presents viewpoints on the use of data or predictive analytics as a tool to drive decision-making about when an abuse complaint warrants investigation, or when children are at risk of entering the child welfare system. Some say the use of “big data” can be a valuable tool, while others are concerned about the potential for it to lead to child protection authorities disproportionately targeting low-income and minority residents. To read the report, follow this LINK.
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Webinar to Discuss New ESSA Guidelines Regarding Homeless Students
Civic Enterprises, the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, the Raikes Foundation, and America’s Promise Alliance are hosting a web seminar on Thursday, September 22 from 2:00 to 3:00 P.M. EST, “Hidden in Plain Sight: Homeless Students in America’s Public Schools.”
This webinar, stemming from a report recently released by the GradNation campaign, will discuss the current state of homeless students in America’s public schools, and will address new guidelines established by the Every Student Succeeds Act requiring districts and states – for the first time – to report high school graduation rates for homeless students. To register for the web seminar, follow this LINK.
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