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Question of the Week
Q: I am working with a young woman who has turned 21 and was previously in foster care. She was reunified with her mother approximately 7 weeks before she turned 18.
Does this preclude her from educational financial aid that is tied to her foster youth status? Can she access Chafee and the other types of financial aid? For the answer, follow this LINK.
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Senator Leyva Introduces Bill to Reduce Rates of Unintended Pregnancy Among Foster Youth
Yesterday, Senator Connie Leyva (D-20) introduced Senate Bill 245, the Protecting Foster Youth Act to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy among youth in foster care.
While the rate of unintended pregnancy among teens and young adults in the United States has reached a 30‐year low, this reduction has not been experienced by youth in foster care. The California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago found that 52 percent of California foster youth have been pregnant at least once by age 19, a number almost three times higher than that of youth not in foster care. More than two-thirds of these young women describe their pregnancies as unintended.
According to a 2013 report by Children’s Data Network, by age 21, over one in three young women who were in foster care at age 18 will give birth; of foster youth who give birth before age 18, 40 percent will have a second birth by age 21.
John Burton Advocates for Youth, the National Center for Youth Law and the Children’s Law Center of California invite you to attend a web seminar on Thursday, February 16 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. to learn more about SB 245.
To register for the web seminar, follow this LINK. To download the webinar flyer, follow this LINK. To download a fact sheet on SB 245, follow this LINK.
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Sign-On to Protect Federal Funding for Child Welfare Services
The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) which provides critical protection and supports to children, youth, older adults and people with disabilities, is expected to be a prime target for elimination in the 2017 Congress. The Child Welfare League of America is circulating a sign-on letter to Congress in support of continued funding of the SSBG.
The SSBG is a capped entitlement program whose annual funding level is determined by Congress, allocated according to each state’s population size. The entitlement ceilings for SSBG have decreased from a high of $2.8 billion in FY 1990 to $1.7 billion in FY 2014. States have broad discretion in the use of SSBG funds, determining what services to support and which populations to serve, and can refocus their SSBG expenditures over time as their populations’ needs change.
SSBG can be used across 29 different service categories which include several child welfare services. In Fiscal Year 2014, child foster care services, child protective services and child day care were three of the four categories receiving the highest proportion of SSBG expenditures.
Unlike other programs targeted for elimination, SSBG is funded with mandatory dollars which would exact immediate savings making it an attractive target in budget discussions. To sign onto the letter supporting continued funding of the SSBG, follow this LINK. The deadline to sign onto the letter is February 17th.
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Web Seminar to Address Questions from Non-Profit and Public Sector on Immigration
While much media attention about the two recently issued Executive Orders focuses on banning refugees and travelers from seven nations, the orders contain much more, including harsher immigration enforcement priorities and a policy that states that localities that “willfully refuse to comply” with certain federal laws are “not eligible” to receive federal grants.
These orders have immigrant families around the country on edge, asking questions about their future under the Trump Administration. Also asking questions are California’s non-profit and public sector agencies who regularly serve immigrant families, and are seeking strategies to keep them safe.
To address these issues, the San-Francisco Immigrant Legal Resource Center is partnering with John Burton Advocates for Youth to present an informational web seminar. The purpose of the web seminar is to explain the implications of the Executive Orders and provide resources to non-profit and public sector agencies who serve immigrant families. The web seminar will be held in late March and will be based on the concerns and questions submitted. To submit a question or concern regarding immigration that you would like addressed, please follow this LINK.
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Where Can I Access California Dependency Case Law?
The Judicial Council Center for Families, Children & the Courts (CFCC) maintains an online guide to provide assistance to attorneys, judicial officers, and other professionals working in California’s child welfare system.
Among many other resources, subscribers to the California Dependency Online Guide (CalDOG) have access to a searchable database of California dependency-related case law, California statutes, and federal and state regulations. Subscribers can download text of sample, dependency-related motions, briefs, writs and orders; and find agencies and professionals providing family maintenance and reunification services.
Only those who subscribe to the CalDOG can access the database, however there is no cost to subscribing. John Burton Advocates for Youth has posted an example of summaries of the most recent published case law, as of January 31 HERE. Those interested in accessing CalDOG’s resources can subscribe by following this LINK.
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Service Providers: Help Improve Former Foster Youth Medi-Cal Enrollment & Retention
Children Now is conducting a 15-question survey of individuals who work with former foster youth to inform efforts to ensure eligible former foster youth have Medi-Cal coverage. They are gathering information to identify barriers to enrollment or retention, support efforts to ensure coverage, and provide resources where needed. To take the survey, which takes an estimated ten minutes to complete, follow this LINK.
Children Now manages a website with resources and information about Medi-Cal coverage for former foster youth. To visit the website, follow this LINK.
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