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Question of the Week
Q: My 16 year-old foster daughter told me that she is having sex with her boyfriend. I am not sure what to do and what is my role, versus the role of the social worker or her biological parents. This is a sensitive topic. Is there any official guidance from the state on what I should do? For the answer, follow this LINK.
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2017: A New Year and A New Name!
The John Burton Foundation is pleased to announce that we've changed our name to John Burton Advocates for Youth. You can visit our new website, which highlights our work in the areas of education, housing and health, at www.jbaforyouth.org.
The new name is intended to more accurately communicate the nature of our work and convey our commitment to supporting vulnerable youth. Emails sent to staff members at their previous email addresses will continue to reach them. We look forward to working together in 2017.
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State Leadership Jump-Starts Legislative Session with Appointments
California President pro Tempore Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) have announced the Senate and Assembly leadership members and committee chairs and members. In the Senate, the committee chairs and members are nominees and will be formally adopted by the Rules Committee when it convenes on January 11, 2017. In the Assembly, all appointments are effective immediately.
In the Senate, newly elected Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) has been appointed Majority Whip. Some of the new committee chair nominations of interest to the child welfare community include newly elected Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) as Chair of the Human Services Committee, Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) as Chair of the Education Committee, Senator Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) as Chair of the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, and Senator Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) as Chair of the Budget Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services.
In the Assembly, leadership appointments include newly elected Assembly Members Raul Bocanegra (D-San Fernando Valley) as Majority Whip; and Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) and Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), both appointed Assistant Majority Whip.
New Assembly committee chair appointments of interest to the child welfare community include Assembly Member Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) as Chair of the Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services and newly elected Assembly Member Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) as Chair of the Human Services Committee.
For a complete list of assignments in the Senate, follow this LINK. For a complete list of assignments in the Assembly, follow this LINK.
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Caregivers Having "The Talk" with Foster Youth - Is there a Guide for That?
The California Department of Social Services’ Community Care Licensing Division (CCL) has released a technical support resource guide for children’s residential facilities and resource families, “Healthy Sexual Development and Pregnancy Prevention for Youth in Foster Care”.
The guide is intended to provide a basic framework for better understanding the issues concerning the healthy sexual development of youth in foster care and the utilization of available resources. In addition to the topics of pregnancy, pregnancy prevention and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, the guide also includes topics such as Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Questioning youth, dating abuse, commercial sexual exploitation and mandated reporting.
As outlined further in California’s Plan for the Prevention of Unintended Pregnancy for Youth and Non-Minor Dependents, the guide underscores the importance of caregivers communicating with the social worker, who has the responsibility of assuring access to reproductive health information for foster youth on their caseload. The guide also discusses personal rights, Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard, and caregiver responsibilities, referencing the reproductive rights of foster youth which are described in detail in All County Letter 16-82.
The guide includes hypothetical scenarios under each topic that provide options for how to address various issues; online resources including identifying clinics, educational information on the topics discussed in the resource guide for caregivers and youth, training and tips for caregivers on talking with youth about these topics; and an appendix of laws applicable to the topics discussed. To download the resource guide, follow this LINK.
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Should Part of the $2B Housing Bond go to Transition-Age Youth? Make Your Opinion Known
On July 1, 2016, Governor Brown signed legislation enacting the No Place Like Home (NPLH) Program to dedicate $2 billion in bond proceeds to invest in the development of permanent supportive housing for people who are in need of mental health services and are experiencing homelessness, chronic homelessness, or at-risk of chronic homelessness. The bonds are repaid by funding from the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Fund.
The NPLH statutes authorize the California Health Facilities Financing Authority to issue $2 billion in bonds and contract with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to provide grants or loans to California counties for permanent supportive housing for the target population.
NPLH funds will be administered by a Competitive Program ($1.8 billion), an Over-the-Counter Program ($200 million), and Technical Assistance ($6.2 million). The Notice of Funding Available will be released in the winter of 2018.
A 15-member NPLH Advisory Committee consisting of state agencies, city and county officials, and mental health and housing experts will be formed to advise HCD and receive input from the public regarding the development and implementation of the program.
HCD has released the Public Comment Draft of the Proposed Program Framework. One of the key questions posed under the definitions section is whether the definition of At-Risk of Chronic Homelessness should be expanded to include Transition-Age Youth. To submit your comments about this and any other issues raised in the draft framework, e-mail NPLH@hcd.ca.gov before January 31, 2017. John Burton Advocates for Youth will be submitting a letter and provide an opportunity to sign-on in next week's newsletter.
To download the Public Comment Draft of the Proposed Program Framework, follow this LINK. To learn more about the NPLH Program, visit the HCD website. HCD is also hosting regional workshops throughout the month of January to present the initial NPLH program design, in addition to a web seminar on January 26th.
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NYTD Reaches Same Conclusion as CalYOUTH: Youth in Extended Foster Care Do Better
The California Department of Social Services has released survey findings for the first cohort of foster youth who completed surveys as part of the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD). These surveys were conducted at ages 17, 19, and 21 in 2011, 2013, and 2015, respectively.
While the purpose of the NYTD is to explore key developmental tasks and outcomes and to gather information on the independent living services provided to current and former foster youth, this first summary brief only summarizes survey findings in the areas of financial self-sufficiency, education, connections with adults, access to health insurance and exposure to high risk outcomes.
Survey results indicate that foster youth continue to struggle to accomplish critical developmental tasks and have high rates of homelessness, substance abuse referral, incarceration, and having children. However, youth who remained in foster care reported higher rates of educational participation and access to health insurance and lower exposure to high risk outcomes, a finding that is consistent with Professor Mark Courtney’s CalYOUTH Study.
Youth in care were more likely to be enrolled in a school program and to receive educational assistance at both age 19 and 21. Youth in care were also more likely to have Medi-Cal insurance. Youth in care were less likely to be receiving public financial support at both age 19 and 21. In terms of employment, at age 19, youth in foster care were less likely to be employed full-time that youth no in foster care (7.3% vs. 10.3%). This may be due to the fact that youth who elect to remain in foster care are more likely to be enrolled in school.
Finally, youth who had exited the foster care system were more likely to report high-risk outcomes, which include substance abuse, incarceration and having children. The summary brief also compares the data across California’s regions finding very little variation, and compares California’s outcomes to the national data, which showed some variation. To read the summary brief, follow this LINK.
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