Blue Pencil Chaos

Last week was one of great highs and lows. At the beginning of the week I was invited along with many other child welfare executives to join Governor Schwarzenegger for the signing of Assembly Bill 12. Many of you who read last week’s blog entry will recognize the legislation as an important advancement of services provided to youth leaving the foster care system. The bill signing was the culmination of two years of hard work to craft the legislation and lobby for the support necessary to get it to the Governor’s desk.

The legislation, an important statement to foster care youth who have reached 18, enables us to continue providing services to former foster youth that are required for them to be successful. Having been part of this effort, it was truly gratifying to witness the signing. Youth served at both Youth Moving On and our Transition Aged Youth services throughout Los Angeles County will benefit from the legislation.

By the end of the week, a budget was presented to the Governor for his signature. Although the budget that was passed by the legislature provided no increased capacity to serve California’s most vulnerable, the budget was designed to maintain the State’s current level of commitment to social services and education. It is the Governor’s prerogatives to “blue pencil” or eliminate line items before finalizing the budget. As he has done in the past, he utilized the blue pencil to create further savings for the State’s “rainy day fund” and, in doing so, created a “rainy day” for us and other child welfare agencies.

In particular, the Governor significantly reduced funding for special education, suspended the mandate to provide some of these services, and moved the responsibility for funding these programs from the mental health to the education department. The “blue pencil” eliminations have created a tremendous chaotic environment in which to support these children and families, jeopardizing their care and placing them at considerable risk.

As you can imagine, we have been busy sorting out the impact this will have on 28 of 64 residents at Hillsides that are directly affected by these actions. We are, of course, committed to seeing them and their families through this very uncertain time and will do everything we can, within our own limited resources, to continue to provide them with the care they need.

Once again, the budget is “balanced” on the backs of the poor and the vulnerable. Once again, rhetoric is hollow as we continue to fail to allocate resources necessary to educate and safeguard our most vulnerable children and youth. Once again, the “system” further victimizes those who have been the most innocent of victims.

Over the next few weeks strategies will emerge to address this issue. We call upon our legislators to take up this issue as soon as possible and we call upon our donor community more than ever to support our efforts during this time. Together we will continue to be a resource for these children, youth and families helping them to create and find safe “places” were they can enjoy a full life.

Bill to Help Emancipated Youth and Kinship Care Passes

On September 30 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he has signed legislation to improve the lives of children and youth in California’s foster care system including AB 12 by Assemblymember Jim Beall (D-San Jose) and Assemblymember Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) to extend transitional foster care services to eligible youth between 18 and 21 years of age.

According to Governor Schwarzenegger, our foster care youth deserve every opportunity to succeed in life, and extending foster benefits and services through age 21 will help better equip them with the necessary tools. AB 12 will ensure our foster youth have access to important resources as they transition into adulthood.

Studies have shown that former foster youth are less likely to complete high school, attend college, or be employed, and are at a higher risk for becoming homeless, arrested or incarcerated. AB 12 aims to reduce this correlation by providing foster youth between the age of 18 and 21 a better support system to stay in school and obtain employment.

In addition to continuing foster care services to this age group, the legislation allows California to take advantage of federal funding through participation in kinship guardianship assistance payments. California was one of the first states to establish the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment program to provide financial assistance for children that are placed under legal guardianship with a relative and, now under this legislation, federal funding will be available to support these payments.

In the work we do to help vulnerable youth who emancipate at 18 with no place to call home, the lack of employment to help sustain them or skills to achieve independent living, we understand the significance of this legislation. At Hillsides Youth Moving On, former foster youth receive quality and affordable transitional housing, mentoring, mental health, and vocational and academic support. Critical to the success of these youth is a supportive community they can tap into while learning how to become young adults and navigate through adulthood.

We, too, rely on the help of a supportive community to assist us in also working with the youth. Your donations yearlong, especially during the holidays and in June during emancipation time, are important to giving these vulnerable youth a head start in relieving some stress or financial burden. To continue the great cause, view how you can help.

We are also ecstatic to know that relative caregivers who are participating in the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment program will also be benefiting from this legislation. We work together with families to create safe places for vulnerable children, some of whom are relatives. Often times the financial responsibility of providing for additional relatives placed in their homes is great and unexpected. This legislation will help lessen the financial strain. These are families who, at times, need to be adopted during the holidays. We hope you will continue to support us through those efforts. Learn how by visiting our www.Hillsides.org.

In Spite of Budget Impasse Key Piece of Legislation Advances in Sacramento

During the past week a key piece of legislation has advanced at the State Capitol that will have a direct impact on children, youth and families we serve. The California Fostering Connections to Success Act (AB 12--Bass and Beall) is legislation that can significantly reform California’s foster care system for emancipated foster youth and relative caregivers in two ways. 


This legislation will assist youth who “age out” of foster care. Each year in California, more than 4,000 youth “age out” when they turn 18 and are no longer eligible for foster care. Currently, Hillsides Youth Moving On program offers twenty former foster youth quality, affordable transitional housing and independent living skills. Without the support of a family, these youth do not fare well as young adults and may experience homelessness, unemployment, criminal justice involvement and low educational attainment at rates greater than their peers. AB 12 will ensure a brighter future for older youth in California’s foster care system by expanding support for foster youth to age 21, an approach proven to lead to better outcomes and leverages substantial new federal funds.  Aimed at teaching them independence as they journey through adulthood, YMO residents could benefit greatly from this legislation. 


Another group that would benefit from AB 12 is relative caregivers. In 2001, California created the Kinship Guardian Assistance Program (Kin-GAP) to ensure that relatives who take legal guardianship of a child from the foster care system receive the same support provided to non-family members. AB 12 will build on this support by drawing on new federal dollars to operate what is currently an entirely state-funded program. Doing so will save California an estimated $70 million per year. This would be a real boom to our efforts to support the families of the children and youth we serve. Rather than look to an over burdened foster family system, these resources will help us support families to be better equipped to fulfill their responsibilities as parents and caregivers.


AB 12 moves onto the full Senate, which must vote on it before the end of August. Following this, it will proceed to Governor Schwarzenegger, who has until the end of September to sign or veto the bill. Encourage your Senators to move this legislation forward so that together, we can inform Governor Schwarzenegger of the benefits to emancipated foster youth and relative caregivers. We have an opportunity to impact the lives of so many affected by the foster care system.


Contact your Senator at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html and encourage them to pass AB12 to assist emancipated foster youth transition successfully into adulthood and support relative caregivers in their commitment to care for foster care children.