First increase in 35 years included in the new state budget
The recently passed New York state budget increased rental subsidies for foster youth aging out of the system for the first time since 1988, raising the amount from $300 to $725 per month. The increase is aimed at combating homelessness among foster youth ages 18 through 21 and better supporting them as they enter adulthood.
The rental subsidies are also available to families with a preventative child welfare case, funding designed to avoid foster care separations.
Youth advocates have rallied around the additional rental assistance, which was approved by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in the $229 billion budget passed last month.
“By raising the child welfare housing subsidy, our leaders have strengthened one of the crucial concrete supports the child welfare system can provide to families involved in the system and youth who are transitioning out of the system into independent life,” numerous advocacy groups stated in a press release. “We have long fought for this expansion and commend Governor Hochul and legislative leaders for taking this first step toward ensuring that this subsidy provides meaningful support in relation to New York’s high cost of living.”
To qualify for the subsidy, available through age 21, foster youth must have a rental unit lined up and be in a trial or discharge status from the child welfare system.
The Schuyler Center, a child welfare research organization, emphasized how rarely the $300 rental subsidy has been used due to the fact that $300 is “wholly insufficient to stabilize housing,” 一 particularly given the high rents in New York City.
The Administration for Children Services, New York City’s child welfare agency, helps local residents apply for the subsidy, which can also be used as a one-time grant of $1,800 to help pay for housing deposits and buy furniture. Eligible families must have an open case with the agency and a child at risk of foster care removal. Roughly 240 foster youth received the one-time grant in the city last year, an agency spokesperson said.
New legislation sponsored by Sen. Jabari Brisport (D) and supported by advocates for children and families would expand eligibility for foster youth for an additional three years until age 24.
“For young people, one barrier to utilization is that the subsidy is only available until they reach age 21,” the Schuyler Center stated in a fact sheet. “This means that youth aging out of the system are unable to avail themselves of the benefit to assist them in their transition to independent living.”
