AB12

By no means has anyone credited AB12 to be the “end all, be all” for emancipating foster youth, but I will say it has served as an alleviation to thousands of youth.

Executive Director Joseph Tietz of California Youth Connection announced last week that he will leave the non-profit this September after six years of service. The organization provides advocacy and leadership training to foster youth and adults. It also creates and advocates for legislative measures that support youth in foster care.

It was just an ordinary day at the office until Sokhom Mao noticed an email in his inbox from the White House. Three weeks later, he was on a plane traveling from his home in Oakland, Calif., to Washington, D.C., to be honored as a 2015 White House Champion of Change.

By Anna Maier When it comes to successfully implementing legislation, the devil is often in the details. That is why a Bay Area advocacy group is making sure that foster youth get the support entitled to them by the California Fostering Connections to Success Act (AB12.)

Foster youth approach the age of 18 with serious health and socioeconomic risk factors, but do so with optimism and a sense of support, according to the baseline findings from a five-year study on California youths released late last week.

The brothers escaped on a Sunday. Matt, 14, Terrick, 12, and Joseph, 11 pretended to go to church that day in 2006, but in secret they had planned to run away and never come back.

by Jeremy Loudenback Proposed state legislation scheduled for debate in the California Assembly’s Human Services Committee on Tuesday aims to bring pregnant and parenting foster youth a much-needed housing alternative. Assembly Bill 2668, a new bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, would provide transition-age foster youth with a special, modified version of the state’s supervised independent living placement (SILP).

The number of foster youth in California who age out at 18 has plummeted in the past two years, suggesting that its federal partnership to expand foster care until 21 has had a significant impact.

Yesterday, the Children’s Advocacy Institute released a new report, “California’s Fostering Connections: Ensuring that the AB 12 Bridge Leads to Success for Transition Age Foster Youth.”  Authored by attorney Melanie Delgado the report reviews the first 18 months of extended foster care implementation in California, interviewing officials from 10 counties, current and former foster youth and a wide range of child welfare stakeholders from around the state.