SACRAMENTO, Calif --- Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation authored by Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson (D-Carson) that will ensure our at-promise youth in foster care and juvenile detention facilities are given the same respect and resources as any other child.
These three bills collectively impact youth at the margins of the foster care and juvenile justice system and seek to improve outcomes by reducing exposure to traumatic experiences and increasing access to resources. Specifically,
- AB 2247 will reduce the number of destabilizing placement changes foster youth undergo which, over years, can add up to over 100 homes.
- AB 2337 will eliminate barriers to ensure that youth from age 18 to 21 who have fallen through the cracks are able to enter or re-enter extended foster care for critical services.
- AB 2448 gives youth in foster care and in local juvenile detention facilities access to the Internet for educational purposes and to connect with family.
"I can’t tell you how disheartening it is to hear from youth who have been handed their precious possessions in a trash bag and told to move, or from children of color whose trauma is seen as a threat and who are then pushed into the juvenile justice system," said Asm. Gipson. "These are children who should only be worrying about doing their homework or making the soccer team. Yet, our child welfare system is built to be a child disenfranchisement system that traumatizes youth and makes them feel like they don’t matter. I thank Governor Brown and my colleagues in the Legislature for working with me to ignite dramatic change in these children’s lives."
Asm. Gipson had a conversation with two resilient former foster youth who inspired this work. The video is available at: https://youtu.be/Tv6-UaQ_Mjc.
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