|
Landmark policy aims to reduce youth homelessness 
Washington state’s Foster Care Achievement Act helps transitioning youth pursue education past high school.
On March 28, the stroke of a pen opened new possibilities for the successful future of 150 youth transitioning out of foster care during the next three years in Washington state. On hand to witness Gov. Christine Gregoire’s signing of the Foster Care Achievement Act (House Bill 2002) were Jamica Henderson and Misty Lou Cook, two youth advocates from the Seattle-based Mockingbird Society.
Henderson is an alumna of the foster care system. Cook formerly experienced homelessness. Their testimony before the House and Senate helped rally overwhelming legislative support for the bill, which permits qualified youth aging out of foster care to receive health care and food stipends and continue living with their foster parents until they reach age 21. To qualify, youth must enroll in a college degree or vocational training program after they graduate from high school. The bill goes a long way towards reducing factors that contribute to youth homelessness and poverty.
Over 65 supporters attended the first hearing of the bill. In her testimony, Henderson told legislators, “This bill would be a great help to everyone who was once in foster care and now has to deal with the world alone without support.”
Youth advocates know the system
Henderson and Cook divide their time between Advocates for System Kids and Youth (ASK-Y) and Mockingbird Times, a Seattle-based, monthly newspaper designed and produced by young people who have experienced the foster care system or homelessness. In an article Cook published before she testified, she said, “Preventative measures like HB 2002 are a surefire solution towards ending homelessness.” Cook argued, “If you’re a youth in foster care, you’re penalized for getting your GED or high school diploma… [Youth] are cut off from Washington state support and no longer receive medical insurance or money for food, shelter, and other basic needs.”
Henderson and Cook won’t benefit directly from the Foster Care Achievement Act. But like many alumni of foster care, they have a personal stake in making sure youth in care get more support after emancipating from the system. “I still have siblings in foster care. I really wanted to get the bill passed so they’ll be able to continue going to school and not be pushed out on the streets,” says Henderson.
Though Henderson hasn’t personally experienced homelessness, Cook has. “When I was living on the streets, I met many kids who had aged out of foster care,” she says. “It’s a big priority of mine for the most marginalized members of our society to have at least some option besides homelessness.”
|