Background. While the number of children and youth in foster care have significantly decreased in recent decades, grim data continues to demonstrate the need for additional supports for children and youth in foster care and those seeking to achieve permanency.

• About 64.1% of all foster youth in California graduate high school.

• 75% of young women in foster care report at least one pregnancy by 21 years of age.

• Every year, approximately 3,000 - 4,000 youth age out of care in California with no place to call home.

• One-half of youth who have aged out of foster care end up homeless or incarcerated.

 

California policymakers have worked diligently to improve and strengthen the state’s foster care services for those in care, in permanent placements, in reunification, and within the juvenile justice system. However, children in foster care and former foster youth outcomes often continue the cycle of poverty, abuse, lack of education, substance abuse, incarceration, and homelessness.

 

Foster children and youth would benefit from one-to-one mentoring models that provide appropriately screened, trained, and matched adult mentors that build positive relationships, positive experiences, and improved goals and outcomes. Mentoring helps to create and maintain continuity for foster youth.  Researchers examining mentored youth in comparison to unmentored youth after 18 months found that mentored youth were less likely to engage in a variety of risky and unhealthy behaviors, such as using illegal drugs or alcohol, skipping school, and hitting others.

 

Individuals engaged in assisting children through the child welfare system, including biological parents, foster parents, and guardians, adoptive or permanent families, social workers, and the courts, are required to work together to improve outcomes for children in foster care. An individualized plan is established for a foster child and is submitted to the court with recommendations based upon the needs of the child.

 

A social worker’s written court report and a case plan provided to the court under Section 16501.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is integral to the court’s oversight of a dependent child and a nonminor dependent. The report informs the court about a multitude of issues regarding the child or nonminor dependent and serves as the basis of the court’s findings and orders, helping the court make informed decisions regarding a child’s or nonminor dependent’s safety, permanency, well-being, and successful transition to living independently as an adult.

 

Proposal. Legislation to be authored by Assemblymember Lori Wilson will provide children and youth in foster care a chance to engage in a one-to-one mentoring relationship with trauma-informed mentors who can provide insight, companionship, and offer support for children.   The measure requires a discussion between foster children and their social worker regarding the potential benefits of having a one-to-one mentor and to determine if the child or youth is willing to engage in a mentoring relationship.  Social workers would work to identify an organization(s) in which a trauma-informed mentor would be available to match with the youth.  The discussion and efforts to seek a mentoring match would be documented in the supplemental report provided to the Court.   

Department of Education Mentoring Program

 

Background. BBBS of California serves about 16,000-19,000 children and youth per year through its 14 affiliates statewide.  However, we are barely able to scratch the surface.  Research estimates that 16.7% of all Californians had four or more adverse childhood experiences (such as physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, and substance abuse or mental illness of a household member); ACEs contribute to lower educational achievement, greater health and substance abuse problems, and reduced employment prospects for adults. 

 

This situation for many California children impedes their ability to receive the benefits of a quality public education.  It leads to toxic stress for children and accounts for 36% of all ACES-related healthcare costs.  They are 21% more likely to live at or below the federal poverty level, 27% more likely to have not graduated from college and 39% as likely to be unemployed. (California Department of Public Health)

 

Some BBBS affiliates currently receive funds through existing Department of Education programs such as the Extended Learning Opportunities Program and the Local Control Accountability Plan.  However, these funding streams are limited in their reach; they are site-based only, they support disparate programs that do not focus on the unique benefits of one-to-one mentoring, and, in many cases, they do not invest the time necessary to allow BBBS affiliates to maximize their capacity to benefit the lives of K-12 students.

 

Moreover, site-based programs are not structured to follow the child through important milestones in the child’s life.  The off-campus mentorship supports students’ pipeline transitions from elementary to middle to high school in addition to supporting students who change schools or school districts due to housing and poverty implications.  Off-campus one-to-one mentorship is a safety net program for the most vulnerable of students.

 

Proposal. BBBS of California proposes an investment of $5 million by the Department of Education to partner with local one-to-one mentoring nonprofits to help more historically underserved California K-12 students succeed academically, behaviorally, and social emotionally, increasing the likelihood of their productive school involvement and post-secondary success.  We project this investment will allow the program to serve an additional 1500 students over 3 years.