Senators McGuire and Ashby Introduce Legislation Making College Debt Free for California’s Foster Students
Press release from the Office of Senator Mike McGuire:
Senator Mike McGuire from his Facebook page.
[Yesterday], Senator Angelique V. Ashby (D-Sacramento) and Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) introduced SB 307, the College for Foster Youth Act, which will make debt-free college a reality for foster students in California.
“My father spent his life fighting to improve the lives of children who find themselves in the foster care system,” said Senator Ashby. “This bill is presented in honor and furtherance of his incredible legacy. To give California’s foster youth the certainty of a debt free collegiate future, is to ensure they know that they are loved and supported.”
“Every foster youth deserves the opportunity to achieve their college dream, but in too many cases, that dream is out of reach due to financial barriers and extreme challenges that come about in the foster system. This is simply unacceptable,” said Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire. “SB 307 will change countless lives by guaranteeing California’s foster youth the financial resources to go to and through college. We’re excited to partner with Senator Ashby, John Burton Advocates for Youth and young leaders across the State to get this legislation across the finish line.”
SB 307 builds upon Governor Newsom’s vision for debt-free college for all students by establishing the Fostering Futures program, within the Middle Class Scholarship (MCS Program.) This bill will allow foster youth enrolled in an associate’s degree or certificate program at a community college or a four-year program at a CSU or UC to have 100% of their unmet needs covered after other aid is applied.
“Foster youth often arrive at college with a host of challenges stemming from their time in the foster care system, a childhood marked by instability, and the long-term impacts of the abuse or neglect that brought them to the attention of the child welfare system. Even small gaps in funding can derail college entirely for foster youth, who are typically without family support and living in financially precarious situations. And while foster youth face many challenges, they are also a population with enormous potential. By covering these shortfalls, the Fostering Futures program will make college possible for California’s most vulnerable students,” said Debbie Raucher, Director of Education, John Burton Advocates for Youth.
Many children and youth enter foster care due to serious abuse and neglect. This trauma is often compounded by the instability they experience while in foster care, through placement and school changes. Together, these circumstances may lead to poor educational outcomes, most notably low rates of college completion. While about 64% of foster youth graduate high school (compared to 86% statewide), only 3-4% of former foster youth obtain a 4-year college degree. Students in foster care are one of the most vulnerable and underperforming education subgroups in the state, due to instability in home and school placements.
SB 307 seeks to reverse this trend by making debt-free college a reality for foster youth in California.
Studies have shown that for foster youth who are able to enroll in higher education, many face barriers such as education costs, reliable housing and living expenses. Alleviating education costs have improved foster youth college attendance and graduation rates.
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This is a good step in the right direction. Yet, we have to remember that these kids coming out of foster care do not have the skills to succeed in college. Oftentimes they come out of the foster care system with years and years of dysfunction as far as their educational needs. Shuffling them around in different schools with intense emotional needs can be daunting to any education. Would be interested to see what the rate of high school graduation is for children within foster care as a forethought for this action. THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR.
What is the percentage of kids in foster care that grow up to live incarcerated, heavily medicated, homeless, or to have their own children taken away by CPS? That’s some good numbers to consider when you’re talking about how education can solve issues. We got to get ahead of the problems if we’re going to solve them we can’t keep trying to clean up the mess after the milk’s already spilled.
great points I agree! Foster kids can grow up to be incredibly good people with mental toughness. They just need a little Jesus.
I agree that most of them don’t have the skills for college when they get out. However, the reason isn’t simply they are in foster care. The foster care system as well as the adults with disabilities programs tend not to require them to step up and achieve. They’re so busy feeling sorry for them that they are enabled to do nothing and become nothing. It’s time for foster care providers and adult disability programs to be funded for more than babysitting and actually require effort and self responsibility. Otherwise, the don’t have any kind of positive future.
Sweet more shit we have to fucking pay for instead of making students choose proper courses that won’t put them into constant debt
Fucking stupid how we have to fund these [edit] kids who decide to go for pointless degrees like feminist studies and social issues instead of proper trades like welding and auto mechanics
Totally agree
Most hilarious part of your sad post is … assault on choice. America, Freedom to choose one’s direction and destination. In this case, once they can move past something they don’t have a choice in: who their parents then foster parents are. So now they become an adult and get to choose, to “decide” what classes they get to take. So, Freedom or “proper trades”? Too bad, eh, that Trump University got a big “F”.
You are a sad person. This program is absolutely wonderful. Foster kids are given the short end of the stick. For what ever reason, outside of their control due to the fact that they are CHILDREN, they are removed from their home. Often times put into a house with people who don’t care about them, they face abuse, molestation and neglect more times than not. Again, these are children, you know, the kids that conservatives say that they want to save? Once foster kids turn 18, the vast majority of them are turned out into the streets with nothing. Sadly they are often homeless, and sometimes turn to crime to support themselves. This program will help with that, it will reduce homelessness and crime, and finally give some kids that have been given a shit chance in life a good chance.
They can choose welding or mechanics classes too.
Considering what foster parents and people who adopt children are paid each month maybe they could make it a law that some of the money is set aside in an account for the child to use after they turn 18. Even group homes get a lot of money each month.
Wow, I wish I was a foster kid!
Now this is something I can agree some of my tax dollars go for. If foster kids want to go to college, good on them. Many of these kids have been shuffled from home to home their entire life’s with lack of stability by no choice of their own. It’s like having only one leg in a 100 meter race where all the competitors have two. For all the people who will complain about this proposal, how about instead petitioning our state to stop funding non citizen illegal alien border jumpers who have absolutely no right to anything in our country. In that way, more of our tax dollars will be available to help our poor, homeless, vets, foster children, and every other American citizen. My only caveat is that all the money for this, all of it, should go to the kids and not to bureaucrat administrators.
What “retarded” kids? Foster kids didn’t ask to be abused and neglected and are not developmentally disabled. Oftentimes they are economically disabled.
Yes…foster kids are tokens in beaurcratic board games. Pawns on a chessboard filled with kings and queens telling them they are less. Moving your clothes in trash bags. Sleeping on mattresses on the floor the”bedroom” shown to foster care to be “approved” never used. Its a twisted scenario. School success is not part of the game. Good to hear it will be…if they can access it. Ask any former foster kid in California if they know what a Chaffee Grant is and they will look at you with a Blank Stare. It’s the system set up long ago to pay partial fees for foster care kids to enter into college, little used, seldom mentioned.
All you people complaining about this never cease to amaze me, but mostly sadden me with your asinine comments. Helping the disadvantaged youth shouldn’t bother anyone. If it bothers you? I’d say you need to check yourself. But you probably have your heads so far up your asses, you wouldn’t even know how to.
Why it bothers me. First, nothing is free. Everyone including foster care recipients MUST learn this. Second, the failure of the criminal justice system to deal with criminals, including former foster care is sickening. Finally, it’s important that everyone be taught, and forced if necessary to take responsibility for their own life regardless of the terrible things that have happen to them. Time for the lazy excuses to end. By the way, I had to choose to succeed in life. It wasn’t handed to me. And yes, there were huge amounts of extremely bad things done to me in my past. However, none of these POS people stopped me from becoming successful. I had to work at it and still am.
Being born without parents and living in foster care is a lazy excuse huh?
It’s impossible to be born without parents. They may be trash, but everyone has parents. It’s feeling entitled because of bad parents or bad things that happen that is laziness. Nobody, no matter the circumstances is entitled to anything. Everyone has to work out their own successes.
Thus saith the Lord. I totally remember Jesus saying that in the Bible. “Thou must worketh out thine own success, fucketh the things that thou can’t control, God careth not.”
Maybe senators Ashby and McGuire could introduce meaningful legislation……requiring all politicians to pass basic intelligence tests before being allowed loose on society…..I know this would result in the extinction of politicians…..couldn’t be any worse than what we have now.
Well if this isn’t a microcosm of comment section in one thread- a cherry picked press release by pandering politicians posted in lieu of actual information, leading people abusing each other over ideology without having bothered to look into the actual proposed law at all nor given any thought to it. It’s such a well worn, deep rut.
A program that could have some merit, IF, sticky fingered bureaucrats are held at bay. Good luck with that. Most of these social fix programs end up a disaster because the people who run them are incompetent bureaucrats with no skin in the game. Compare those programs with AA, a private program that’s been around for 87 years with incredible results. Dr. Smith and Bill Wilson, founders of AA, were both recovering alcoholics who spent time in the gutter and could relate to the people they helped. Not the case with your average Crat. who got the job through nepotism or connections.
So as a foster child myself I am very excited about his. At 53 I am truly looking forward to being able to have all my piers pay my way through a four year program. It is about time. The system has failed me for so long, I had to paint 2000 cars and grow medical marijuana just to get by, and continuing the trauma, they have harrased me with environmental laws and terrorizing helicopters. Finally I will be able to recover from all the abuse I suffered in the state foster system. Thanks to all who are planning on supporting this and other benefits aimed at making my life better.
thank you