WHEREAS, The children and youth of California are the future, and all children deserve a safe, loving, accepting, stable, and nurturing home; and

WHEREAS, The success of a child is best supported by a welfare system that consistently acts in the best interest of the child; and

WHEREAS, The child welfare system must reconcile its historic and systemic racism in order to root out lingering vestiges of discrimination to best serve children and their families; and

WHEREAS, Kinship families and foster families play a critical role in serving as a support for the parents of children in foster care, making family reunification possible; and

WHEREAS, Foster youth experience trauma before, during, and after placements necessitating improved parenting skills for all caregivers; and

WHEREAS, Nearly 100 times per day, a child is placed in foster care in California; and

WHEREAS, In California, over one-half of the children in foster care are under five years of age; and

WHEREAS, An estimated 53 percent of youth in foster care in 202324 are removed from families who meet the 1996 federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children eligibility requirements; and

WHEREAS, Across California, foster placements by county increase as the rate of poverty increases; and

WHEREAS, Forty-three thousand three hundred fifty unaccompanied youth, who experienced homelessness, accessed services in California during 2023; and

WHEREAS, California has over 40,000 children in the foster care system, and the proportions of Black and Native youth in foster care are around four times larger than the proportions of Black and Native youth in California overall; and

WHEREAS, One-half of all children in foster care have endured four or more adverse childhood experiences such as abuse, neglect, and abandonment, which can negatively impact their health and development; and

WHEREAS, Numerous national studies have documented that children involved with the child welfare system have increased rates of chronic health problems, developmental delays and disabilities, mental health needs, and substance abuse problems; and

WHEREAS, Youth in foster care are more likely to be chronically absent than other underserved youth, due to home placement changes, school transfers, court hearings, and parental visitation; and

WHEREAS, Children and youth in foster care are up to three and one-half times more likely to receive special education services than their nonfoster care peers. Research also suggests children in foster care who are in special education tend to change schools more, are placed in more restrictive educational settings, and have poorer quality education plans than their nonfoster care peers in special education; and

WHEREAS, Research indicates foster youth experience rates of homelessness ranging from 11 percent to 38 percent, inclusive, disproportionately higher than that of the general population; and

WHEREAS, In California, 93 percent of foster youth say they want to attend college, but only 4 percent of former foster youth will obtain their bachelors degree by 26 years of age, compared to 50 percent of their peers; and

WHEREAS, California recognizes the numerous individuals and public and private organizations that work to ensure that the needs of children and youth living in, and leaving, foster care are met, that help provide foster and former foster children and youth with vital connections to their siblings, and that help launch young people into successful adulthood; and

WHEREAS, For children and youth in the foster care system, we must continue finding them stable temporary homes and deliver safe and supportive permanent homes; and

WHEREAS, California must ensure the success of foster family agencies, support counties in providing quality care, services, and resources to children and youth, and ensure foster parents are up to the task of providing trauma-informed care; and

WHEREAS, California is further engaged in building a comprehensive behavioral health system for youth and families impacted by the child welfare system that is responsive to the trauma inherent to family separation; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate designates the month of May 2025 as Foster Youth Awareness Month; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

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SR 10

Current Status:

Senate Floor

News Coverage: