5 Small Policies That Can Have A Big Impact
Bipartisan, Moral, Feasible, and Effective.
Long time readers of this newsletter know what I think needs to happen with our child welfare system: it needs to be completely revamped. A top-to-bottom overhaul is long overdue, and I am dedicating my life to making this overhaul happen.
However, children in the system cannot afford to wait for this transformation to occur. We can enact policies now to make the system a bit more humane and help those that age out of the system lead successful lives. We can do the relatively “small things” now, even as we continue to push for the broader, systemic change that’s still so urgently needed.
How do I know we can do all these “little” things? Because it’s already happening. Across the country — in red states and blue — lawmakers are passing policies that not only deserve to be celebrated, but replicated. In an era where Congress often moves at a glacial pace (if it moves at all), states have stepped up to support foster youth.
In this newsletter, I will highlight five policies that have been enacted in various places across the country that I believe need to be universally adopted. This, obviously, is not a comprehensive list; there are so many more policies that I didn’t mention that are equally as important. These five policies offer just a glimpse of what’s possible.
A Dignified Move: Luggages and Not Trash Bags
During my decade in the system, I moved over a half a dozen times. That’s over half a dozen times in ten years that I packed up all my earthly belongings — meager as they were — and moved to a new home, with a new family. And nearly every time, the primary method of packing was the same: garbage bags.
The first time this happened was after I reported to my social worker — when she visited me at school — that I was experiencing abuse at my foster home. Later that day I returned home and discovered two rolls of trash bags sitting atop my bed, which had been stripped of its sheets and bedding. Message received: it was time to (literally) pack my bags.
At least at that placement I was able to pack up on my own belongings. In a few subsequent moves, my foster parents took the liberty to do that for me. In one instance, I arrived home from school and found all my belongings were already in trash bags, sitting on the porch. There was no rhyme or reason to how these bags were packed; it was clear my foster parents just shoved stuff into one bag until it was full, and then moved on to the next one. This move took place in the middle of the school week, so at my next placement, I had to dump all the bags out, one by one, to piece together an outfit and to find my textbooks.
I wish this was something only I experienced, but sadly that isn’t the case. While we don’t have a ton of empirical evidence to show how widespread this phenomenon is, we do have a ton of anecdotal data. For example, the nonprofit Comfort Cases — founded by a former foster child who had to move his own stuff in trash bags during his time in the system — has provided over 260,000 luggages to kids in the foster care since 2013, indicative of how great the need is. You can find articles and Reddit posts where child after child, young person after young person, report that they too were forced to move with nothing but collection of trash bags to carry their belongings. The issue has become so pronounced that celebrities have taken notice: Tiffany Haddish (a former foster child herself) has donated luggages to kids in the system.
It might not seem like much, but there is something dehumanizing about carting around all your possessions in garbage bags. Watching your social worker toss these bags onto the front lawn of your new place, or seeing your most prized possessions being transported in the exact same ‘containers’ that people toss their leftovers exacts a psychic toll on a child. The foster care system is hard enough, and moving homes is one of the most jarring experiences a kid can have. The least we can to allow kids to move their belongings with dignity.
Fortunately, several states are doing just that: they are passing laws mandating that children in foster care be given luggages instead of trash bags.
Last year, Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed a law requiring that every child in foster care receive new luggage when they enter the system or move between homes. The estimated cost to provide these bags to all 3,800 kids in care? Around $84,480, total. For context, Maryland’s state budget that year was $63.1 billion. In other words, for the functional equivalent of the change lost in your couch cushions, the state is making sure that no child has to carry their life in a trash bag.
Last week, the state senate in Oregon passed Senate Bill 1016, which would “prevent Oregon’s child welfare agency from putting kids’ belongings in trash bags as they move placements and make it explicit that luggage must be provided.” The legislation — passed in a bipartisan manner — also requires the state to produce an annual report detailing the instances where trash bags were used and providing an inventory of luggages in state possession.
New York state is also trying to pass similar legislation. Senate Bill 3781 would require the state's child welfare agency to provide luggage to youth in foster care at a cost of $200,000 per year, or less than $15 per bag.
There are plenty of wickedly complex issues with the foster care system. This isn’t one of them. This is the lowest of the low-hanging fruit, where states can do a whole lot of good for pennies on the dollar. If you live in one of the many states that haven’t enacted a luggage law yet (and chances are, you do), consider this your official deputization to lead the charge. Every child deserves a dignified move. Let’s make it happen.
Extend Foster Care to 23:
Homelessness — as I’ve written about previously — is a tremendous issue for former foster youth. Policymakers have long sought to address this crisis, with mixed results. One policy, however, that has made a dent in the problem has been extended foster care.
Extended foster care is exactly what it sounds like: it allows youth to remain in care until at least 21. Importantly, this policy was made possible through federal legislation that granted the states the option of extending care (it didn’t mandate it), and for the states that do, they receive federal funding to facilitate this extension. My beloved home state of California was among the first few states to implement extended care, but unfortunately it do so just a tad too late for me to benefit from this policy: California’s extended foster care policy took effect on January 1st, 2012, and I graduated high school in May 2011. But I know folks who have participated in extended foster care — in California and across the country — and they sing its praises.
One reason why praises are sung is because it is incredibly effective. A 2018 study found that for each additional year a youth spent in California’s Extended Foster Care there was a(n):
Increased probability that youth completed high school by about 8% and of enrolling in college by 11%.
Increase in the number of quarters that youth were employed between their 18th and 21st birthdays and an increase in the amount of money youth had in bank accounts by $404.
Decrease in the odds of being homeless or couch-surfing between the ages of 17 and 21 by about 28%.
Decrease in the odds that youth had been arrested between the ages of 17 and 21 by about 41% and decreased the odds that youth had been convicted of a crime during the same period by about 40%.
Nationally, research has found that implementation of extended foster care is associated with a 23% reduction in the total rate of youth homelessness four years later. All told, this policy works and works well.
But there’s a way to bolster its impact even further, and its to extend foster care even further. This isn’t pie in the sky, as there are several states doing exactly this, all over the country:
Early this month, Idaho passed legislation that extended foster care to 23.
A bill to extend foster care to 23 passed unanimously in both the Tennessee House and Senate.
Maine allows former foster youth who emancipated from the system to remain in care until age 22, so long as youth meet certain criteria (employed or pursuing education, for example).
If you take a look around the globe, you’ll see several countries doing the same exact thing: Finland allows youth to remain in care until age 25, Denmark until 23, Chile until 24 (as long as the youth is in education), Poland until 25 (as long as the youth is in education), and so on. All told, this is a tried-and-true method to helping young folks achieve independence.
If states want a relatively easy — compared to the alternatives — way of constructing a longer ‘runway’ for former foster youth to achieve independence, they should consider emulating jurisdictions all around the world and extend foster care to at least age 23.
Ban the Theft of Federal Benefits from Foster Youth
Earlier this year, I came across a headline that was equal parts encouraging and absurd: “Kansas will no longer take money from foster children, governor says.” Great policy? Absolutely. But the fact that this even needed to be done is its own indictment.
I wrote about this previously, but what Kansas did — and what many, but not enough, states are doing — was prevent the state from taking federal benefits from children in the system (such as Social Security or VA benefits) and using that money to reimburse itself for the care of these kids. This is, sadly, a widespread practice: in 2020, 42 states reported using (or stealing) $251 million in federal benefits designated for foster youth, allegedly to cover the cost of that child’s care. Worse yet , there are some private entities making money from this practice, according to a 2021 NPR article:
“At least 10 state foster care agencies hire for-profit companies to obtain millions of dollars in Social Security benefits intended for the most vulnerable children in state care each year…A private firm that Alaska used while [foster child] was in state care referred to acquiring benefits from people with disabilities as "a major line of business" in company records.”
To cite one concrete (and recent) example, earlier this month a report out of Pennsylvania found that counties in the state not only siphoned $15.7 million dollars from about 1,300 kids since 2020, but it did so often without even informing the kids their money was being taken (you should read the full article).
Fortunately, several states (like Kansas) are acting to end this deplorable practice:
In 2023, Arizona enacted HB 2559 to end ‘benefits mining.” This legislation would require “the state’s Department of Child Safety to apply for benefits on behalf of the child if the child is entitled to them, the legislation requires department employees to identify a representative payee in conjunction with the child’s attorney.”
Missouri is on the precipice — it is waiting on the governor’s signature — of passing legislation that would ensure that federal funds can only be used for a child’s “unmet needs,” such as helping secure housing as a child prepares to age out of the system.
Instead of stealing cash from kids, Massachusetts (as of last year) will now save money on behalf of children in foster care and give it to them upon exiting foster care.
Everyone agrees that stealing money from foster children is bad. Now let’s muster the energy to end this practice once and for all.
On the Road: Helping Foster Youth Get Their Driver’s Licenses
During my teenage years, my foster parents would often say that foster kids are not allowed to get a driver’s license. The reason provided was that the state of California would be held liable for any accident I might have caused. The state, they’d say, couldn’t take the risk, and as result, I couldn’t get behind the wheel.
I’d come to learn that it was a bit more complicated than that: foster youth are technically able to get a license, so long as the application is signed by an adult (grandparent, sibling over 18, foster parent, etc.). It is the parent or guardian that will assume liability once a child is behind the wheel. Whether this was known to my foster parents at the time I will never know, but I can imagine they might not have found the idea of being liable for a foster kid (who they weren’t sure would stick around) very enticing.
To be fair, the logistics of getting a foster child prepared to drive are a nightmare. There’s the time and money spent on driver’s ed courses, the issue with insurance, and so much more. I was able to get my license right before taking off for the Navy, thanks to my attorney, who paid for my driver’s education classes and helped teach me to drive in the few months between graduating high school and shipping off to boot camp. Had I not gotten my license at that time, I honestly think it would’ve taken 4 or 5 more years.
Again, I am not alone in this respect: a national outreach campaign by the organization Think of Us found that nearly two-thirds of foster youth in 2021 (ten years after I aged out of the system) reported that they needed driving-related assistance. Here’s a breakdown of the numbers:
25% requested assistance obtaining a driver’s license
15% requested assistance completing driver’s education
30% requested assistance purchasing a vehicle
21% requested assistance paying for car repairs
27% requested assistance paying for car insurance
Another number I’ve seen floating around is that fewer than 5% of youth in foster care obtain a license as teenagers, compared to 40% of teenagers in the overall population. We can do a ton to help these kids out. We can, for example, do what Arizona is doing: provide foster youth with free, comprehensive driver’s education training.
We can do what Sunnybrook Children’s Home — a nonprofit in Mississippi — is doing with a $2.1 million grant from the Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services: provided foster youth who are 15 or older with free driver’s education courses, six hours of practice driving time, help with preparing for the written exam, a $100 stipend upon earning a permit, and $250 stipend upon earning a license.
States can heed the recommendations in this fantastic report by Lucy Johnston-Walsh a law professor who runs the Children’s Advocacy Clinic for Penn State’s School of Law:
Allocate state funding to pay for car insurance, drivers’ education, and licensing fees for foster youth.
Simplify permit and license application forms to not assign liability to the adult signer of application forms
Work to address access to insurance for foster youth by offering education about insurance, providing reimbursement for costs, and consider implementing a state funded program to provide insurance for foster youth.
Getting behind the wheel is not just key to being independent for young folks in the United States, but it is a rite of passage. States should do all they can to help foster youth reach this milestone.
Basic Income for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care
Let’s just give young folks aging out of foster care cash. That’s right: cold hard cash. Rather than — or perhaps in conjunction with — the hodgepodge of different programs and services that foster youth need to jump through hoops to obtain, we should just give them money. This isn’t a radical suggestion: jurisdictions — from counties to countries — all over the world have considered, implemented, and experimented with his policy. Some examples:
In 2022, Wales — in the United Kingdom — launched a basic income project “available for those leaving care who are turning 18 years of age between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023.” Participants receive £1,600 (about $2,100) for 36 months (I am eliding over several details but this is the gist of it).
There are several pilot programs in my beloved home state of California. For example, in 2023, California launched two-state funded Guaranteed Income Pilot Programs for former foster youth: 150 recipients in Ventura County will receive $1,000 a month and 150 recipients in San Francisco will receive $1,200 for 18 months.
A bill in New Mexico would provide $2,000 a month to cover living and school expenses for former foster youth.
In 2024, Prince George’s County (Maryland) announced a two-year pilot program that will provide $800 to 50 youth (18-24) who aged out of foster care.
In 2020, Santa Clara County — in California — launched what was described as the ‘first-in-the-nation’ basic income pilot program, providing $1,000 a month to 72 former foster youth ages 24 and older. The program has been subsequently extended.
This is a smart policy, especially when paired with wraparound support like counseling and financial literacy classes. These programs have had a positive impact:
After two years, participants in the Santa Clara County project reported “improved well-being with measurable improvements in income stability, employment, housing, and an increased credit score.”
An evaluation of the Wales experiment found that youth reported increased financial literacy, improved mental health and well-being, and a greater sense of autonomy.
Anecdotally, I used to live in Santa Clara County, and I have the privilege of knowing a few participants of its basic income project. They didn’t waste the money they received but handled it with great care, knowing that any “frivolous spending” would be judged harshly. I know folks who used their cash to purchase cars, to invest in financial instruments like CDs, to purchase suits for interviews, to pay for industry certifications to land a job, and so much more.
One person I knew — let’s call him Miguel — even used his cash to help his brother (who was still in foster care) go to his high school prom. Miguel couldn’t go to his own prom because he didn’t have the money for the ticket, the suit, and everything else involved with making that night happen, and he didn’t have anyone to give him that money. He didn’t want that experience for his brother.
Aging out is terrifying. I know this from experience. Having been failed so frequently during their time in care, so many young folks fear that they will be failed at the most pivotal moment of their lives: the transition to adulthood. A guaranteed income can alleviate these fears. A guaranteed income can help former foster youth develop the capacity to make long-term plans, take healthy risks, and invest in themselves. Instead of relying solely on the complex web of support that can often overwhelm a young person, states and localities can keep it simple: give cash to kids aging out of the foster care.
States Can Lead The Way
Any one of these policies can make a difference in a foster child’s life. Together, they can be transformative. States can lead the charge — or risk falling behind. More importantly, people in those states can push their lawmakers to implement the kinds of bipartisan, simple, and effective policies featured in this week’s newsletter.
If you feel so inclined, dear reader, reach out to your state representatives. Urge them to bring one — or all — of these ideas to life. While we continue to fight for deeper structural reforms, we should pursue as many of these practical, life-changing policies as possible in the meantime.
Thank you so much for reading, and I will see ya in a few weeks!
Current Read(s):
I plan on doing a big post on my books either next newsletter or the one after that, so stay tuned. This week, I am reading Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar. In this book Yourcenar imagines the Roman emperor Hadrian, nearing his death, reflecting on his life. It touches on everything from the nature of death to the weight of power, with a whole lot else in between. One of my favorite quotes thus far:
“Our great mistake is to try to exact from each person virtues which he does not possess, and to neglect the cultivation of those which he has.”
What’s going on in the world of child welfare?:
Philly Removes Neglected Children from Homes to Keep Them Safe. But They Often Face Worse Abuse in Foster Care Placements (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Missouri Foster Mom to 200 is Accused of Trading a Child for an Exotic Monkey (NBC News)
The Numbers Show A Child Welfare Revolution in Texas (The Dallas Morning News)
Foster Youth Face the Possibility of Living in Shelters Due to a Lack of Foster Homes (Iowa Public Radio)
New Mexico Made Childcare Free. It Lifted 120,000 People Above the Poverty Line (The Guardian)