Bill Text: CA SCR148 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Foster care.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-03 - Referred to Com. on RLS. [SCR148 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SCR148-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 148
| Introduced by Senator Alvarado-Gil |
May 14, 2024 |
Relative to Foster Care Awareness Month.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 148, as introduced, Alvarado-Gil.
Foster care.
This measure would declare the month of May 2024 to be Foster Care Awareness Month.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee: NOBill Text
WHEREAS, Nearly 45,000 children in California are navigating the complexities of the foster care system, longing for, and deserving, safe enduring bonds with nurturing adults, a stable home, and comprehensive supports to grow, learn, and thrive; and acknowledging that the children and youth of California represent our hope for the future, we affirm that every child deserves a safe, loving, accepting, stable, and nurturing home; and
WHEREAS, Historically, foster youth have experienced alarming rates of homelessness as they transition out of care and, although California has taken great strides in addressing this, one out of four foster youth experience homelessness after exiting care and before turning 23 years of age; and
WHEREAS, Many California counties and community partners have successfully supported permanent family connections for foster youth, provided support for families at risk of entering the child welfare system, and changed practices to fully engage youth, families, and communities, thereby reducing the number of children in foster care; and
WHEREAS, California recognizes the enduring and valuable contribution of relatives and foster and adoptive parents who open their hearts, families, and homes to vulnerable children and youth; and
WHEREAS, California acknowledges the tireless efforts of countless individuals and organizations dedicated to meeting the needs of children and youth within, and transitioning out of, foster care, facilitating essential connections between youth and their siblings, and empowering young individuals to thrive as they transition into adulthood; and
WHEREAS, California is deeply committed to constructing a comprehensive, holistic behavioral health and strengths-based system for youth and families affected by the child welfare system, designed to be responsive to the trauma caused by family separation, and specifically embracing nontraditional therapeutic methods such as enrichment activities and prioritizing lifelong relationships; and
WHEREAS, It is undeniable that children and adolescents thrive most effectively within the nurturing embrace of familial environments, thus ensuring that such placements continue to be given the highest priority; and
WHEREAS, California has undergone comprehensive reforms to improve the experience and outcomes of children and youth in foster care by improving assessments of children and families to make more informed and appropriate initial placement decisions, emphasizing home-based family care placements of children, appropriately supporting those placements with needed services, creating short-term programs for youth whose needs cannot be met safely in families, and increasing transparency and accountability for child outcomes; and
WHEREAS, California is dedicated to working in partnership with local governments, advocates, and stakeholders to address the disproportionate representation of Black, Latino, and indigenous youth in the foster care system, and further, to address systemwide outcomes that reflect the fact that children of color in the foster care system are more likely to experience multiple placements and less likely to be reunited with their birth families than White children in the foster care system; and
WHEREAS, California is committed to working in partnership with the federal government, local governments, and community partners to improve the lives and futures of all children and youth touched by the child welfare system; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature declares the month of May 2024 to be Foster Care Awareness Month; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
