Today, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1979—which supports youth participating in Extended Foster Care (EFC) by addressing housing stability and availability.
The law, proudly co-sponsored by the Alliance for Children’s Rights and authored by Assemblymember Friedman (D-43), focuses on the impacts of the pandemic on foster youth by supporting programs that address the new challenges youth may face when needing to be quarantined, and streamlining the Supervised Independent Living Program (SILP) approval processes to allow youth to become housed more quickly.
AB 1979 makes housing investments, streamlines approval processes, increases the housing options available to youth participating in the EFC program and reduces their risk of falling into homelessness by:
- Developing the counties’ capacity to meet the immediate housing needs of young adults who are re-entering EFC or who are moving to a new placement
- Streamlining the SILP approval process by memorializing the virtual approval process established in Executive Order N-53-20 and allowing counties the option to certify SILPs once every 12 months
- Promoting placement stability by allowing counties and housing providers to “hold” placements for up to 14 days, with payment
- Requiring counties to consider youth in EFC placed in out-of-home care, including the county’s ability to meet their emergency housing needs
The Alliance for Children’s Rights appreciates Assemblymember Friedman’s and Governor Newsom’s commitment to preventing unnecessary housing instability for our youth in Extended Foster Care during this tumultuous time, which will result in greater housing opportunities to assist youth in their transition to independence.
