Foster youth in Hawaii may soon have a chance to receive care until age 21 under a bill that cleared conference committee with unanimous support and is headed to the floor for final approval.
Senate Bill 1340 allows the state to extend support for foster children who would like it past age 18, the current cutoff. To receive help, they would need to be in school or a training program or working part time.
"There’s a very high percentage of foster youth, once they become 18, who are placed in a very difficult situation, and many of them become homeless," said Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, who chairs the Human Services Committee. "This bill is one way to better assure that our youth are able to stabilize their lives during this period of time as they are working or going to school."
The bill, introduced by Sen. Clayton Hee (D, Heeia-Laie-Waialua), was backed by the administration and passed conference committee Thursday.
The federal government opened the way for the move with a 2008 law that allows states to claim federal reimbursement for the costs of caring for and supervising eligible youth until age 21. Sixteen states now extend foster care beyond age 18 or have plans to do so.
"If we invest early we can prevent problems in the long run," said Gernani Yutob Jr., president of the HI H.O.P.E.S. Youth Leadership Board on Oahu, which pushed for the legislation. "Foster youth won’t have to rely on social services, won’t be in the criminal justice system, and they can become successful and productive adults in the community."
A former foster child, Yutob pointed out that many teenagers raised by their own parents are not ready to be independent at 18.
"Fortunately for me, I was able to still live with my foster parents, although it wasn’t their legal obligation to take care of me," he said. "They saw me as one of their own."
Yutob, who turns 23 Sunday, works part time at the Kalihi YMCA and will graduate next weekend from the University of Hawaii at West Oahu. He plans to attend law school and hopes eventually to become a Family Court judge.
Roughly 100 to 120 young people age out of foster care every year in Hawaii. The cost to the state of extending care for them is projected at about $1.2 million a year. But the returns are expected to be many multiples of that in savings on homeless services, welfare and incarceration for former foster youth.
"It’s not only a cost saving; it’s a cost benefit," said Delia Ulima, statewide coordinator for Hawai‘i Youth Opportunities Initiative with the nonprofit EPIC ‘Ohana Inc. "We have seen nothing but support from the Legislature. No one has voted against it. They saw it not only as the right thing to do, but fiscally it made sense for the state in the long run."
Youth can choose whether to remain in the foster system and can change their minds if they choose.
"It’s a voluntary program," Ulima said. "They can opt out and they can opt in. It’s developmentally appropriate. A young person at age 18 may want nothing to do with the system at all. At 18 1⁄2 they may find out that they still need help."
Current and former foster youth advocated for the bill at the Legislature and hope it will pass its final votes on the floor and make its way to the governor’s desk by the end of next week.
"We’re just really, really hopeful that it passes because we know that this bill will change the lives of thousands of youth in foster care for many generations to come," said Nora Worachit, 20, a former foster child.
