ACR189 - Foster Youth Awareness Month.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 189 CHAPTER 121 Relative to Foster Youth Awareness Month. [ Filed with Secretary of State June 18, 2026. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 189, Ahrens. Foster Youth Awareness Month. This measure would proclaim the month of May 2026 as Foster Youth Awareness Month in California. Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill Text WHEREAS, California’s children and youth are our hope for the future, and all children deserve a safe, loving, accepting, stable, and nurturing home; and WHEREAS, Preserving families is the primary goal of the child welfare system; and WHEREAS, A child’s success is best supported in a child welfare system that is family-focused, child-centered, and community-based; and WHEREAS, Kinship families, foster families, foster family agencies, and short-term residential therapeutic programs play a critical role in supporting children in foster care and making family reunification possible; and WHEREAS, Nearly 100 times per day, a child is placed in foster care in California; and WHEREAS, One-third of all the nation’s unaccompanied homeless youth are in California; and WHEREAS, California has over 43,000 children in the foster care system, disproportionately from Black and Native families; and WHEREAS, 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, Research indicates that foster youth experience rates of homelessness ranging from 11 percent to 38 percent, inclusive, which is disproportionately higher than that of the general population; and WHEREAS, In California, while 93 percent of foster youth say they want to attend college, only 4 percent of former foster youth obtain their bachelor’s degree by 26 years of age, compared to 50 percent of their peers; and WHEREAS, For children and youth in the foster care system, we must continue finding them loving homes, provide them with the resources they need, and deliver safe and supportive permanent homes; and WHEREAS, California further recognizes the strength, resilience, and leadership of foster youth and former foster youth, who contribute meaningfully to their communities, lead advocacy efforts, inform policy, and drive systems change through their lived expertise; and WHEREAS, Foster youth continue to challenge and redefine traditional measures of success by pursuing education, careers, healing, community leadership, and personal growth on their own terms, despite systemic barriers and disparities reflected in outcomes data; 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 recognizes the numerous individuals and public and nonprofit organizations that work to meet the needs of current and former children and youth in the foster care system, including helping to provide vital connections to siblings and launching young people into successful adulthood; and WHEREAS, California is engaged in a tiered rate structure intended to improve the experience and outcomes of children and youth in foster care by making more informed and appropriate initial placement decisions, emphasizing home-based family care placements of children, adequately supporting these placements with needed services, adequately supporting foster family agencies and short-term residential therapeutic programs for youth whose needs cannot be met safely in family settings, and increasing transparency and accountability for child outcomes; 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 Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the month of May 2026 as Foster Youth Awareness Month in California; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.