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State extends foster care so youth can pursue higher education
Extended Foster Care was created in 2011 for youth pursuing their high school diploma or ged. The program allows for a partial federal funding match for allowing youth to remain in care until age 21.
Now, Extended Foster Care is also open to youth pursuing college or vocational education.
A new state law, House Bill 2592 – Extended Foster Care, extends foster care for youth until age 21 so that they can go to college or pursue vocational education. It went into effect Thursday, June 7.
The Mockingbird Society, which advocates for youth in foster care, supported the change. “Too many youth leave foster care with barely enough resources and support to survive,” Jim Theofelis, executive director of The Mockingbird Society, said in a statement. “By providing a safe roof over their heads, youth can focus on success instead of survival.”
Theofelis said The Mockingbird Society is urging state leaders to build upon the program to ensure all youth in foster care remain in care until age 21.
The society publishes a monthly newsletter, Mockingbird Times, which appears in Real Change.
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