More than 2,000 L.A. County foster youth will begin receiving guaranteed income payments following a vote Tuesday to include those transitioning out of care when they’re between 18 and 21 years old.
The Breathe program expansion, according to Supervisor Holly Mitchell’s motion, is designed to continue supporting foster youth at a time when they are particularly vulnerable to homelessness, poverty, crime and not finishing their education.
“We know Breathe works and expanding what works just makes sense,” Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath said at Tuesday’s board meeting, where the resolution to expand the program passed unanimously.
The program officially launched in 2022 to give monthly payments of $1,000 to 1,000 low-income L.A. County residents for three years in hopes of improving their economic well being. A year later, the board moved to expand the program to include 200 former foster youth, providing them with a monthly $1,000 check for two years.
In L.A. County, people may be eligible to re-enter the foster care system up to their 21st birthday. However, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) will automatically enroll foster youth within the 18 to 21 age range when it starts this fall.
Foster youth
As of June, more than 21,000 children in L.A. County were living in foster care, with just over 2,500 of them 18 years or older.
Brandon Nichols, director of the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services, said the challenges these youth face are further exacerbated by the region’s high cost of living and difficulties in finding entry-level jobs that can also pay the bills.
“I worry about what happens to our…
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