Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law Assembly Bill 243, aimed at making it easier for at-risk youth to get financial aid for college.
The bill, authored by Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens (D-Silicon Valley), seeks to reduce barriers to institutions of higher learning for young people involved in the juvenile justice or child welfare systems.
Ahrens said the new law taking effect Jan. 1 will cut red tape, increase the chances of at-risk young people becoming productive members of society and reduce their likelihood of incarceration as adults.
“Foster youth are six times more likely to go to jail than they are to go to college,” said Danielle Dace, a former court appointed special advocate now serving as CASA-Sacramento’s training and recruitment director.
AB 243 seeks to simplify college access by allowing higher education institutions to accept a statement from a local education agency, county probation department, or welfare department as proof of financial independence for the purposes of admissions or financial aid applications, streamlining a process that often creates barriers for system-involved students.
Under the new law, at a youth’s request, a county child welfare or probation department can share information from their case file with a higher education institution to help with attendance or financial aid eligibility.
While Dace has questions about the language and application of AB 243, she’s certain foster youth need all the help they can get. Given their histories with trauma and instability, many don’t see higher education as being for them, she said.
“We are really focused on getting our youth to graduate high school. Anything after that is a bonus,” Dace said. “A lot of kids are kind of done with school. It’s difficult getting through it.”
The local advocate applauds Sacramento State for its efforts to support former foster youth through its Guardian Scholar Program, the Guaranteed Income program it administers in partnership with the local United Way and the Black Honors College.
“I love what Sac State is doing,” she said. “Dr. [Luke] Wood, as a former foster youth himself, really has a heart for this. It’s one thing for the kids to get to college, but it’s quite another thing to have them stay in college and graduate from college. The work that Dr. Wood is doing to make sure that once they get there, that they have the support and resources to graduate is phenomenal.”
As for AB 243, Dace will “wait and see” if the new law actually eliminates bureaucracy, as it promises.
“It’s difficult for youth to navigate that on their own,” she said of the many forms and eligibility requirements that come with college enrollment.
“That’s definitely where a CASA can come in and help them figure out all of this stuff,” she added. “And quite honestly, sometimes our CASAs need help in helping them figure it out because it’s a lot. To expect them to do this on their own, it’s daunting and I understand why many of them don’t pursue college right away.”
Approximately 2.2 million California students receive financial aid, according to the California Student Aid Commission. In the UC and CSU systems, more than 75% of undergraduates and nearly 70% of undergraduates receive financial aid, respectively, with a significant portion receiving aid that covers full tuition. About half of California community college students receive grants and scholarships.
Financial aid can be a motivating factor for individuals to go to college. Most foster youth age out of the system without the familial financial or social support systems that other young adults rely on, making financial aid their primary, and often sole, means of paying for college.
In 2024, California lawmakers introduced bills to combat hunger and poverty on school campuses. These included AB 2033, requiring community college stores to accept EBT cards, and AB 274, exempting educational financial aid from CalWORKs and CalFresh income calculations.
Dace worries how local foster youth will fare with federal budget cuts and the freezing of SNAP/EBT funds. A number of those aided by CASA-Sacramento are in California’s Extended Foster Care Program, also known as the AB 12 program, which allows eligible youth in child welfare and probation systems to remain in foster care from ages 18-21. They can receive ongoing foster care services and assistance such as case management and financial support.
“They are definitely going to be affected,” Dace said. “I know someone personally who is receiving those benefits and she said she got a letter that said she has benefits through the seventh and then they would let them know after that.”
President Donald Trump’s political actions have Dace scratching her head.
“It’s just mind boggling,” she said. “How are you spending billions of dollars on a ballroom, tearing up part of the White House, and kids all over the country are going to be left with no food?”
