LA County Board

5. Stabilization Supports for Foster Youth\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisors Barger and Horvath: Instruct the\nDirectors of Children and Family Services and Health Services, and other\nappropriate Department Heads, to report back to the Board in writing in 90 days\non plans to increase access to housing for Transition Age Youth (TAY) by\nidentifying ways to enhance housing for TAY youth and include utilizing\nhousing navigators, and prioritizing housing for parenting youth who often fall\nbetween housing services and implement a transitional housing program that\nprioritizes placing all parenting youth in housing before exiting the Independent\nLiving Program (ILP); instruct the Directors of Mental Health, Children and\nFamily Services and Economic Opportunity, and other appropriate Department\nHeads, to report back to the Board in writing in 90 days on plans to expand\nawareness of appropriate mental health programs and career pathways,\nincluding by taking the following actions:\nProviding trauma informed trainings for the Department of Children and\nFamily Services (DCFS) staff, Department of Mental Health clinicians,\nand providers working to ensure the needs of pregnant and parenting\nfoster youth are addressed and that appropriate resources are provided;\nExpanding existing pathways to mental health careers for those with lived\nexperience in foster care, including community health worker programs,\nnear to peer mentoring, with supports through the Department of\nEconomic Opportunity’s economic and workforce development system;\nand\nPromoting the “Who to Call” campaign, which will help inform the\ncommunity about community-based responses to health and mental\nhealth crises to DCFS foster youth, families, and other system impacted\nyouth, once the program is launched in July 2024;\nDirect the Chief Executive Officer, through the Legislative Affairs and\nIntergovernmental Relations Branch, to oppose the Governor’s May Revision\nproposal to reduce the funding for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program\nfor Foster Children (Bridge Program) by $34,800,000 in Fiscal Year 2024-25\nand ongoing;\nInstruct the Director of the Office of Advancement of Early Care and Education,\nwithin the Department of Public Health, along with the Director of Children and\nFamily Services and other appropriate Department Heads, to report back to the\nBoard in writing in 90 days on plans to partner with the Child Care Alliance of\nLos Angeles, to strengthen coordination of services for parenting foster youth to\nensure they receive prompt and efficient delivery of childcare vouchers,\nespecially though the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster\nChildren; and\nInstruct the Directors of Children and Family Services, Mental Health, Health\nServices and Economic Opportunity, to provide a verbal presentation to the\nBoard during the September 17, 2024 Board meeting, on the progress achieved\non the above. (24-1846)