The Issue

California’s foster youth are some of our most vulnerable children. They have faced neglect, abuse, loss, and instability, and too often, the systems meant to protect them fail to provide the trauma-informed care they need to heal.

Assembly Bill 319 (AB 319) is a critical step toward changing this. This bill ensures that foster youth are not only cared for but cared for with compassion, understanding, and evidence-based trauma-informed practices.

The Problem

• Many foster youth face unmet emotional, mental, and developmental needs due to past trauma.
• Lack of trauma-informed services leaves them vulnerable to poor outcomes like homelessness, mental health struggles, and unemployment.
• Difficulty transitioning due to support that often ends abruptly.
• There is a need for a more coordinated, trauma-sensitive approach. 

The Solution: AB 31 (Proposes/Ensures)

• Integration of trauma-informed practices: Mandates that agencies, social workers, and service providers be trained in trauma-informed care and apply it when planning, delivering, and evaluating services for foster youth.
• Enhanced transition support: Expands programs and services to help foster children successfully transition into adulthood (mental health support, housing assistance, education, and employment services).
• Collaboration and coordination: Encourages stronger coordination among child welfare agencies, schools, health providers, and community organizations.
• Accountability measures: Requires reporting and oversight to ensure that services align with trauma-informed principles as well as improve long-term outcomes for foster youth. 

Why It Matters (Benefits of Trauma-Informed Care)

Trauma-informed care matters because it can reduce constant placement changes, improve education outcomes, and reduce potential long-term negative health impacts. It also aligns with research and best practices.

Call to Action

Foster youth lack the trauma-informed support they need to ensure they have positive outcomes. By signing this petition, you stand with foster youth and demand a system that heals. Sign and share this petition to support AB 319 and ensure a brighter, healthier future for California’s foster youth.