Transitioning to college may be a challenge for any student but for foster youth hoping to attend a four-year university without financial support, it can be even more difficult. However, a new Senate bill plans to change that. 23ABC's Dominique LaVigne spoke with one local foster youth who would be able to advance their education if SB 307 is signed into law.
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00:00 We begin with the task of transitioning to college.
00:02 It's a challenge for any student, but for foster youth
00:05 hoping to attend a four-year university
00:07 without financial support, it can be even more difficult.
00:10 However, a new state Senate bill passed by lawmakers
00:14 could change that.
00:15 23 ABC's Dominic Lavigne spoke to a student in Bakersfield
00:18 about how this legislation could ease
00:20 some of the financial stress.
00:23 Before entering the foster care system,
00:24 one local foster youth says he lived right here
00:27 off the side of Edison Highway.
00:29 And he says attending Foothill High
00:31 was his escape from struggling with homelessness.
00:33 The day that I managed to get in contact with CPS
00:37 was the day that I ended up getting shot in the leg.
00:40 After undergoing care at the hospital,
00:41 Rudy Hernandez, who can't be shown on camera
00:44 while under custody of the state,
00:45 says he moved to a foster home with five other kids.
00:49 Hernandez says that foster youth deal with trust issues
00:51 because of their traumatic backgrounds.
00:53 But he made meaningful connections at Foothill High
00:55 with administrators, teachers, and staff
00:57 who offered him support throughout his high school
00:59 career.
01:00 Foothill High School, it was my escape from all reality.
01:04 Hernandez says his experience at Foothill
01:06 motivated him to pursue higher education at Cal State Long
01:09 Beach, where he plans to major in math education.
01:12 But after gathering the money he needed for school,
01:14 he came up $500 short.
01:16 Having that ability to just sit back and focus on my education
01:20 without necessarily needing to take up
01:22 a job while simultaneously juggling my schedules,
01:25 it would offer me a lot of relief.
01:26 And Senate Bill 307 would do just that.
01:28 The new bill signed into legislation
01:30 by Governor Gavin Newsom to expand the middle class
01:32 scholarship to cover any unmet needs, including things
01:35 like housing, books, and food.
01:37 If you actually look at the legislation in SB 307,
01:40 it talked about the student share cost being somewhere
01:42 around $8,000.
01:44 That $8,000, an out-of-pocket expense per year,
01:47 may be something foster youth may struggle with more
01:49 than other incoming students.
01:50 But for a lot of our foster youth,
01:52 they're leaving with no support, resources, and things like that.
01:55 So they wouldn't have that piece of the funding.
01:58 Diana Perez, Hernandez's case manager
02:00 with Bakersfield Angels, worked with Rudy
02:02 while he attended Foothill.
02:04 And as he prepared to head to college, and she says,
02:06 she's seen his resilience firsthand.
02:08 I know that this is only part of his story.
02:11 According to the National Foster Youth Institute,
02:13 only 3% to 4% of foster youth attend a four-year university.
02:17 And Perez says she's grateful Hernandez allowed
02:19 her to support him on his journey
02:21 to become one of the few foster students with a degree.
02:23 His heart is set here in Foothill,
02:25 and I really know that he'll be able to help
02:26 a lot of kids with his story.
02:28 Hernandez began classes at Cal State Long Beach,
02:30 eventually hoping to come back to Bakersfield
02:32 as a math teacher and high school
02:34 counselor at Foothill High.
02:35 This hot weather may not be the best,
02:37 but the people here are amazing.
02:40 And I just want to be able to give back
02:42 to the community that gave back so much to me.
02:44 Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 307 into the 2023-24 budget,
02:49 costing the state millions of dollars
02:51 annually to pay for college for foster youth.
02:54 In East Bakersfield, I'm Dominique Lavignier,
02:55 23 ABC News, connecting you.
02:57 And we wanted to get details on programs
03:02 and resources available for local foster kids
03:04 looking to pursue a college education.
03:06 Bakersfield Angels is one of the local programs.
03:09 We recently spoke with one of the case managers there
03:12 who shared some details on how the program works.
03:16 So for Bakersfield Angels, where the youth goes, we go.
03:19 So we match our youth with a mentor
03:22 for a year at a time, we say, because our goal is
03:25 that this is a permanent relationship that will go on.
03:28 But Rudy is--
03:29 Other resources we found from the state
03:34 include the Educational Opportunity Program,
03:36 which provides assistance through mentorship,
03:38 academic programs, financial assistance, and more.
03:41 And for those thinking of attending a community college
03:43 first before a university, there is the Extended Opportunity
03:47 Program.
03:47 This program helps guide foster youth
03:50 on a path that will lead to a transfer
03:52 to a four-year university.
03:54 Plus, the California College Pathways
03:56 offers peer advisors and personal counselors
03:59 who can become a foster child's on-campus family.
04:02 They can provide academic advice, housing assistance,
04:05 tutoring, and more.