California Progress Report
By Sokhom Mao
The beginning of a new year should be filled with hope for the future. It’s a time to make better choices for ourselves, focus on improving skills and relationships, and make plans for a better life ahead.
Yet, for foster youth who are reaching the age of 18, the New Year has traditionally come with confusion and fear rather than hope. That’s because when foster youth “age out” of the system, we don’t get the same opportunities as youth with loving parents. Often our connections are lost and our hope for a brighter future goes unlit. Sadly, the year we age out, is the year when we find ourselves alone – no financial support, nowhere to go and no wining chances for us to succeed in life.
But that will change this year because of an important new law providing new opportunities to support foster youth as we transition into adulthood.