Laws give older foster kids more medical, housing, college help

Laws give older foster kids more medical, housing, college help

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Story Published: May 4, 2007 at 6:29 PM PDT

Story Updated: May 4, 2007 at 6:29 PM PDT

By Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - With present and former foster kids looking on, Gov. Chris Gregoire enacted laws that broaden medical coverage, rent assistance and college scholarships for young adults who leave foster care.

Advocates said the measures, expected to cost the state nearly $5.3 million over two years, are crucial for helping foster kids who "age out" of the system and lose state support when they turn 18.

"Our foster children are our sons and daughters, and they don't just go out on their own at age 18," Gregoire said before signing the bills on Friday.

One measure expands the general limit of Medicaid coverage for foster children from age 18 to 21. Officials said the plan will cost $2.9 million over two years, about evenly split between the state and federal governments.

Gregoire also gave final approval to the "Passport to College" program, which expands state-sponsored scholarships for former foster kids. Legislators budgeted $2.3 million for the scholarships; the program is expected to cost about $550,000 to administer.

A third bill spends $1 million on housing stipends and other assistance for low-income former foster kids ages 18 to 23.

Without continuing help as young adults, too many former foster kids can end up homeless, jobless or uneducated, officials and advocates said Friday.

But helping those young adults also gives hope to younger foster kids, who otherwise might see a bleak future for themselves, said Jim Theofelis, director of The Mockingbird Society, an advocacy group.

Also on Friday, Gregoire signed into a law a measure that adds detail to the definition of disability under the state's law against discrimination.

The change erases a state Supreme Court ruling from last year, which had narrowed that legal definition of disability, said Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, the bill's primary sponsor.

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