US: Feds Strongly Suggest That States Use Coronavirus Relief for Cash Payments to Foster Youth (May require subscription)
Imprint – January 08, 2021
States will have a lot of latitude on how to spend their share of the $400 million in assistance for older foster youth, which passed as part of the massive COVID-19 relief bill in December. But on a virtual town hall today with hundreds of foster youth and other child welfare stakeholders, federal officials made clear that states should consider direct stimulus checks. “We have heard how on the margins many of you were forced to live … it’s not OK,” said Lynn Johnson, head of the Administration for Children and Families, the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that oversees child welfare funding and policy. “Many youth need cash assistance.” Johnson noted that many young people in the foster care system, or who had just aged out of it, do not qualify for the other forms of direct relief available.
https://imprintnews.org/youth-services-insider/officials-urge-states-chafee-funds-cash-foster-youth/50818