Foster Parents and Kids Flex Muscles
At Gov. Jim Doyle's State of the State address in January, the entire Legislature stood and applauded Ray and Barb Jones to thank them for their dedication as foster parents to the more than 60 youths they helped raise. Will those same lawmakers applaud them today, as the Joneses are among a contingent of foster parents and kids who want to see the Joint Finance Committee put some funding behind that praise?
A press conference packed with foster parents and children was staged in the governor's office today to get Joint Finance Committee members' attention. The message was an emotional plea about the importance of approving Gov. Jim Doyle's budget proposal to extend health care coverage for young adults leaving the foster care system until age 21. The issue, outlined in
budget paper 431, is on the JFC agenda today, but it is unclear if the committee will take up the issue today. The governor's proposal would cost the state $838,000 over the next biennium.
Doyle's budget proposal calls for the extension of health care coverage for young adults leaving foster care until they turn 21. DHFS Children and Family Services Administrator Burnie Bridge said the JFC has already made some bad decisions with respect to foster parents and kids by gouging half of the governor's proposed for funding increase. "It is one of the most mean-spirited decisions they could have made and it looks like it's just the tip of the iceberg," she said.
Bridge said foster children face "incredible challenges" when they reach 18 and leave the foster system, and the prospect of losing their medical coverage should not be part of that list. She cited a study from the University of Chicago's Chapin Hall that found kids who leave the foster system face financial hardship at a greater rate than their peers.
Chapin Hall "talking points release"
Chapin Hall study executive summary
In her husband's absence, (Gov. Jim Doyle is in California raising funds for his re-election campaign), First Lady Jessica Doyle talked about her experiences with foster children as a teacher. "By continuing health care we can remove that one obstacle and that can really determine the pathway to success for that young adult," she said.
Jessica Doyle challenged the committee to back up the State of the State applause. "When the time (came) for the legislators to get down to business, they voted against the governor's proposal for foster families, the very same people they applauded earlier," she said.
Foster parent Barb Jones said the legislators have the power to make the transition from state care to adulthood less traumatic. "These children are not our seed, but by the very choices we make in life, they are our harvest," she said.
Sen. Lena Taylor and Rep. Tamara Grigsby were present at the news conference. Taylor invited the nearly 50 foster parents and kids in attendance to "stay in Joint Finance so the members can look at you when they make their decision."
Many of them took her up on that offer, although some who came up initially had to leave due to the committee's late start.
