When becoming an adult isn’t as simple as it sounds

Some of you may be aware that my husband and I are adoptive parents of four children from foster care. One of our children (who has given me permission to share his story) was born prematurely with methamphetamines in his system. He came to live with us at six-months-old, after being placed in three different foster homes. It’s an understatement to simply say that he didn’t get a fair start in life.

As our son grew up, he struggled with impulse control and had difficulty focusing. The so-called “common sense” decisions that came much easier to his peers were difficult for him. Although he attended an excellent school, had loving, supportive parents at home and was taught about budgeting and personal responsibility, when he turned 18, he was far from being an “adult.”

I’ve spoken to hundreds of adoptive parents over the years whose adult children are in the same boat as our son was–they are old enough to make decisions on their own, but struggle with basic daily responsibilities like applying for and holding a job, paying bills, finding permanent housing, and more. The long-term effects of their early childhood trauma don’t just “disappear” after they’re adopted.

Our son’s struggle sparked an idea; something that would help other adolescents and young adults who were former foster children. It would require legislative change, but in my opinion, would be an important investment to help transition these youth into adulthood. Sadly, many of the services and programs (namely, Adoption Assistance Program or AAP funding) that are available for young adults who have aged out of the foster care system are not available to those who have been adopted. Some foster children even conclude that it would be better to not be adopted so they can continue to receive benefits and services until they are 26, instead of having those services cut off at 18.

When our Assemblyman Joe Patterson was elected to office, I reached out to him and his staff to pitch my idea. They introduced a bill, Assembly Bill 2255, and it has recently passed out of the Human Services committee and the Judiciary committee unanimously with bipartisan support! The bill has several more hurdles to go in the legislative process, but we hit an important milestone. I appreciate Assemblyman Patterson and his staff for their hard work on this bill and advocating for foster and adopted youth!

You can track the status of this bill here: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/AB2255 

If our son had continued to receive financial support (such as AAP) that could be directed to food, housing or education until the age of 26, he could have maintained access to critical support services as he transitioned to adulthood. This would have made a dramatic difference during those years.

A couple other updates related to District 2: Last month, the Army Corps of Engineers held its first meeting of the Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) as they move further into the process of remediating the former Titan I Missile Site in Lincoln. The RAB is a stakeholder group comprised of representatives from USACE, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, and 12 community members who serve on the board. The group meets quarterly and meetings are open to the public to attend. You may find more information about the project at https://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Military-Projects/FUDS/Titan-1-A-Missile-Site/.

Related to the remediation efforts, Congressman Kiley successfully included language in the budget bill that was signed by President Biden to prioritize the assessments and inspections of the site with transparency. Because of our Congressman’s efforts, the Lincoln Titan I Missile Site is now on the radar and part of the conversation at the federal level, and will hopefully continue to move forward so the site can be remediated in a reasonable amount of time.  

Lastly, I want to let you know about a community event I’m hosting with Lincoln Mayor Dan Karleskint on May 29 at 9:30 a.m. We’ll be providing updates on a variety of topics related to the district and the City of Lincoln. We’ll be meeting at the Presentation Hall at Kilaga Springs, 1167 Sun City Blvd in Lincoln. I encourage you to RSVP to Christina Faria at: cfaria@placer.ca.gov.

Shanti Landon
Placer County Supervisor, District 2