John Burton

California College Pathways, a group of advocates and philanthropists working on improving college access for foster youth, has been awarded the 2018 Secretary’s Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships from the U.S. Department on Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Last month I wrote about why I oppose the so-called Family First Prevention Services Act: It sets up prevention to fail and it actually entrenches institutionalization. But I have to admit, every time I read columns opposing the bill like the one from John Burton and Trent Rhorer, I’m tempted to change my mind.

Anyone who is a parent knows that kids are different: What worked well for the first child may fail miserably for the second. But as parents, we know that our job is not to raise “a child” but to raise “our child.”

Yesterday, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed Senate Bill 528, a bill that mandates the collection of data about pregnant and parenting foster youths in state. The bill will lead to the first true accounting of how many pregnant and parenting youth are in the foster care system in California, according to the John Burton Foundation.