00:00 We begin with the task of transitioning to college.
00:02 It's a challenge for any student, but for foster youth
00:05 hoping to attend a four-year university
00:07 without financial support, it can be even more difficult.
00:10 However, a new state Senate bill passed by lawmakers
00:14 could change that.
00:15 23 ABC's Dominic Lavigne spoke to a student in Bakersfield
00:18 about how this legislation could ease
00:20 some of the financial stress.
00:23 Before entering the foster care system,
00:24 one local foster youth says he lived right here
00:27 off the side of Edison Highway.
00:29 And he says attending Foothill High
00:31 was his escape from struggling with homelessness.
00:33 The day that I managed to get in contact with CPS
00:37 was the day that I ended up getting shot in the leg.
00:40 After undergoing care at the hospital,
00:41 Rudy Hernandez, who can't be shown on camera
00:44 while under custody of the state,
00:45 says he moved to a foster home with five other kids.
00:49 Hernandez says that foster youth deal with trust issues
00:51 because of their traumatic backgrounds.
00:53 But he made meaningful connections at Foothill High
00:55 with administrators, teachers, and staff
00:57 who offered him support throughout his high school
00:59 career.
01:00 Foothill High School, it was my escape from all reality.
01:04 Hernandez says his experience at Foothill
01:06 motivated him to pursue higher education at Cal State Long
01:09 Beach, where he plans to major in math education.
01:12 But after gathering the money he needed for school,
01:14 he came up $500 short.
01:16 Having that ability to just sit back and focus on my education
01:20 without necessarily needing to take up
01:22 a job while simultaneously juggling my schedules,
01:25 it would offer me a lot of relief.
01:26 And Senate Bill 307 would do just that.
01:28 The new bill signed into legislation
01:30 by Governor Gavin Newsom to expand the middle class
01:32 scholarship to cover any unmet needs, including things
01:35 like housing, books, and food.
01:37 If you actually look at the legislation in SB 307,
01:40 it talked about the student share cost being somewhere
01:42 around $8,000.
01:44 That $8,000, an out-of-pocket expense per year,
01:47 may be something foster youth may struggle with more
01:49 than other incoming students.
01:50 But for a lot of our foster youth,
01:52 they're leaving with no support, resources, and things like that.
01:55 So they wouldn't have that piece of the funding.
01:58 Diana Perez, Hernandez's case manager
02:00 with Bakersfield Angels, worked with Rudy
02:02 while he attended Foothill.
02:04 And as he prepared to head to college, and she says,
02:06 she's seen his resilience firsthand.
02:08 I know that this is only part of his story.
02:11 According to the National Foster Youth Institute,
02:13 only 3% to 4% of foster youth attend a four-year university.
02:17 And Perez says she's grateful Hernandez allowed
02:19 her to support him on his journey
02:21 to become one of the few foster students with a degree.
02:23 His heart is set here in Foothill,
02:25 and I really know that he'll be able to help
02:26 a lot of kids with his story.
02:28 Hernandez began classes at Cal State Long Beach,
02:30 eventually hoping to come back to Bakersfield
02:32 as a math teacher and high school
02:34 counselor at Foothill High.
02:35 This hot weather may not be the best,
02:37 but the people here are amazing.
02:40 And I just want to be able to give back
02:42 to the community that gave back so much to me.
02:44 Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 307 into the 2023-24 budget,
02:49 costing the state millions of dollars
02:51 annually to pay for college for foster youth.
02:54 In East Bakersfield, I'm Dominique Lavignier,
02:55 23 ABC News, connecting you.
02:57 And we wanted to get details on programs
03:02 and resources available for local foster kids
03:04 looking to pursue a college education.
03:06 Bakersfield Angels is one of the local programs.
03:09 We recently spoke with one of the case managers there
03:12 who shared some details on how the program works.
03:16 So for Bakersfield Angels, where the youth goes, we go.
03:19 So we match our youth with a mentor
03:22 for a year at a time, we say, because our goal is
03:25 that this is a permanent relationship that will go on.
03:28 But Rudy is--
03:29 Other resources we found from the state
03:34 include the Educational Opportunity Program,
03:36 which provides assistance through mentorship,
03:38 academic programs, financial assistance, and more.
03:41 And for those thinking of attending a community college
03:43 first before a university, there is the Extended Opportunity
03:47 Program.
03:47 This program helps guide foster youth
03:50 on a path that will lead to a transfer
03:52 to a four-year university.
03:54 Plus, the California College Pathways
03:56 offers peer advisors and personal counselors
03:59 who can become a foster child's on-campus family.
04:02 They can provide academic advice, housing assistance,
04:05 tutoring, and more.
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