New help for youths in state foster care

OLYMPIA — With present and former foster children looking on, Gov. Christine Gregoire enacted laws that broaden medical coverage, rent assistance and college scholarships for young adults who leave foster care. Advocates said the measures, expected to cost the state nearly $5.3 million over two years, are crucial for helping foster kids who "age out" of the system and lose state support when they turn 18.

"Our foster children are our sons and daughters, and they don't just go out on their own at age 18," Gregoire said before signing the bills on Friday.

One measure expands the general limit of Medicaid coverage for foster children from age 18 to 21. Officials said the plan will cost $2.9 million over two years, about evenly split between the state and federal governments.

Gregoire also gave final approval to the "Passport to College" program, which expands state-sponsored scholarships for former foster children. Legislators budgeted $2.3 million for the scholarships; the program is expected to cost about $550,000 to administer.

A third bill spends $1 million on housing stipends and other assistance for low-income former foster children ages 18 to 23.

Without continuing help as young adults, too many former foster children can end up homeless, jobless or uneducated, officials and advocates said Friday.

But helping those young adults also gives hope to younger foster children, who otherwise might see a bleak future for themselves, said Jim Theofelis, director of The Mockingbird Society, an advocacy group.