Kandace Jones said her five-year stay in foster care ended abruptly when she turned 18.
“I actually got kicked out on my birthday. … I called home from school, and they said, ‘Actually, you can’t come home,’” she said. “So I didn’t have anywhere I could go.”
Jones, 21, of Olympia, got help from Community Youth Services. She has worked at a bowling alley for two years, has a 7-month-old son and a fiancé, and shouted herself hoarse Friday at the Capitol.
She and more than 200 other foster youths marched Friday at the Capitol Campus, hoping their stories will sway legislators considering what programs to cut in a recession-induced budget crunch.
The top priority for many was the Independent Youth Housing program. The two-year-old program allows the state to pay some rent for foster youths, like Jones, after they “age out” of the system at 18 and no longer live with families.
“It’s the difference between being in survival mode or being stable and going after employment, education,” said Megan Burr, a housing specialist with Community Youth Services.
Funding for the program is jeopardized by the state’s expected $6 billion shortfall over the next two years. Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed ending enrollment in the housing program and others for people ages 18 to 21.
“When you cut, you look at the least vulnerable,” said Randy Hart, director of the state Children’s Administration. “These kids, if you cut there, there will be consequences, but they are probably less than they would be for younger kids..”
Mockingbird Society Executive Director Jim Theofelis organized Friday’s rally in the hope that legislators will have second thoughts after hearing from the young people.
The stories include Diane Jordan’s. She was in foster care from ages 1 to 6, then stayed with relatives and eventually landed in a Seattle group home. She turns 18 next month.
“I don’t think a lot of people want to mooch off the system, but they need a place to live,” Jordan said. “It’s pretty hard to support yourself when you don’t have a place to live. That’s the main issue.”
Several lawmakers visited the group to offer encouragement, including Rep. Eric Pettigrew, D-Seattle.
“The state should be the primary example of good parenting,” he told the crowd. “And you should not accept anything else.”
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