FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Hennepin County Foster Youth COVID-19 Relief Fund

Starting today, 128 former Fosters residing in Hennepin County who have been impacted by COVID-19 will receive $1,500 mutual aid payments to support their stability.

This funding is made possible through federal CARES Act funding distributed by Hennepin County to Connections to Independence (C2i), Foster Advocates, Project for Pride in Living (PPL), and YMCA of the North.

In October, Foster Advocates released the first state-specific report in the country on the impact of COVID-19 on Fosters. This study showed Minnesota Fosters were facing extremely high rates of housing insecurity, unemployment, and food insecurity, with transition-age Fosters most at risk. Empowered with this data, Hennepin County acted in partnership with our coalition to direct CARES Act dollars to support Fosters.

Funds were prioritized to Fosters who have recently aged out of the foster care system into this pandemic. Under normal circumstances, aging out of foster care is deeply challenging; transition-age Fosters face high rates of homelessness, unemployment, and a myriad of other harms and instabilities. As a state, we hold a special duty of care to foster youth, especially those aging out during this dual public health and economic crisis. For an already highly at-risk population, where successful transitions to physical, economic, and emotional security are precarious at best, coronavirus burdens Fosters with challenges that are potentially insurmountable.

We are thankful to Hennepin County for stepping up to support foster youth. However, it is clear that a county-by-county patchwork approach leaves many Fosters shut out of support. We call on the Walz administration to direct the Department of Human Services, in accordance with the federal Children’s Bureau guidelines, to implement a moratorium on Fosters aging out of care during the pandemic. Nine other states and D.C. have already taken this step; Minnesota needs to join these leaders to ensure Fosters don’t fall off a pandemic cliff.

Visit fosteradvocates.org/covid-19-survey to access the COVID-19 impact report. Reach out to info@fosteradvocates.orgfor questions