A narrow group of adopted 18-year-olds in California could keep receiving adoption assistance after they reach adulthood if they are still in school or approved vocational training. AB 2769 would add a fourth eligibility lane to the state’s Adoption Assistance Program, which is meant to help provide the stability and security of permanent homes.
The bill is aimed at teens who are not yet fully self-supporting but also should not lose help the moment they turn 18. It would keep support in place while they finish high school, an equivalent vocational or technical program, or work toward a high school equivalency certificate.
The extra year
The added coverage would apply only if the adoption assistance agreement took effect before the young person’s 16th birthday. The teen would also have to have been in full-time school or training before turning 18, continue that attendance, keep living with the adoptive parent and remain otherwise eligible.
Benefits would last until the program ends or the teen turns 19, whichever comes first. That gives families a little more runway through the stretch between legal adulthood and real financial independence.
Built on an existing program
AB 2769 does not replace the program’s current age rules. California already covers children under 18, some people under 21 with a mental or physical handicap, and some older teens who met other conditions before age 16.
Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens authored the bill, with Assemblymember Steve Bennett as coauthor. The measure also amends Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 16120 and 16123.
Sources
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