Information for Foster Youth

If you are a foster youth in the State of California, you should know about the rights and protections available to you under the law.

You should also be aware of the duties and responsibilities of your attorney (also referred to as minor's counsel) when it comes to representing your interests in juvenile dependency court.

This section provides information regarding your rights while you are in the foster care system, information about your rights as you leave the foster care system, and what you can do if your rights are being violated. This section also briefly addresses your relationship with your attorney and what to do if you feel that your attorney is not acting in your best interest.

You will also find a list of additional resources at the end of the page, which includes several organizations in California who are here to help you.

Current or recent foster youth 18 years or over?

Please give us feedback on your experience with your attorney/lawyer.

Survey

We cannot improve the foster care system without you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Foster Youth Rights in Dependency Court

Asking The Judge to Make New Decisions About Your Life

Siblings: Asking The Judge to Make Decisions About Your Relationship With Your Brothers or Sisters in Foster Care

Know Your Rights While You Are In Foster Care

Know Your Rights As You Leave The Foster Care System

Resources For Foster Youth

,Having Trouble with Your Living Situation and Need Help Immediately?

The California Family Urgent Response System is a free hotline for current or former foster youth and their caregivers to call and get immediate help for any issues (big or small) they may be having.

The hotline is open 24 hours per day. It is a safe and private space to talk and share your concerns.

When you call the FURS hotline, you will be connected with a trained counselor or peer who will listen to you. If more support is needed, a team can come directly to where you are to help you work on the problem and to create a plan to help stabilize your situation and keep you safe. The team will also help connect you to local services and future support.

If you need assistance, CALL OR TEXT: 1-833-939-FURS (3877) or visit online at www.cal-furs.org.

FURS is a coordinated statewide, regional, and county-level system designed to provide collaborative and timely state-level phone-based response and county-level in-home, in-person mobile response during situations of instability, to preserve the relationship of the caregiver and the child or youth. For additional FURS program resources and background information, please click here.

Foster Youth Rights in Juvenile Dependency Court

You and Your Attorney

If you are a child in foster care, you should have a lawyer who has been appointed to represent you in juvenile court. See California Rules of Court, Rule 5.660; see also Welfare and Institutions Code § 317.6.

Your lawyer must give you their contact information within a short time after being assigned to your case. As soon as you meet your lawyer, ask for their business card (including email address).

Your attorney should be able to answer your questions about court procedures and the laws. Email may be the best way to get ahold of your lawyer because they can check email in court. If you do not know who your lawyer is, call your social worker, the Office of the Ombudsperson for Foster Care, or Advokids.

Your Attorney is Supposed to be Notified by the County Prior to a Placement Change

As soon as the county case worker (or the agency) makes a decision with respect to your placement or a change in your placement, there is an obligation for that case worker/agency to notify your attorney PRIOR to the change. Your attorney is supposed to be provided with your new address, telephone number and name of the caregiver. If the requisite notice cannot be provided to your attorney before you are moved, the notification shall be provided no later than the close of the following business day. Welfare and Institutions Code §16010.6(a)

If there is going to be a placement change that results in separation of you and your sibling(s) who are currently placed together, your attorney and your siblings' attorney (if they attorney is not the same) must be notified of the separation no less than 10 calendar days prior to the planned change of placement so that the attorney(s) may investigate the circumstances of the proposed separation. If the intended separation is due to seven days notice given by a foster family agency, group home, or other foster care provider, the case worker/agency must provide notice to the attorney(s) by the end of the next business day after receipt of seven days notice from the provider. If exigent circumstances exist, the case worker/agency shall provide notice as soon as possible, but no later than the close of the first business day following the change of placement. Welfare and Institutions Code §16010.6(c)

If you were moved to a new foster home and did not want to be, please contact your attorney and see if s/he received notice of the move. You should feel free to contact your attorney any time a decision is made about your life that you are not happy about. Your attorney is there to advocate for you so call and see if s/he can do anything about your placement (by talking to the county case worker or filing the necessary papers in court).

Reporting A Problem With Your Attorney

"Attorneys or their agents are expected to meet regularly with clients, including clients who are children, regardless of the age of the child or the child's ability to communicate verbally, to contact social workers and other professionals associated with the client's case, to work with other counsel and the court to resolve disputed aspects of a case without contested hearing, and to adhere to the mandated timelines. The attorney for the child must have sufficient contact with the child to establish and maintain an adequate and professional attorney-client relationship. The attorney for the child is not required to assume the responsibilities of a social worker and is not expected to perform services for the child that are unrelated to the child's legal representation." California Rules of Court, Rule 5.660(d)(4)

Rule 5.660(e) further mandates a complaint procedure for appointed attorneys in which the court must take action. If you believe that your court-appointed attorney is not representing your interests, you can report problems or lodge complaints to the presiding judge of the juvenile court by using the “Request for Assistance with Court Appointed Attorney” form. You may find instructions for completing the form here. If you know your judge's name or department, you can address the letter to that judge and send your letter there. If you do not know who your judge is, try searching online for the supervising or presiding judge of the juvenile dependency court in the county your case is in. If you can't find out who that is, address your letter to "Supervising Juvenile Dependency Judge" and send it to the juvenile dependency court in your county.

Another recourse if you encounter problems with your attorney is you can contact the State Bar of California's Chief Trial Counsel and file a complaint for any unethical professional conduct. For more information, please click here.

Right to Notice of Hearings

When you are in foster care, the juvenile court judge makes decisions about your life. You have the right to receive notice of all court hearings related to your case if you are 10 years or older. Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 290.1, 290.2, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295.

Right to Attend Hearings

You have the right to attend all of your court hearings and speak to the judge to voice your opinion. Welfare and Institutions Code § 349. If you are 10 years old or older, you must be at your court hearings unless you clearly tell your lawyer you do not want to go. In certain counties, such as Los Angeles, the local rules of court require social workers to notify children four years or older of their right to appear at court hearings and provide transportation so that they can attend.

Right to Have a Say in Placement Decisions

Your attorney must be notified about a decision to change your placement as soon as the decision is made, but not later than the close of the following business day. Welfare and Institutions Code § 16010.6(a). If you are moved, call your attorney and let them know.

Any time you are placed into foster care, when your foster placement changes, or there is a plan for you to return home, you have the right to make a brief statement to the court making a decision on placement. The court may disregard your preferences. Welfare and Institutions Code § 399.

Right to Be Involved in Your Case Planning

You are allowed to be involved in the development of your own case plan, including placement decisions, and plan for permanency. Welfare and Institutions Code § 16001.9(a)(37). If you are 10 years of age or older, you are allowed to review your case plan and plan for permanent placement, and to receive information about your out-of-home placement and case plan, including being told of changes to the plan. Welfare and Institutions Code § 16001.9(a)(38).

Right to Your Case Files

You have the right to see and receive a copy of your child welfare records, juvenile court records, and educational records at no cost until you are 26 years old, subject to existing federal and state confidentiality laws. Welfare and Institutions Code § 16001.9(a)(36). You do not need a court order and can go directly to the clerk's office and ask to see your case file. If you are having difficulty accessing your case file at the clerk's office, please click here.

In general, all of your case information should be confidential. The judge can only share records with someone who is not a party to your case if it is in your best interest to do so. If your judge wants to share any of your case information, he/she must hold a hearing and notify you and your attorney so you can be heard. Welfare and Institutions Code § 349

When your case is dismissed, the judge must ensure that you know how and where to get your records. Your case file includes information regarding why you were removed from your parents, what happened to you, and the actions of the court over the years. You can ask the court to seal your record when you turn 18 (or five years after your last juvenile court case has ended, whichever comes first). However, if you committed a felony, serious misdemeanor, or certain vehicle violations when you were 14 years of age or older, it is up to the court’s discretion whether to grant or deny your request to seal your records.

Asking the Judge to Make Decisions About Your Life

If a judge made a decision in your case and something has changed in your life that makes that decision no longer in your best interests, you or your attorney can fill out a form called “Request to Change Court Order (Form JV-180)“. For information about the JV-180 and instructions on how to fill it out please click here. The JV-180 form is supposed to explain to the judge that circumstances in your life have changed and that you need the judge to make new decisions that will make your life better. You or your attorney must then take or mail copies of the completed form to the court clerk’s office. If you are having a problem with your attorney about filing a JV-180, please call Advokids.

The judge may ask the other people involved with your case if they think you have given the judge the kind of information he/she must have in order to change a decision. Then the judge will decide if you told him/her anything new and if the change you want the judge to make is good for you.

If the judge believes you have not told him/her anything new or believes that what you want is not good for you, the judge will not make any changes. The court clerk will send a written notice of the decision not to make any changes to you and all the people involved with your case.

If the judge believes that you did tell him/her something new and what you are asking for will make life better for you, the judge will schedule a court date for you. The court clerk will send a written notice of the decision to schedule a hearing and the date of the hearing to you and all the people involved with your case.

At that court date, everyone involved in your case will be present and allowed to speak. After everyone has spoken, the judge will make the final decision. The judge will make the changes you want only if he/she believes you have told the court something new and what you are asking for is good for you.

Siblings: Asking the Judge to Make Decisions About Your Relationship with Your Brothers or Sisters in Foster Care

If you are a foster child and have a brother or sister who is a dependent of the court (or in the custody of a parent who is before the court), you may ask the judge to do the following:

make an order permitting visits,
make an order placing you in the same home,
make other orders that may be in the best interest of your brother or sister, and
consider your relationship with your brother or sister when making decisions about him or her.

See California Rules of Court, Rule 5.460

To make these requests of the court, you or your attorney will have to fill out a form called “Request to Change Court Order (Form JV-180).“

For information about the JV-180 and instructions on how to fill it out please review the JV-185 here. You or your attorney must then bring copies of the form to the court clerk’s office. The court clerk will send a written notice of any decision to schedule a hearing and the date of the hearing to you and all the people involved with your brother’s or sister’s case. At that court date, everyone involved in the case will be present and will be allowed to speak. After everyone has spoken, the court will consider all evidence and make a final decision. For more information, see our Sibling Placement and Visitation page.
c11

Know Your Rights While You are in Foster Care

Welfare and Institutions Code section 16001.9 sets forth the rights all minors and nonminor dependents in foster care have. If any of your rights as a foster child/youth are being violated, you can inform your attorney. You can also contact the State Ombudman's Office, click here for more information.

A few of your specific rights are discussed in more detail below, please click on the relevant topic:

Your Right to Live in a Safe Environment

Your caregiver’s job is to keep you safe and healthy by making careful, sensible parental decisions that maintain your health, safety, and best interest while encouraging emotional and developmental growth. Caregivers in the foster care system are held to a “reasonable and prudent parent standard” when making decisions relating to your participation in extracurricular, enrichment, cultural and social activities. If you do not believe your caregiver is doing their job, you have the right to say so.

As a foster child, you have the right to live in a safe, healthy and comfortable home where you are treated respectfully. This means that you receive adequate and healthy food, enough clothing and, for youth in group homes, a monetary allowance. A safe home means that you live in a place where you are free from emotional, physical or sexual abuse. No one can punish you with physical force. It is important to know that no one has the right to lock you in a room or building unless you are placed in a community treatment facility.

In your place of residence, you should have a private place for your things. No one can look through your things unless they have a good/legal reason to do so. You should also be able to access a telephone to make confidential telephone calls and send/receive unopened mail.

Additionally, you have the right to have fair and equal access to all available services, placement, care, treatment, and benefits, and not be subjected to discrimination or harassment on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental or physical disability, or HIV status.

If you think any of your rights to a safe home are being violated, you can seek help:

California Youth Crisis Line: 1-800-843-5200

National Runaway Switchboard: 1-800-621-4000

NINELINE: 1-800-999-9999

Foster Care Ombudsman: 1-877-846-1602

Child Protective Services emergency response hotlines for your county

https://www.hwcws.cahwnet.gov/countyinfo/county_contacts/hotline_numbers.asp

or CALL YOUR LAWYER!

Your Right to Be Healthy and Receive Proper Medical Care

As a foster child, you have free medical insurance (Medi-Cal or Family Pact) until you are 26 years old. This free medical insurance covers vision, dental, mental health and hospital care. You also have the right to see a doctor privately in order to receive family planning and services, which includes confidential sex education, STI/HIV testing, pregnancy testing, and birth control. Furthermore, you have the right to confidential visits with a doctor about sexual abuse/rape and alcohol/drug treatment.

If you have any questions about health services or need assistance accessing medical care, you can contact:

Office of the Medi-Cal Ombudsmen: 1-888-452-8609

Medi-Cal Hotline: 1-916-636-1980

Public Health Nurse Directory: www.dhcs.ca.gov; or 1-510-208-5930

Health Consumer Alliance Center: http://healthconsumer.org; 1-855-693-7285

Health Shack: www.healthshack.info

Teen Health Law: www.teenhealthlaw.org

Your Right to Education

No one can prevent you from going to school. You have the right to go to school everyday, participate in after school activities, and finish the school year at the same school if you move (if geographically possible).

If you are facing suspension at your school, there are special rules that may apply to you as a foster youth. For example, you have the right to a hearing and present witnesses, evidence and an attorney if you are going to be expelled.

If you are 16 years of age or older, you have the right to access information regarding your educational options, including coursework necessary for vocational and postsecondary educational programs and financial aid for postsecondary education. You can obtain assistance from an Educational Liaison (AB-490 Liaison). Every school district must have someone whose job is to help foster youth keep track of their school records, enroll in the right classes, and answer any questions related to education.

To find your Educational Liaison, call Foster Youth Services at 1-916-455-5737. You can also find a list of all statewide contacts at www.cde.ca.gov/ls/pf/fy/ab490contacts.asp

Your Right to Plan for Your Future

Beyond receiving an education and obtaining assistance with vocational and postsecondary education to help better your future, you have additional rights with regard to planning your life when you leave the foster care system. For example, as a foster youth, you have the right to maintain an emancipation bank account and manage personal income unless you are prohibited in doing so by your case plan. You also have the right to work and develop job skills at an age appropriate level, consistent with state law. Furthermore, if you are aged 16-21, you can attend Independent Living Program (ILP) classes and activities. For more on ILP, please see Transitioning to Living Independently while still in Foster Care.

Your Right to Communications and Socializing

Unless prohibited by court order, you have the right to visit and contact your birth family (relatives, siblings, etc.) and have a case plan that specifies how you will keep in touch with your family. If you wish to, you can visit and contact your siblings and other family members (unless prohibited by court order) and communicate with social workers, attorneys, foster youth advocates and supporters, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs), and probation officers.

Additionally, you have the right to have and maintain social contacts with people outside of the foster care system, including church members, mentors, and friends. With regard to religion, you have the right to attend religious services and activities of your choosing.

Communications include making and receiving confidential telephone calls and sending or receiving unopened mail (unless not permitted by court order). You may also contact the appropriate persons confidentially regarding violations of rights and have the right to be free from threats or punishment for making such complaints.

Your Right to Reinstate Parental Rights if You Are Not Adopted

Once parental rights have terminated, the juvenile dependency court has no power to set aside, change, or otherwise modify it except if the order is appealed. However, if parental rights were terminated in your juvenile dependency case but you were not adopted, you may be able to petition the Court to have your parents’ parental rights reinstated.

If parental rights were terminated at least three (3) years ago or it is stipulated (by CDSS, the county or licensed adoption agency and the child) that the child is no longer likely to be adopted, the child can petition the court for a hearing to reinstate those parental rights. You should contact your attorney in the juvenile dependency proceeding to assist you in filing the petition. If you are over the age of twelve, you must sign the petition. The court must grant the petition if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the child is no longer likely to be adopted and reinstatement of parental rights is in the child’s best interest. See Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26(i)(3).

Know Your Rights as You Leave the Foster Care System

The Alliance for Children's Rights created an informative training about youth aging out of foster care. Please access the training information here. For specific information about other important rights when you are a dependent in foster care, please click on the relevant topic:

Your Right to Transition to Living Independently While Still in Foster Care

When you are around the age of 16, you should begin working with your social worker to create a plan to prepare for the transition from foster care to independent living. It is a good idea to update this transition plan every six months.

The Independent Living Program (ILP) is a program intended for foster youth aged 16 to 21 to help them get ready to live on their own. If you are aged 16-21, you can participate in the ILP to receive assistance with applying for college scholarships, obtaining employment, finishing school, obtaining funds for driver’s training, finding an apartment, housing and food expenses, job training, money management, and learning other life skills. Your social worker or probation officer must make sure you have access to ILP services and that you are able to complete the goals in your Transitional Independent Living Plan (TILP). Your participation in ILP is not a reward or punishment. To contact the ILP Policy Unit, please call -1-916-651-7456 or email [email protected]

Types of ILP placements are:

Transitional Housing Placement Program (THPP): for youth aged 16-18. You can have an apartment while stile living in foster care. With approval, you can live alone or with roommates and practice your ILP skills.
Transitional Housing Placement Plus – Foster Care (THC+FC): for young adults in extended foster care aged 18-21. THC+FC provides youth with housing and supportive services in an age-appropriate setting. With a variety of housing options, this program allows you to continue to develop and practice your ILP skills.
Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP): this is a new option for young adults aged 18-21. The program includes youth on probation, which allows you to live on your own with limited support, if you can show that you are ready.

The Youth Law Center created a resource titled THP-NMD: An Advocacy Guide to Preventing Involuntary Exits after young adults reported being exited prematurely from their transitional housing programs, sometimes without notice or proper process. This guide summarizes legal protections for young adults (both as former foster youth and as tenants) to help them stay housed. It contains advocacy checklists, practice scenarios, and links to other relevant resources. The publication is a companion piece to a similar and related guide YLC published in the fall of 2020 related to the THP-Plus housing program - that guide can be found here.

Your Right to Emancipate

Sometime between the ages of 18-21, the court will decide when it is in your best interest to close your case. When you turn 18 years of age, your social worker will file a report that gives a recommendation for when to transition you out of foster care. In helping the judge make the right decision for you, you should work with your lawyer to make the court aware of your thoughts on the issue.

You have the choice to stay in foster care up until you turn 21 years old. If you decide to stay in the foster care system, you get extra time and assistance in preparing for your future through additional educational and job training opportunities and time to secure consistent housing. If you emancipate (leave the foster care system), you give up any rights and benefits that come with being in foster care and become responsible for yourself. This means that if, for example, someone sues you or you are convicted of a crime, you are on your own. The only right you retain is you can still participate in your Independent Living Program.

How to Emancipate

Some foster youth are ready to emancipate at 18 years of age or earlier. If you are ready to leave the system before you turn 18, you can do so in three different ways:

You request early emancipation from the court. To emancipate, you must be at least 14 years old and prove that you are able to live on your own. If these conditions are met, the judge will decide if it is in your best interest to grant your request.
You join the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Marines)
You get married (with parents/guardians and judge’s consent)

When you turn 18 years of age, you must decide whether or not you want to remain in foster care. If your desire is to emancipate, you must take action and “opt out” because your foster care will extend past age 18 unless you choose to leave. If you choose to stay in foster care after the age of 18, you must do ONE of the following:

Complete high school (or an equivalent program, like a GED);
Enroll (at least half time) in college, community college, or a vocational program;
Be employed at least 80 hours per month; or
Participate in a program or activity designed to help you get a job or enroll in school

If you choose to leave foster care, your social worker must provide you with certain documents and assistance, such as: your birth certificate, social security card, ID card or driver’s license, proof of residency, and a letter confirming you were in the dependency system. You should also be provided with any and all information regarding your family history, placement history, medical records, education records, and information regarding sibling(s) in the system. Furthermore, your social worker should help you with maintaining relationships with people who are important to you, assist you with finding transitional housing, help with education or college applications, and apply for Medi-Cal.

Your Right to Access Health Care Until Age 26

Your Right to Your Juvenile Case File (at no cost until age 26)

Welfare and Institutions Code section 16001.9(a)(36) provides that all children and youth who are in foster care, have the right "[t]o view and receive a copy of their child welfare records, juvenile court records, and educational records at no cost to the child until the child is 26 years of age, subject to existing federal and state confidentiality laws."

For more information on How to Access Your Juvenile Case File, please click here.

Your Right to Obtain a Birth Certificate (at no cost)

Section 103578 of the Health and Safety Code requires that each local registrar or county recorder issue a certified record of live birth at no cost to an eligible youth in foster care. However, only one fee exempt birth record may be obtained per application. A fee exempt certified birth record may be obtained from the local registrar or county recorder office in the county where the registrant was born.

See All County Letter (ACL) 19-103 (Issued 12/2/19)

Determine Whether You are Entitled to Benefits

If you are in foster care or were in foster care, you may be (or may have been) entitled to benefits from the Social Security Administration. Please see The Marshall project website to determine whether you are eligible and what actions you can take if you are or were eligible. For more information on this important issue, please click here.

If you are in Los Angeles County, you can determine what benefits you may be entitled to by entering your information anonymously in this Benefits Eligibility Finder.

Resources for Foster Youth

American Bar Association's article "Five Tips for Helping Transition Aged Youth File Their Taxes and Build Economic Security (February 2022)"
Foster Youth Bill of Rights (Welfare and Institutions Code Section 16001.9 effective 1/20)
Alliance for Children's Rights Info on Extended Foster Care Beyond Age 21
California Youth Connection: Foster youth who identify local issues, learn about the legislative process and then use grassroots and community organizing to create real change in the system.
California Coalition for Youth: 24/7 Youth Crisis Line 1(800)843-5200
California Foster Care Ombudsman’s Office: Focuses on foster youth rights and facts. Free Help Line: 1-877-846-1602
California County Independent Living Program (ILP) and List of County Coordinators
FosterStrong: Empowering current and former foster youth to reclaim their narratives by authentically sharing our own journey's of moving from trauma to triumph.
iFoster: Educational, health, recreational, and services for foster youth to support them growing into successful, independent adults. Sign up for iFoster's newsletter to learn about free educational resources they offer, including free laptops for college, cell phones, eye glasses, tutoring, scholarships, and much more!
Legal Services For Children: Legal Services for Children provides free legal and social services to children and youth under 18 years old in the San Francisco Bay Area.
National Center for Youth Law: A private, non-profit law office serving the legal needs of children and their families.
NextUp - offers eligible current and former foster youth support services that could help with books and supplies, transportation, tutoring, food, and emergency housing.
PRIDE Industries: Foster Youth Employment Services (coaching, mentoring, training, internships, and job placement training for former foster youth)
The Right Way Foundation: A Los Angeles-based organization that partners with emancipating foster youth and re-entry youth to build healthy, stable lives. Their programs address past trauma, support successful employment, and promote healing and self-sufficiency in adulthood.
Together We Rise (COVID-19): School support, housing, groceries, utilities aid and more for foster youth and students.
Together We Rise (Family Fellowship): A scholarship program dedicated to propelling youth in foster care into higher education through financial support and mentorship opportunities.
Youth Law Center's - Transitional Housing Placement Program for Nonminor Dependents (THP-NMD) Advocacy Guide to Preventing Involuntary Exits

Legal Disclaimer: Advokids provides educational information and resources to those who use our website, call our hotline, or submit requests for information via the website. Any information provided may not be construed as the giving of legal advice to any person about a particular legal matter and should not be relied upon as the basis for taking a particular action or refraining from taking a particular action in any legal matter. If you want or need legal advice about a particular legal matter, you should consult a lawyer.

Mailing List Signup

Join the Advokids mailing list and stay connected to our work to fight for the right of every child in California to safety, security, and a permanent home.

5643 Paradise Drive, Suite 12B
Corte Madera, CA 94925

11833 Mississippi Ave., 1st floor
Los Angeles, CA 90025

415.924.0587