(1) The general assembly finds and declares that: (a) Each year, for a variety of reasons, more than three hundred youth, ages eighteen to twenty-one, exit Colorado's foster care system without a permanent home or a stable support network; (b) These youth do not have the same safety nets, supportive adults, and support networks as do other youth their age; (c) Many of these youth will face challenges as they search for affordable housing, pursue higher education or training, search for employment, manage tight budgets, take care of their health needs, and much more; (d) Youth in foster care face not only the typical developmental changes and new experiences that are common to youth their age but also the dramatic change from being under the county's care to being on their own, many without any supportive adults or safety net to help them succeed; (e) The array of services and supports available to youth while in the foster care system, including housing, food, medical care, and caseworker support, disappear as soon as the youth exits foster care. Additionally, many of these youth are dealing with the long-term consequences of trauma related to the abuse, neglect, removal, and overall lack of resources that they may have experienced. (f) By leveraging the expertise of youth who have successfully made the transition to adulthood, as well as experts in the field, many states have developed creative approaches to address the needs of these youth; (g) Colorado can start addressing the needs of youth by allowing counties to use existing child welfare money to provide continued supportive services for youth who exit the foster care system; and (h) Although existing child welfare money may enable the state to provide services to some youth, it is insufficient to address all the need, nor is it available consistently across the state. (2) Therefore, the general assembly determines that by coupling the short-term approach of using existing child welfare money with the creation of a steering committee tasked with developing a long-term implementation plan for services for a successful adulthood for youth who were formerly in the state's foster care system, the state can better meet the needs of youth who are making the transition from the foster care system to successful adulthood.
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