Bay Area anti-poverty group launches $30 million fund

The Tipping Point Community is launching a $ 30 mi l l ion initiative aimed at supporting thousands of Bay Area foster youth as they navigate the challenges of transitioning into adulthood.

The San Francisco-based nonprofit’s five-year effort, announced Dec. 6, aims to improve the lives of roughly 4,000 foster youth in the Bay Area ages 14-24, many of whom may struggle to find stability, affordable housing, and jobs after they age out of the foster care system at age 21.

Nationally, according to Tipping Point, only 7% of foster youth have a college degree, more than 30% of children who have been in the foster care system have been homeless by age 26 and half are unemployed by that age.

Advocates say those statistics can be linked to the loss of government resources and support for foster youth at key transition periods, like graduating from high school, venturing into the housing market alone, and looking for work.

“After 21, they are on their own,” said Tipping Point president of Sam Cobbs. “But what we are seeing is if young people are offered support services, they can make large gains.”

Cobb noted that a higher percentage of foster youth were homeless before the federal government passed a bill in 2008 that allows states to extend foster care benefits to youths fromage 18 to 21. But Cobbs said the current status quo isn’t good enough.

“We still have a ways to go,” he said. “Yes, we are able to better survive because of the legislation. But what young people who are transitioning out of foster care are not doing in greater numbers, they’re not thriving. This initiative is to help young people begin to thrive, not just survive.”

Tipping Point has committed $20 million to the effort and is seeking an additional $10 million from other funders. The initiative will fund organizations working on child welfare policy at state and local levels along with nonprofit groups that serveBay Area foster youth. Five organizations already have been selected: John Burton Advocates for Youth, the National Center for Youth Law, On the Move, Pivotal, and the University of Chicago.