{"id":31495,"date":"2022-02-09T16:31:47","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T22:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/?p=31495"},"modified":"2022-02-09T20:41:39","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T02:41:39","slug":"temporary-extension-of-youth-transition-program-considered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/?p=31495","title":{"rendered":"Temporary extension of youth transition program considered"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nebraskans aging out of the Bridge to Independence program could receive $1,000 a month for up to two years under a bill heard Feb. 9 by the Health and Human Services Committee. The program provides a system of supports for state wards and juvenile-adjudicated youth as they transition out of the foster care or juvenile justice systems.<\/p>\n

\"Sen.
Sen. Terrell McKinney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LB1113, introduced by Omaha Sen. Terrell McKinney, would establish a pilot program to provide the extended benefit until Dec. 31, 2026, to individuals in the program who turn 21 before Dec. 31, 2024. The bill states legislative intent to fund the program extension through federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars allocated to Nebraska.<\/p>\n

Under the bill, to the extent allowed under federal and state law, the benefit would not be considered taxable income and would not affect an individual\u2019s ability to qualify for public benefits or post-secondary financial aid.<\/p>\n

McKinney said the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has added additional burdens on youth transitioning out of the Bridge to Independence program.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike many marginalized groups, they start their adulthood behind,\u201d McKinney said. \u201cWe all know the impact of the pandemic has had on financial stability, mental health, job security, housing and food insecurity \u2026 these things have been exacerbated concerning young people aging out of the foster care system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schalisha Walker of Nebraska Appleseed testified in support of LB1113. She said that individuals leaving the program without ongoing support face an increased likelihood of homelessness and other problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen firsthand the effects the pandemic has had on this vulnerable population,\u201d Walker said.<\/p>\n

Rodney Edwards, who recently transitioned out of the program, also testified in support of the bill. He said the pandemic forced him to leave his dorm room at the University of Nebraska and move in with his grandparents. Edwards said not everyone in his circumstance had housing to fall back on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis support is very much needed. It\u2019s not a handout,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cIt\u2019s simply a means of survival.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one testified in opposition to LB1113 and the committee took no immediate action on it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nebraskans aging out of the Bridge to Independence program could receive $1,000 a month for up to two years under a bill heard Feb. 9 by the Health and Human Services Committee. The program provides a system of supports for state wards and juvenile-adjudicated youth as they transition out of the foster care or juvenile justice systems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12],"tags":[262],"class_list":["post-31495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-and-human-services","tag-sen-terrell-mckinney"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31495"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31500,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31495\/revisions\/31500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}