Los Angeles foster youth who are between 13 and 26, including “aged out” foster youth are about to get free smartphones that have unlimited voice, text, data, and internet access via a hotspot.
National nonprofit iFoster says that most of the nation’s foster youth, including the transition-age youth (those who have become legal adults in the foster care system), do not have consistent access to cell phones, laptops, or other devices. These young people, already struggling with trauma and insecurity, find themselves disconnected from other kids and the rest of the world.
This disconnect can have major “safety, social, educational, and employment implications,” says iFoster and other youth advocates.
California Public Utilities Commission Votes for Foster Youth Phones
With this in mind, in late April, the California Public Utilities Commission took a vote to allocate $22 million for a pilot program that provides free smartphones to more than 30,000 foster kids in the state, as well as young adults who have “aged out” of the child welfare system.
The issue with lack of access to these devices became clear to the state’s Public Utilities Commission because of iFoster. They work hard to get foster kids the different resources and opportunities that they often don’t have. They have been persistent in bugging the commission since 2013 about the various barriers that foster kids come up against when they are trying to keep up with school and other areas of their lives.
iFoster explained to the PUC that some of the most crucial of these barriers involved technology – particularly the lack of smartphones and internet access.
The Survey on Foster Youth’s Access to Technology
The case became stronger during 2016 and 2017 when they conducted a survey that showed that only 21% of urban foster youth and 5% of rural foster youth had access to technology on a consistent basis.
“This has a lifelong impact on their ability to succeed in school, find employment, connect with their support network, and build the skills they need to achieve their potential,” says iFoster’s Co-Founder and CEO, Serita Cox.
iFoster says that owning smartphones can help bridge the gap that many foster youths feel. The survey also suggested that owning smartphones could have an impact when it comes to personal safety.
Boost Mobile set to Work with iFoster for Foster Youth
Working together with Boost Mobile, which is a subsidiary of the Sprint Corporation, iFoster proposed to PUC that eligible California foster youth and former foster youth between 13 and 26 would be given a free smartphone and pre-paid service plans for no cost. The cost to the state is slightly $22 million.
The pilot plan was largely loved by the CPUC and voted on April 25th, 2019 to okay the funds for the 2-year pilot. Now it appears it is finally time to get the program running in Los Angeles County.