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Strongly supported California legislation that would have extended assistance to a vulnerable population of young people exiting the foster care system will not be implemented, following a veto last month by Gov. Gavin Newsom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attorneys for Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly have asked a federal court to remove her from a class‐action lawsuit over the state's troubled foster care program, arguing that she doesn't actually oversee the system, the Kansas News Service reported Nov. 16. A year ago, child welfare advocates sued then‐Gov. Jeff Colyer and the heads of the state agencies in charge of the foster care system: the Department for Children and Families, the Department of Aging and Disability Services and the Department of Health and Environment. In April 2019, Kelly and the current heads of those agencies replaced them as the defendants in the suit. The lawsuit alleges that the state failed to provide adequate mental health treatment for Kansas foster children and traumatized them by moving them from house to house, sometimes more than 100 times. The suit was filed on behalf of 10 foster children, who were identified only by their initials. Teresa Woody, an attorney for advocacy group Kansas Appleseed, said they plan to file a response opposing the removal of Kelly from the lawsuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A summary is presented of the Family-Based Foster Care Services Act that was introduced on February 10, 2015 by Senators Tammy Baldwin (Democrat-Wisconsin) and Rob Portman (Republican-Ohio) that aims to improve foster care services for troubled youth and increase access to quality care by clarifying Medicaid policy that affects foster children with special behavioral needs and medical disabilities.