LOS ANGELES, AUGUST 19, 2024 – When transition age youth in foster care filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County and the State of California seeking housing and services, the government responded by saying the youth shouldn’t even be able to sue. The judge disagreed. In his ruling, Judge John Kronstadt held that young people in foster care between the ages of 16 and 21 have a legal right to shelter, which includes emergency housing options when they are transitioning between foster system placements or re-entering foster care. The judge also allowed the foster youths’ claims addressing disability discrimination to move forward. With these important victories in hand, on August 12, the foster youth amended their complaint to secure additional protections for housing and services for foster youth with mental health disabilities.  

“The judge paved the way for our clients to continue to seek justice for themselves and all the transition age youth in foster care who will come after them. He confirmed that the governments’ ‘special relationship does not automatically terminate when a foster youth becomes 18 years old.’ This is just common sense. A lot of these young people spent their entire childhood being raised by this system. The obligation to meet their basic human needs doesn’t just vanish overnight on their 18th birthday,” said Leecia Welch, Deputy Legal Director at Children’s Rights. “Our amended complaint adds the sorts of details that really drive home how dire things are for far too many youth in this system. Our clients’ stories are heartbreaking – and they are incredibly brave to share them with the world.”

The foster youth and their legal team, led by Public Counsel; Children’s Rights, Alliance for Children’s Rights; and Munger, Tolles & Olson, have updated the lawsuit to further protect the rights of transition age youth in foster care with mental health disabilities. The amended lawsuit calls for the county and state to protect the due process rights of transition age youth to access and maintain safe places to live. It also asks the court to require the government to provide important Medicaid benefits necessary to stabilize placements, specifically crisis services and intensive care coordination services. In addition, the lawsuit calls on the government to end the unjustified segregation of transition age youth in foster care with disabilities in short-term residential therapeutic programs. Placing young people in these programs puts them at serious risk of institutionalization, and the often lifelong harms that follow.

“We know that young people in foster care have experienced the trauma of being separated from their families and losing social ties, and they have often experienced trauma while in foster care. There is no doubt that becoming unhoused worsens the trauma impacting youth in foster care. As the state and county well know, transition age youth in foster care require safe housing and services to address this complex trauma,” said Tara Ford, Interim Directing Attorney of the Opportunity Under Law Project at Public Counsel. “Every one of our clients has dreams for a bright future. The state and the county must end their historic practices that have kept foster youth unhoused and instead provide them with the home base they need as they transition to adulthood.”

“For nearly two decades, we’ve worked to advance the objective of improving housing access for older youth in foster care, through state legislation, county implementation, and direct advocacy on our individual clients’ cases,” said Jennifer L. Braun, President and CEO at Alliance for Children’s Rights. “At its core, this work is driven by each and every young person in foster care’s legal right to be safely housed, at a minimum, at all times. We are gratified by the court’s resounding agreement with this foundational truth.”

“We were shocked to see Los Angeles County take the position in seeking to dismiss this suit that there is ‘no entitlement to housing’ for transition-aged youth in foster care. The County’s basic position was that if these young people don’t like their treatment at the hands of the County, they can always leave foster care and fend for themselves,” said Peter Gratzinger, counsel at Munger, Tolles & Olson. “We were gratified to see the court reject that position, and we look forward to continuing to fight for our clients’ rights.” 

To learn more about the Ocean S. v. L.A. County lawsuit, click here.

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About Public Counsel

Public Counsel is a nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to advancing civil rights and racial and economic justice, as well as to amplifying the power of our clients through comprehensive legal advocacy. Founded on and strengthened by a pro bono legal service model, our staff and volunteers seek justice through direct legal services, promote healthy and resilient communities through education and outreach, and support community-led efforts to transform unjust systems through litigation and policy advocacy in and beyond Los Angeles.

About Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP

Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP is a law firm with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. MTO maintains a national and international practice, with principal areas of focus including litigation, corporate, labor and employment, environmental, financial restructuring and tax.

About Alliance for Children’s Rights

The Alliance for Children’s Rights protects the rights of children and young adults impacted by foster care. By providing free legal representation and social services, and by advocating for broad solutions through ground-breaking child welfare policy reform, the Alliance clears barriers to stability and opportunity so that young people and families can access the support and services they need to thrive. For more information, visit allianceforchildrensrights.org.

About Children’s Rights

Children’s Rights is a national advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of children living in or impacted by America’s child welfare, immigration, juvenile legal, education, and healthcare systems. We use civil rights impact litigation, advocacy and policy expertise, and public education to hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Our work centers on creating lasting systemic change that will advance the rights of children for generations. For more information, please visit www.childrensrights.org.