Anyone who has raised an infant knows how overwhelming the newborn experience can be. You are responsible for the well-being of a tiny human 24 hours a day. Their cries can be scary and confusing. Their sleep schedules are often unpredictable, leaving you exhausted and emotionally drained. Even the most supported and fortunate parents can struggle.
Now imagine you’re a young girl, even early in your teens, who became pregnant as a result of being trafficked. You have no support system, no safe space to carry out your pregnancy and no help to care for your newborn. You desperately want to give your baby a better life than you’ve experienced, but you feel forgotten and hopeless.
Orange County is home to one organization that is giving these young mothers hope, care and the bright start they want for their babies. Mary’s Path is a non-profit home for girls in foster care who are pregnant or raising their newborns. New moms receive around-the-clock support as they navigate what life will look like with a baby and work on dealing with the trauma that led them to Mary’s Path in the first place. In a safe space, teens receive mental health treatment, continue their education and are cared for by loving professionals as they prepare to give birth and then learn to take care of their babies.
Yet, like so much of our foster care system, organizations like Mary’s Path are chronically underfunded, leaving our state short of care for the most vulnerable young mothers and babies. In California there are approximately 1,000 parenting foster youth, but just 49 spaces available statewide in programs like Mary’s Path which are specifically designed and licensed by the state to provide this specialized care. With no such programs outside Southern California, and few foster families equipped to meet the extra needs of a teen mom and her baby, Mary’s Path receives calls from social workers throughout the state when young moms need help.
With insufficient state support for infants, the majority of pregnant foster youth will continue to go without the kind of care Mary’s Path offers. The state’s monthly financial support for caring for infants of young mothers in foster care has not increased since 2016, despite the rising cost of living and inflation. For instance, throughout the pandemic, Bloomberg reported that the cost of Pampers diapers had increased by 90% as of July 2021. Over the next year, Pampers jumped another 20%. In addition, baby formula prices skyrocketed by an average of 11% between March 2021 to May 2022, and another nearly 9% as of May 2023.
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That is why we introduced Assembly Bill 1952, which would increase the infant supplement rate and ensure it is adjusted annually to match the cost of living. The proposed increase would ensure organizations like Mary’s Path, as well as qualified home-based foster families, would have the resources they need to adequately care for these vulnerable mothers and babies.
Providing a solid foundation and giving the mothers the support they need to move forward in their lives is critical to ending the cycle of abuse and generational trauma that put these young women in harm’s way. California has a stake in their success, too. Without intervention, roughly 50% of children born to foster youth will be the subject of a Child Protective Services report by the time they’re three. Nearly 20% will be removed from their parents by the child welfare system. In a tight California budget year, meeting this financial need will result in savings for future years.
The girls who live at Mary’s Path did not ask to be trafficked and abused. Yet despite having all the odds stacked against them, these young mothers are taking steps to stop the cycles of abuse and trauma endured: They are determined to offer their babies better lives. Supporting them says California cares.
Join us in urging lawmakers and the governor to support AB 1952.
Diane Dixon represents California’s 72nd Assembly District. Jill Dominguez is executive director and president of Mary’s Path.