Assemblymember Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach) presented Assembly Bill 349 in the Senate Human Services Committee on June 30. The bill passed with unanimous support.
“This is my third year authoring a bill to add the infant supplemental payment to California Necessities Index,” said Assemblymember Dixon. “It is a simple yet desperately needed change.”
AB 349 will support teen moms in the foster child system by ensuring certain funds they receive to support their infants are indexed to inflation.
Under existing law, when a foster youth has a child of her own, that infant is not considered a ward of the state. As a result, the foster teen parent is left to take care of the infant on her own, leaving her in an extremely vulnerable state. To help alleviate this issue, teen moms in the foster care system receive an infant supplemental payment, a monthly payment that is intended to be used for all of the baby’s needs, including child care, food, diapers, formula and more. These monthly payment rates have not seen any increase since 2016.
Assemblymember Dixon was joined by her sponsor, Jill Dominguez, Executive Director and President of Mary’s Path during the hearing. For Dominguez, AB 349 carries immense personal significance, as she runs a Short Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP) in Orange County. An STRTP provides direct services to foster mothers and their infant children.
“Mary’s Path is so thankful to the Senate Human Services committee for unanimously supporting AB 349 and to Assemblymember Diane Dixon for her dedication to this legislation,” said Dominguez. “The funds allocated in this bill will have an outsized impact on the babies of foster youth for whom we care for every day. Not only will it guarantee we have enough formula, diapers and clothes, but it will ensure these babies, and their moms, feel supported and loved, and are given the best possible start in life. We look forward to seeing AB 349 progress through the legislature and to the governor’s desk.”
The infant supplemental payment is one of only two foster payments not indexed to inflation. As a result of this, payment rates to these foster mothers have remained stagnant and insufficient in the face of crushing inflation. These teen mother recipients are often survivors of sexual abuse or sexual trafficking, and it is critical to provide assistance to them during one of the most vulnerable parts of their lives.
“Supporting mothers and their babies is a bipartisan issue,” said Assemblymember Dixon. “I was grateful for the committee’s support.”
This bill will next be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Assemblymember Diane Dixon represents the 72nd Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods and Lake Forest.
