Senate committee backs extending voluntary foster‑care support to age 23

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Feb. 25 voted to send House Bill 245 to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation. The bill would extend voluntary eligibility for foster‑care services from age 21 to 23, streamline placement with relatives by authorizing expedited limited waivers of licensing standards, and require participants to be enrolled in an independent living or transition plan.

Senator Carl Bjerke, who introduced the bill, said extending the age provides a longer "runway" for emerging adults who entered foster care as teenagers. "Research shows that extended foster care reduces food insecurity by 21%, homelessness by 19%, and arrest by 28% while increasing employment rates and post‑secondary enrollment," Bjerke said. He told the committee the change would produce savings in public safety and corrections because keeping a person in foster care costs less per day than incarceration.

Monty Prow, deputy director for support and child welfare at…