Advisory Board of Directors 

Senator John Burton (Ret.), Chair

Julie Brandt  

Kimiko Burton  

Miles Cooley

John Garcia

Rick Mariano

Christine Minnehan

Nathan Nayman

Frank Quattrone

Nina Salarno Ashford

Sami Tahbazof

Tina Thomas

Honorary Board of Directors

Paul Thomas Anderson

Tom Arnold

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca

Warren Beatty

Annette Bening

Clint Eastwood

William Friedkin

Sherry Lansing

Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle

Accomplishments

• Reduced homelessness in California by successfully advocating for an eight-fold increase in the number of
  youth participating in the State of California’s only housing program for former foster youth, from 165 to 1,300
  youth statewide.

• Increased access to permanent, affordable housing by successfully advocating for the inclusion of
  $50 million for homeless former foster youth in the November 2006 Proposition 1C state infrastructure bond.

• Defended the rights of grandparents by successfully advocating for federal policy changes that prevent
  the US Department of Housing and Urban Development from counting payments for subsidized guardianship as
  income for the purposes of federally subsidized housing.

• Improved the quality of life for children and youth without homes by providing over
  $3 million in grants to more than 50 of California’s most effective community-based organizations over three years.

• Expanded implementation of the State of California’s only housing program for former foster youth by
  advocating for the removal of a 60% county share of cost and for a seven-fold increase in the budget, from
  $4.8 million to $35 million.

• Protected seriously disabled youth in the foster care system by sponsoring state legislation that requires
  all youth to be screened for a disability at age 16 and if likely eligible, apply for federal Supplemental Security
  Income (SSI) prior to their exit from foster care at age 18.

• Increased access to higher education by providing 1,000 foster youth in college with extra financial
  support to succeed in higher education through our Backpack to Success program.

• Restored foster children to the 2010 federal census, after the Census Bureau had removed them to
  shorten the length of the form. With this information intact, children in foster care will count—and be counted.

• Bridged the gap between foster care policy and practice by providing over 800 hours of training,
  developing three educational publications, distributing four newsletters and circulating electronic policy updates to
  over 900 individuals.

• Increased public support for foster care in California through a five-part policy briefing series featuring
  national foster care experts and a targeted press strategy.

• Worked to prevent homelessness and criminal justice involvement nationally by advocating
  for federal legislation that would allow youth in foster care to receive assistance until age 21.

• Promoted high quality housing for homeless former foster youth by implementing a statewide participant
  tracking system to evaluate the performance of community-based housing providers.