California: Reforms Prescriptions for Children in Foster Care: California Governor Jerry Brown signed three bills into law to help regulate the prescription of psychotropic medications to children in foster care. A 2011 report found that nearly one in four foster children was taking one of these drugs, often in excess of FDA-approved guidelines, and, that the children’s side effects were not being adequately monitored.

California: Guarantees Transgender Placement Match: New legislation gives transgender children in California foster care the right to a placement consistent with their gender identity, even if that doesn’t match the sex listed in official records. Law SB 731 marks progress for the approximately 19 percent of foster youth in Los Angeles who identify as LGBTQ. “Young people have a better opportunity to thrive in situations where they are fully accepted and supported for who they are,” said Mark Leno, the state senator who introduced the bill.

Ohio: Attorney General Backs Bill to Extend Foster Care to Age 21: Mike DeWine, Ohio Attorney General, threw his support behind House Bill 50, which, if approved, would extend the age of foster care in the state from 18 to 21. Currently, 1,000 foster youth in Ohio “age out” of the system each year at age 18. Studies have shown that, in states with a higher age limit, young adults in foster care are more likely to go to college and earn higher incomes, while becoming less likely to become pregnant as a teen or be incarcerated.