On May 21, California State Treasurer Fiona Ma announced that applications are open for the Hope, Opportunity, Perseverance, and Empowerment (HOPE) Program, a California initiative to pro-vide trust accounts for foster youth and COVID-bereaved children.
“For California’s most vulnerable children, early financial support can help counter the long-term impacts of poverty and instability and create a foundation for long-term financial security,” said Ma, who serves as chair of HOPE. “HOPE is designed to provide that equitable access and make a lasting impact.”
Eligible children who have spent 18 or more months in the foster system or have had family reunification services terminated, or who have lost a parent or primary caregiver due to COVID, can ap-ply for funds through the HOPE program. The HOPE program will be the first in the nation to distribute unrestricted funds to foster youth in the foster system for 18 or more months or with family unifica-tion services terminated, as well as to COVID-bereaved children.
“I’m excited to hear directly from the youth who will benefit from this program and to learn about their experiences and stories,” said Fawn Robinson, a HOPE Accounts Youth Board Member and Mountain Maidu, Paiute, Washoe, Pit River, and Hopi advocate. “I think we’re going to see a lot of foster youth reaching for more—for their dreams—now that they have a safety net to fall back on.”
The Hope program is designed to close the gap for low-income or impoverished kids and provide them with economic security and autonomy. Many youth from foster care are put on the street after turn-ing 18 with no support or guidance and are expected to make something of themselves. The Hope program helps to even the playing field. Currently in California, over 10,000 youth are experiencing homeless-ness. Established through Assembly Bill 156 in 2022, the program will provide $3,000 in invested, flexible seed funding per child and will be accessible at 18. Approximately 56,000 children stand to benefit.
Acting Director Cassandra DiBenedetto has been appointed to oversee a $100 mil-lion investment, initial program enroll-ment, and partnerships with local govern-ment and community-based partners. The nine-member HOPE board appointed to lead the effort consists of nationally recog-nized experts in poverty alleviation, racial wealth equity, seasoned investment and financial empowerment professionals, and leaders with lived experiences navigating childhood poverty. This diverse exper-tise ensures the program is grounded in strong financial stewardship, equity-driven policy, and real-world insight into build-ing economic opportunities for young Californians. “As the program continues to expand access, we are helping ensure these trust accounts serve as meaningful and impactful tools for long-term financial empowerment,” said DiBenedetto.