DATE:
May 19, 2026
30
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
ADDRESSING HOUSING NEEDS FOR TRANSITIONAL AGE YOUTH EXITING FOSTER CARE (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
Each year in San Diego County, young adults exit the foster care system without the stable housing, family support, or financial resources needed to successfully transition into adulthood. For many, this moment represents not a new beginning, but a point of heightened vulnerability. Without intervention, a significant number of these young adults will experience homelessness within months, often entering a cycle that becomes increasingly difficult to break.
Transitional Age Youth (TAY) who have experienced foster care frequently face compounded challenges, including trauma, limited employment opportunities, and unmet behavioral health needs. Traditional housing solutions are often not designed to meet these unique circumstances, leaving a critical gap between systems of care and long-term housing stability. The State of California's Homekey+ program provides an opportunity to address this gap by supporting housing models that combine stable, permanent housing with integrated services for people living with behavioral health challenges, including mental health and/or substance use challenges, and who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness (including Veterans and Youth).
In the City of Vista, Dignity Moves, in partnership with Casa de Amparo, TrueCare, and the City of Vista, is advancing a Homekey+ project to develop 35 units of permanent supportive housing specifically for Transitional Age Youth (ages 18-25) exiting foster care in San Diego. This project would also include on-site medical and behavioral health services, education and employment services, and case management.
Today's action requests authorization to commit up to $1.8 million in one-time County funding from Unlocked Reserves, subject to the award of Homekey+ funding, to help close a remaining funding gap, leverage ove...
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