LB 216 is meant to help youth who age out of foster care receive the transitional support they need.
Jake Rusher is a foster care alumnus. He is also an avid supporter of the new bill.
Rusher says kids who grow up in the foster care system miss out on learning important skills like how to hold a steady job or how to rent an apartment.
He says kids who age out of the foster care system have issues that need to be addressed by the community.
Rusher says it’s not a systems thing or a family thing. He says the only way we can change the outcome many of these youth face is to support them as a community.
"Become a foster parent or mentor a youth. This next generation of foster youth that will be leaving the system, just give them the support they need and teach them the things they need to be taught. The system alone will always fall short, always has, always will. But we as a community can make real change.”
LB 216 was passed by the Legislature on final reading yesterday. The governor has until Tuesday to veto it or to pass it.