New State Law Proposed by VCCS Students Will Benefit Foster Youth Statewide

Governor Glenn Youngkin staged an elaborate ceremony this month to approve legislation that had been proposed by Virginia Community College students.  The new law Youngkin signed May 15 had received bipartisan support in the General Assembly and will expand oversight and services for teenagers in foster care. “Children need families. Children need support, and they need love,” said Youngkin.  Students from Brightpoint, Reynolds and Virginia Western Community Colleges turned out for the event at the State Capitol.

The legislation had its origin at a gathering of community college students last summer.  Brought together by the VCCS Great Expectations program, which provides targeted support for students who experienced the foster care system, students rallied around the idea of a new law to require social service agencies to do a better job of informing foster care teens of their rights and resources available to them.

“I think it’s going to help a lot of kids in foster care who are not able to speak up for themselves,” said Keona Beamon, who was on hand at the Great Expectations gathering last summer and also for the bill-signing ceremony. Beamon is a Great Expectations participant at Reynolds Community College. “It’s not easy being in foster care and it will mean a lot for young people to know they can get help if they need it,” she added.

“I’m so proud of these students for the work they’ve done to promote this legislation,” said J.W. Taylor, Great Expectations Coach at Virginia Western Community College. “They’ve not only advocated for improved services for foster youth, they’ve also built a sense of community for Great Expectations participants.”

Gov. Youngkin used the bill signing to launch his Safe Kids, Strong Families initiative, an effort to unify and advance Virginia’s child welfare reforms.

Nationwide, more than 390,000 children from infancy to age 17 are in foster care. There are more than five thousand foster youth in Virginia and as they age out of foster care without family support systems, most face significant barriers seeking education and forging a career path.  In AY 2023-24, 635 VCCS students received help from the Great Expectations program.

Feenyx Webb, the son of Brightpoint student and Great Expectations participant Farrah Webb (seated, laughing), exchanged a high-five with Governor Glenn Youngkin during the bill-signing ceremony May 15 at the State Capitol complex.

“I think our efforts helped lawmakers understand why this legislation was important to kids in foster care,” said David Billhimer, a Great Expectations participant at Brightpoint Community College. “Hopefully, the new law will help reduce the number of times foster kids get bumped from household to household. Better continuity would be a big help for foster kids.”

“It’s really going to help kids in foster care to be better informed about what their rights are, and who they can contact for help,” said Kaitlyn Pressley, a Great Expectations participant at Virginia Western Community College.  “And that knowledge hopefully will help young people have a better experience in life.”

The Great Expectations program was launched with the support of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE) and has received national recognition for its impactful work.

You can access the NPR coverage.

You can view and download photos from the May 15 bill signing event.

Learn more about Great Expectations.