A 2017 San Francisco Chronicle investigation revealed that California shelters were funneling hundreds of foster children, some as young as 8 years old, into the juvenile justice system. In many cases, children were arrested for behavior that staff should be trained to expect in their jobs – incidents like arguing, shoving, and biting.

The Fostering Success Fund will provide $4 million annually for three years to the counties with facilities making 100 or more calls to law enforcement a year or with significant numbers of foster youth crossing over to the delinquency system.