For nearly a decade, the Youth Law Center (YLC) has led efforts resulting in sweeping policy changes to bridge the digital divide for youth in foster care and juvenile justice systems. And, as detailed in our 2024 On the Threshold of Change report focused on preparing youth to thrive in a changing world, foster care and juvenile systems must design and ensure access to technologies to enable youth in those systems to gain helpful information and emotional support and increase their familiarity with technologies that are commonly used in schools and workplaces. For youth who are experiencing isolation and rejection resulting from their systems-imposed living conditions, or as a consequence of their identity or status (racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, or immigrant) in an increasingly polarized world, the communities they find online can be life-saving resources.
Our work in this area was recently recognized by a new grant from the Michelson 20MM Foundation, which selected YLC as one of only four organizations to receive funding from its 2025 Digital Equity Spark Grants initiative. The 2025 Digital Equity Spark Grants support projects that advance policy advocacy, promote broadband as a civil right, and address digital equity as a social determinant of health. They help shape a future where all Californians can fully participate in society, democracy, and the economy.
For youth who are experiencing isolation and rejection resulting from their systems-imposed living conditions, or as a consequence of their identity or status (racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, or immigrant) in an increasingly polarized world, the communities they find online can be life-saving resources.
Youth in foster care and juvenile justice facilities, who are disproportionately Black, Latinx, and from low-income communities, are among California’s most digitally excluded populations.
In 2018, our advocacy resulted in the passage of AB 2448, establishing internet access rights for youth in residential placements. In 2022, we secured $15 million annually to fund college programming in juvenile facilities. In 2023, legislation required all county probation departments to offer online or in-person college courses. And in 2024, YLC petitioned the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to modify Lifeline regulations to remove access barriers for foster youth. However, to ensure these policies are not simply empty promises, YLC is working to ensure they are implemented effectively and that youth are aware of, and have access to, all technology to which they are legally entitled.