FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2025
(Sacramento, CA) – The Youth Law Center announced today that Senate Bill 577 (Laird), legislation it strongly opposed, will not move forward this legislative year. SB 577 would have restricted the ability of survivors of abuse in California’s foster care and juvenile justice systems to pursue justice.
Although the bill is stalled, the issues it raised remain deeply consequential. SB 577 would have held the very public institutions that failed youth, many of whom are still young adults, to a lower standard of accountability, while requiring survivors to shoulder the same heavy legal burdens despite profound trauma, systemic barriers, and lack of support.
While SB 577 will not advance in 2025, the fight is far from over. “This is a moment of relief, but it is not victory,” said Chantel Johnson, Directing Advocate at the Youth Law Center. “Survivors of foster care and juvenile facilities were placed in the custody of the state, and the state made a promise to protect them. Instead, many were harmed in the very systems that were supposed to keep them safe. SB 577 would have closed the courthouse doors before some had the chance to step inside, silencing their stories and denying them justice. If anyone deserves more time, more grace, and more opportunity for healing, it is these young people.”
The abuses experienced by children in these facilities are not isolated; they are part of the pervasive harms inherent in institutional care. They are also harms that have fueled reform efforts for decades but, tragically, remain persistent. The Youth Law Center will continue working with survivors, advocates, and policymakers to ensure the state does not unfairly close the door to young people who experienced harm while in its custody, and that a fair balance is struck between protecting the rights of survivors and maintaining the fiscal health of public institutions. The Youth Law Center also reaffirms its decades-long commitment to protecting the rights of youth in foster care, and youth involved in juvenile justice, by ensuring that survivors retain their power to hold these systems accountable.