Coronavirus: California bill would create trust funds for COVID-19 orphans
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A bill introduced in the California legislature looks to create a trust fund for children whose parents have died from COVID-19 in an effort to help ease the burdens left behind.
Senate Bill No. 854 was introduced by State Sen. Nancy Skinner in January, and is called Hope, Opportunity, Perseverance and Empowerment (HOPE) for Children Act of 2022.
California Senate Bill 854 by National Content Desk on Scribd
Skinner told ABC News the program was conceived to help children who lost parents or caregivers to COVID-19 and are in either the state’s foster care system or in a low-income household. “Those children would be in an especially vulnerable situation when they’re adults and on their own,” Skinner told ABC News.
A study published in the journal Pediatrics, “COVID-19-Associated Orphanhood and Caregiver Death in the United States,” found that between April 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, more than 140,000 children under 18 in the United States lost a parent or caregiver. The study found “COVID-19-associated deaths have disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minority populations and may inequitably affect their children.” The study, which was done through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, argued, “There is an urgent need to mount an evidence-based comprehensive response focused on those children at greatest risk in the states most affected.”
COVID-19 – Associated Orphanhood and Caregiver Death in the United States by National Content Desk on Scribd
If the HOPE for Children Act passes, the state would initially deposit $4,000 into accounts for eligible children under 10 years old and $8,000 into accounts for eligible children older than 10, ABC News reported. Annual deposits would be added, with an amount that is undetermined at this point.
The bill specifies that children would be able to access their accounts once they turn either 18 or 21.
“The money wouldn’t be available to them now, but the very presence would ensure that they have some financial wellness when they are adults,” Skinner told ABC News. Skinner also said the money to fund the program would come from taxpayer money already in the budget and would not require tax increases, ABC News reported.
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