Facing Foster Care in Alaska filed a lawsuit against the state’s Office of Children’s Services on January 6, alleging that foster youth placed in shelters and college dormitories are not receiving enough money for food and basic necessities. The advocacy organization, led by director Amanda Metivier, says youth in these settings receive far less support than the more than $1,000 monthly stipend provided to foster families for the same needs. The suit challenges what Metivier calls a disparity in how the state cares for older youth transitioning toward adulthood.

The lawsuit highlights ongoing strains in Alaska’s foster care system, where the state has faced declining foster home recruitment and staffing shortages in its child welfare agency, according to the advocacy group.

Amanda Metivier, director of Facing Foster Care in Alaska, said her organization has heard complaints for years from foster youth unable to afford food and other necessities. “For a young person in the dorm who needs transportation to a therapy appointment, the state has a duty to cover that cost,” she said. “When the (college) commons close during winter break and there’s no meal plan, we hear from those youth who say, ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna eat during winter break.’”

Advocacy group documents persistent gaps

The nonprofit has provided gift cards for transportation and food to address what it says are gaps in state support. Facing Foster Care raised the issue with state officials repeatedly before filing suit, according to the lawsuit.

State defends existing assistance

The Office of Children’s Services declined to be interviewed, but said in an email that it “routinely offer[s] food and clothing vouchers, bus passes and other transportation assistance,” and that young adults have access to the same funding streams as younger children.

System-wide strains and comparisons

Metivier said some other states have better systems for providing stipends to youth transitioning out of foster care. She pointed to a broader systemic issue: “As a state, we’ve continued to see a decline in foster homes,” she said. “We’ve continued to see challenges with workforce in the child welfare system, and those things are not going to improve overnight. And these youth have needs right now, and this would be a pretty simple way to solve that, right?”

The lawsuit was filed in Alaska Superior Court on January 6, according to the Associated Press.