Celebrating 30 Years of the Ryan White CARE Act — the Most Comprehensive HIV/AIDS-Related Legislation in the U.S.

Thank you to everyone who joined our celebration of the beginning of the 30th year of the Ryan White CARE Act. Special thank you to Ryan White's mother, Jeanne White-Ginder, for discussing her experience at the very beginning of the HIV epidemic, and her and Ryan's roles in the passage of the Ryan White CARE Act.

The Ryan White CARE Act, enacted in 1990, is the most comprehensive HIV/AIDS-related legislation ever passed in the United States. It provides for medical care and support services to persons living with HIV or AIDS, as well as HIV testing, outreach and education. More than half a million people have benefited from services provided through the Ryan White CARE Act since its signing. This event will highlight and celebrate the successes of the Ryan White Program in Santa Clara County.

The Law Foundation has been the County’s provider of free legal services to people living with HIV or AIDS for 30 years – a support service under the Ryan White CARE Act. Thank you to The HealthTrust for sponsoring this event!

Addressing Foster Youth Identity Theft

Children are 35 times more likely to be victims of identity theft than adults. Foster youth are even more vulnerable because of their involvement in the juvenile dependency system and some agencies estimate that as many as half of all foster youth in California have been impacted. 

As court-appointed legal representatives for foster youth in Santa Clara County, the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley is committed to assisting our clients who are victims of identity theft. We consider this a critical issue to understand and address — we view identity theft remediation as a natural extension of our dependency representation.

The Law Foundation routinely reviews credit reports for foster youth from the Santa Clara County Department of Family and Children’s services. With the support of our pro bono partner, Kirkland & Ellis, we assist with remediating credit and educating youth about how to monitor their credit in the future. Kirkland & Ellis volunteers also staff our foster youth identity theft clinics at The Hub Resource Center, a youth-led community center, dedicated to supporting current and former foster youth.

There are numerous systemic barriers that prevent foster youth and their advocates from discovering identity theft and remediating their credit reports. For example, identify theft remediation is complex and there is a lack of current reference guides. To help address this problem, the Law Foundation, with the technical assistance of Kirkland & Ellis, developed a webinar for attorneys and child welfare agencies to reference when helping foster youth identify and address identity theft. A link to our webinar can be found here.

California Makes a Stronger Commitment to Kids

The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley thanks Governor Newsom and the Legislature for their commitment to improving the lives of children in California and signing his first budget that provides a significant investment for children facing entrance into the foster care system.

The Law Foundation supported the statewide efforts to increase funding for dependency counsel through advocacy, writing letters, and meeting with legislators in Sacramento with the larger coalition.

The historic increase of $54 million for dependency counsel funding is an important step to ensuring children and youth in the foster care system have access to high-quality legal representation.

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