Proposal to provide luggage for foster care children fails over funding

Lawmakers considered a proposal to provide luggage to youth moving through the foster care system, but ultimately the measure died over funding costs. 

Del. Karen Keys-Gamarra, D-Fairfax, sponsored House Bill 1631, to require the Department of Social Services to find a better option from a plastic trash bag. 

The delegate, also an attorney, represents children in foster care, and has seen how children need better ways to transport their belongings. A community member brought the issue to her, she said.

“I understand that the experience can be traumatic and unsettling, and I felt that the least that we can do is to not make them feel as though their lives are disposable,” Keys-Gamarra said. “I thought that the practice of using trash bags was a bit dehumanizing.”

DSS estimated it would cost over $680,000 in the first year to purchase luggage, according to the fiscal statement. Then it would cost an estimated $350,000 in subsequent years. 

Luggage would be provided when youth enter foster care, move throughout the system and when they exit, according to the DSS estimate. An estimated 30% of children would need two bags. 

Based on that, and the number of children in foster care, DSS estimated they would have to purchase 9,069 pieces of luggage the first year and 4,639 pieces in subsequent years. 

“Unfortunately, I think that the fiscal impact report was inaccurate,” Keys-Gamarra said. “If the information that the department gave me was accurate, then it should not have been expensive to implement.” 

The agency declined to comment on the bill, stating that they do not discuss or comment on proposed legislation. 

Del. Rozia A. Henson Jr., D-Prince William, has foster brothers who arrived with their belongings in trash bags. He provided emotional testimony to the legislative panel on Jan. 16, at one point seeming to choke back tears as he shared his own experience of sleeping on sofas and transporting items in trash bags.

“It was disheartening to see, especially in an emergency when they do have to place children in different housing, all of their belongings in black gallon trash bags,” Henson said.

There were 5,405 youth in foster care as of December last year, according to the bill’s fiscal impact statement. 

States such as Maryland, Oregon and Texas recently passed similar laws that required human services to keep a supply of luggage in stock. Maryland accepts donated luggage in an effort to lower the financial cost of the program.

“We have to take care of young people who are going through probably the most difficult time in their lives and this is a very simple gesture to recognize their humanity," Keys-Gamarra said.

The bill also required DSS to keep track of luggage inventory and report annually to the General Assembly. 

Keys-Gamarra hopes to bring back the bill and will do more research to see how she can make it successful next time. 

The nonprofit Worthdays is headquartered on the United Methodist Family Services campus in Richmond. Worthdays founder and executive director Caroline Neal confirmed there is a need for luggage.

“If an agency requests duffel bags, we are happy to provide them in bulk,” Neal stated. 

There are multiple programs in Central Virginia that provide backpacks and some that provide luggage, according to Neal. Worthdays packages birthday and holiday boxes in a reusable container, such as a duffel bag, luggage or a laundry basket.

“This not only allows the young person to be celebrated but also provides them with a practical, durable alternative to carrying their belongings in trash bags,” Neal stated.