California has officially stopped funding the placement of adopted youth into residential treatment centers located outside the state—a practice critics long viewed as a form of abandonment.
For years, the state paid for youth adopted out of foster care to be sent to facilities in other states when behavioral or mental health challenges emerged. While counties were prohibited from placing foster youth in out-of-state facilities after 2021 due to mounting concerns over abuse and lack of oversight, adopted children were still being sent away—funded by California taxpayers through the Adoption Assistance Program.
This policy has now been reversed following increased public pressure, including investigations and advocacy from youth and family advocates. According to the California Department of Social Services, the state stopped authorizing payments for out-of-state residential care for adopted youth as of July 1, 2024.
Advocates say this change closes a harmful loophole that allowed some counties and families to sidestep responsibility by institutionalizing youth far from home. Critics called it “state-sponsored abandonment,” citing cases where children endured harsh conditions, were cut off from family contact, and experienced further trauma.
Now, California is emphasizing in-state treatment options and greater support for adoptive families. The policy shift is being hailed as a long-overdue win for vulnerable youth who deserve care close to home, in environments that support healing rather than isolation.