When a young adult leaves foster care, housing is what makes everything else possible.
AcademySTAY provides safe, stable transitional housing for young adults ages 18 to 24 in Sacramento, Placer, Yolo, and El Dorado counties. We're here because 40 to 50% of young adults who age out of foster care face homelessness within 18 months. We're here to change that number.
What happens after foster care ends
Every year, roughly 170 young adults age out of the foster care system in Sacramento County alone. Most of them are 18 years old. The system that housed, fed, and supported them closes the door, and they're expected to navigate housing, employment, college, and adulthood without the family safety net most of us take for granted.
The outcomes, without intervention, are stark. Four in ten will experience homelessness within a year and a half. One in four will become justice-involved within two years. Only 4% will earn a college degree by age 23, despite 93% wanting one when they leave care.
These aren't inevitable outcomes. They're what happens when stable housing isn't there.
What happens after foster care ends
AcademySTAY is a Sacramento-based nonprofit that provides transitional housing for young adults transitioning from foster care. We currently house 45 students at our Sacramento campus, with capacity scaling to 56 beds by Summer 2026.
Our students aren't placed here and left to figure it out. Every student has access to one-on-one support, life skills coaching, education pathway planning, and a community of peers working toward the same goals. Post-secondary enrollment is a program requirement, not an aspiration. We built the model around the belief that a young person can't focus on college or a career when they don't know where they'll sleep.
What we provide:
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Safe, stable housing in a structured residential setting
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Wraparound support including personal guidance and life skills development
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Education and career pathways through partnerships with Sacramento-area colleges and workforce programs
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Community among peers who share the experience of navigating life after foster care
Since opening in October 2024, we've provided more than 12,500 safe nights of housing to 74 young adults across our region (as of May 2026).
The most cost-effective investment Sacramento can make in its young adults
Stable housing isn't just the right thing to provide. It's the smartest use of public and philanthropic dollars in the region.
Without it, a young adult who ages out of foster care faces roughly even odds of experiencing homelessness within 18 months. Unsheltered homelessness costs the public approximately $96 per day — around $35,000 per year per person — in emergency services, healthcare, and crisis response (UCSF Benioff/CASPEH 2023).
AcademySTAY costs less than $50 per day. That's the full cost of housing, wraparound support, education coaching, and life skills development — for a young adult who's building something permanent, not cycling through crisis services.
Research shows that stable transitional housing reduces arrest rates by 41% and generates an estimated $3.95 in future public savings for every dollar invested (WSIPP).
Supporting AcademySTAY isn't charity math. It's systems math.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for AcademySTAY?
AcademySTAY serves young adults ages 18 to 24 who have a current or former connection to the foster care system. We welcome students from Sacramento and surrounding counties, as well as young adults relocating from other parts of California and beyond. If you're not sure whether someone qualifies, reach out. We will help you figure it out.
Do students have to be enrolled in school?
Post-secondary enrollment is a condition of residency, whether that's a community college, four-year university, or a vocational or trade program. For students who haven't yet completed a high school diploma or GED, we work with them to reach that milestone as a first step. The requirement exists because AcademySTAY is built around the belief that a young person can't focus on their future when they don't know where they'll sleep.
What does it cost to live at AcademySTAY?
It depends on each student's situation. Some students have a Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) voucher through HUD. Some receive AB 12 extended foster care support and contribute a portion toward housing. Others work and pay what they're able. A student's funding source doesn't determine their spot. We work with each young adult individually to make housing financially workable, because a young person who's worried about rent can't focus on school.
How do I refer a young adult to AcademySTAY?
If you're a social worker, case manager, probation officer, school counselor, or community partner, the first step is a conversation with our program team. We'll walk you through the application process and let you know current availability.
How can I support AcademySTAY as a donor or partner?
Gifts of any size fund safe nights of housing and the wraparound support that makes them count. Corporate and organizational partners can explore sponsorship opportunities, workforce programming, and in-kind support.
Who we are
AcademySTAY is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in October 2024 and based in Sacramento, California. We're part of California's Transitional Housing Placement Non-Minor Dependent (THP-NMD) program, the state's primary model for supporting young adults who've aged out of foster care.
We're new. We're growing. And we measure everything.