John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program
Purpose
The purpose of this section is to provide States with flexible funding that will enable programs to be designed and conducted—
to identify children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age and to help these children make the transition to self-sufficiency by providing services such as assistance in obtaining a high school diploma, career exploration, vocational training, job placement and retention, training in daily living skills, training in budgeting and financial management skills, substance abuse prevention, and preventive health activities (including smoking avoidance, nutrition education, and pregnancy prevention);
to help children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age receive the education, training, and services necessary to obtain employment;
to help children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age prepare for and enter postsecondary training and education institutions;
to provide personal and emotional support to children aging out of foster care, through mentors and the promotion of interactions with dedicated adults;
to provide financial, housing, counseling, employment, education, and other appropriate support and services to former foster care recipients between 18 and 21 years of age to complement their own efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and to assure that program participants recognize and accept their personal responsibility for preparing for and then making the transition from adolescence to adulthood;
to make available vouchers for education and training, including postsecondary training and education, to youths who have aged out of foster care;
to provide the services referred to in this subsection to children who, after attaining 16 years of age, have left foster care for kinship guardianship or adoption; and
to ensure children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age have regular, ongoing opportunities to engage in age or developmentally-appropriate activities as defined in section 675(11) of this title.
Applications
In general
State plan
A plan meets the requirements of this paragraph if the plan specifies which State agency or agencies will administer, supervise, or oversee the programs carried out under the plan, and describes how the State intends to do the following:
Design and deliver programs to achieve the purposes of this section.
Ensure that all political subdivisions in the State are served by the program, though not necessarily in a uniform manner.
Ensure that the programs serve children of various ages and at various stages of achieving independence.
Involve the public and private sectors in helping adolescents in foster care achieve independence.
Use objective criteria for determining eligibility for benefits and services under the programs, and for ensuring fair and equitable treatment of benefit recipients.
Cooperate in national evaluations of the effects of the programs in achieving the purposes of this section.
Certifications
The certifications required by this paragraph with respect to a plan are the following:
A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that the State will provide assistance and services to children who have left foster care because they have attained 18 years of age, and who have not attained 21 years of age.
A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that not more than 30 percent of the amounts paid to the State from its allotment under subsection (c) for a fiscal year will be expended for room or board for children who have left foster care because they have attained 18 years of age, and who have not attained 21 years of age.
A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that none of the amounts paid to the State from its allotment under subsection (c) will be expended for room or board for any child who has not attained 18 years of age.
A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that the State will use training funds provided under the program of Federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance to provide training to help foster parents, adoptive parents, workers in group homes, and case managers understand and address the issues confronting adolescents preparing for independent living, and will, to the extent possible, coordinate such training with the independent living program conducted for adolescents.
A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that the State has consulted widely with public and private organizations in developing the plan and that the State has given all interested members of the public at least 30 days to submit comments on the plan.
A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that the State will make every effort to coordinate the State programs receiving funds provided from an allotment made to the State under subsection (c) with other Federal and State programs for youth (especially transitional living youth projects funded under part B of title III of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 [42 U.S.C. 5714–1 et seq.]), abstinence education programs, local housing programs, programs for disabled youth (especially sheltered workshops), and school-to-work programs offered by high schools or local workforce agencies.
A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that each Indian tribe in the State has been consulted about the programs to be carried out under the plan; that there have been efforts to coordinate the programs with such tribes; that benefits and services under the programs will be made available to Indian children in the State on the same basis as to other children in the State; and that the State will negotiate in good faith with any Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium in the State that does not receive an allotment under subsection (j)(4) for a fiscal year and that requests to develop an agreement with the State to administer, supervise, or oversee the programs to be carried out under the plan with respect to the Indian children who are eligible for such programs and who are under the authority of the tribe, organization, or consortium and to receive from the State an appropriate portion of the State allotment under subsection (c) for the cost of such administration, supervision, or oversight.
A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that the State will ensure that adolescents participating in the program under this section participate directly in designing their own program activities that prepare them for independent living and that the adolescents accept personal responsibility for living up to their part of the program.
A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that the State has established and will enforce standards and procedures to prevent fraud and abuse in the programs carried out under the plan.
A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that the State educational and training voucher program under this section is in compliance with the conditions specified in subsection (i), including a statement describing methods the State will use—
to ensure that the total amount of educational assistance to a youth under this section and under other Federal and Federally supported programs does not exceed the limitation specified in subsection (i)(5); and
to avoid duplication of benefits under this and any other Federal or Federally assisted benefit program.
A certification by the chief executive officer of the State that the State will ensure that an adolescent participating in the program under this section are 1
Approval
The Secretary shall approve an application submitted by a State pursuant to paragraph (1) for a period if—
the application is submitted on or before June 30 of the calendar year in which such period begins; and
the Secretary finds that the application contains the material required by paragraph (1).
Authority to implement certain amendments; notification
Availability
Allotments to States
General program allotment
Hold harmless provision
In general
Ratable reduction of certain allotments
Voucher program allotment
State foster care ratio
Use of funds
In general
No supplantation of other funds available for same general purposes
Two-year availability of funds
Reallocation of unused funds
Penalties
Use of grant in violation of this part
Failure to comply with data reporting requirement
Penalties based on degree of noncompliance
Data collection and performance measurement
In general
The Secretary, in consultation with State and local public officials responsible for administering independent living and other child welfare programs, child welfare advocates, Members of Congress, youth service providers, and researchers, shall—
develop outcome measures (including measures of educational attainment, high school diploma, employment, avoidance of dependency, homelessness, nonmarital childbirth, incarceration, and high-risk behaviors) that can be used to assess the performance of States in operating independent living programs;
identify data elements needed to track—
the number and characteristics of children receiving services under this section;
the type and quantity of services being provided; and
State performance on the outcome measures; and
develop and implement a plan to collect the needed information beginning with the second fiscal year beginning after
Report to the Congress
Evaluations
In general
Funding of evaluations
Limitations on authorization of appropriations
To carry out this section and for payments to States under section 674(a)(4) of this title, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for each fiscal year—
$140,000,000 or, beginning in fiscal year 2020, $143,000,000, which shall be available for all purposes under this section; and
an additional $60,000,000, which are authorized to be available for payments to States for education and training vouchers for youths who age out of foster care, to assist the youths to develop skills necessary to lead independent and productive lives.
Educational and training vouchers
The following conditions shall apply to a State educational and training voucher program under this section:
Vouchers under the program may be available to youths otherwise eligible for services under the State program under this section.
For purposes of the voucher program, youths who, after attaining 16 years of age, are adopted from, or enter kinship guardianship from, foster care may be considered to be youths otherwise eligible for services under the State program under this section.
The State may allow youths participating in the voucher program on the date they attain 21 years of age to remain eligible until they attain 23 years of age, as long as they are enrolled in a postsecondary education or training program and are making satisfactory progress toward completion of that program.
The voucher or vouchers provided for an individual under this section—
may be available for the cost of attendance at an institution of higher education, as defined in section 1002 of title 20; and
shall not exceed the lesser of $5,000 per year or the total cost of attendance, as defined in section 1087ll of title 20.
The amount of a voucher under this section may be disregarded for purposes of determining the recipient’s eligibility for, or the amount of, any other Federal or Federally supported assistance, except that the total amount of educational assistance to a youth under this section and under other Federal and Federally supported programs shall not exceed the total cost of attendance, as defined in section 1087ll of title 20, and except that the State agency shall take appropriate steps to prevent duplication of benefits under this and other Federal or Federally supported programs.
The program is coordinated with other appropriate education and training programs.
Authority for an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium to receive an allotment
In general
Application
A tribe, organization, or consortium desiring an allotment under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary to directly receive such allotment that includes a plan which—
satisfies such requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b) as the Secretary determines are appropriate;
contains a description of the tribe’s, organization’s, or consortium’s consultation process regarding the programs to be carried out under the plan with each State for which a portion of an allotment under subsection (c) would be redirected to the tribe, organization, or consortium; and
contains an explanation of the results of such consultation, particularly with respect to—
determining the eligibility for benefits and services of Indian children to be served under the programs to be carried out under the plan; and
the process for consulting with the State in order to ensure the continuity of benefits and services for such children who will transition from receiving benefits and services under programs carried out under a State plan under subsection (b)(2) to receiving benefits and services under programs carried out under a plan under this subsection.
Payments
Allotment
Tribal foster care ratio
For purposes of paragraph (4), the tribal foster care ratio means, with respect to an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium, the ratio of—
the number of children in foster care under the responsibility of the Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium (either directly or under supervision of the State), in the most recent fiscal year for which the information is available; to
the sum of—
the total number of children in foster care under the responsibility of the State within which the Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium is located; and
the total number of children in foster care under the responsibility of all Indian tribes, tribal organizations, or tribal consortia in the State (either directly or under supervision of the State) that have a plan approved under this subsection.
Source
(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, § 477, as added Pub. L. 99–272, title XII, § 12307(a),Notes
References in Text
Codification
Amendments
Effective Date of 2014 Amendment
Effective Date of 2010 Amendment
Effective Date of 2008 Amendment
Effective Date of 2002 Amendment
Effective Date of 1997 Amendment
Effective Date of 1993 Amendment
Effective Date of 1990 Amendment
Effective Date of 1989 Amendment
Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
The amendments made by subsections (a), (b), and (e) [amending this section and section 675 of this title] shall take effect on
The amendments made by subsections (c), (d), and (f) [amending this section] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [
Regulations
Construction of 2008 Amendment
Temporary Extension of Availability of Independent Living Funds
Findings
States are required to make reasonable efforts to find adoptive families for all children, including older children, for whom reunification with their biological family is not in the best interests of the child. However, some older children will continue to live in foster care. These children should be enrolled in an Independent Living program designed and conducted by State and local government to help prepare them for employment, postsecondary education, and successful management of adult responsibilities.
Older children who continue to be in foster care as adolescents may become eligible for Independent Living programs. These Independent Living programs are not an alternative to adoption for these children. Enrollment in Independent Living programs can occur concurrent with continued efforts to locate and achieve placement in adoptive families for older children in foster care.
About 20,000 adolescents leave the Nation’s foster care system each year because they have reached 18 years of age and are expected to support themselves.
Congress has received extensive information that adolescents leaving foster care have significant difficulty making a successful transition to adulthood; this information shows that children aging out of foster care show high rates of homelessness, non-marital childbearing, poverty, and delinquent or criminal behavior; they are also frequently the target of crime and physical assaults.
The Nation’s State and local governments, with financial support from the Federal Government, should offer an extensive program of education, training, employment, and financial support for young adults leaving foster care, with participation in such program beginning several years before high school graduation and continuing, as needed, until the young adults emancipated from foster care establish independence or reach 21 years of age.”
Study and Report Evaluating Effectiveness of Programs
Study.—
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall study the programs authorized under section 477 of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 677] for the purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of the programs. The study shall include a comparison of outcomes of children who participated in the programs and a comparable group of children who did not participate in the programs.
Report.—
Upon completion of the study, the Secretary shall issue a report to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.”