[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4003 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4003

  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve the ability of 
     foster care youths to attend and succeed in higher education.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 18, 2004

 Mr. George Miller of California (for himself, Mr. Davis of Illinois, 
Ms. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Owens, Mr. 
Bishop of New York, Mr. Holt, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Stark, and 
 Mr. Kildee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve the ability of 
     foster care youths to attend and succeed in higher education.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Foster Opportunities for Success 
Through Higher Education Reform'' or the ``FOSTER Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Recent studies by the Center for the Study of Social 
        Policy, Casey Family Programs, and the Packard Foundation 
        demonstrate that many of the 20,000 children aging out of 
        foster care each year face unique challenges as they enter the 
        adult world: a greater likelihood of becoming teen parents, 
        dependence on public assistance, participation in substance 
        abuse, homelessness, and involvement with the criminal justice 
        system compared to youth in the general population.
            (2) According to a study of foster care children in 
        Washington State, a child who enters foster care is likely to 
        have poorer academic outcomes than children not in foster care, 
        even after controlling for a variety of factors such as 
        poverty.
            (3) A follow-up study in Wisconsin found that 37 percent of 
        youth had not completed their high school education when 
        interviewed 12 to 18 months after discharge from foster care.
            (4) A study of African American males in the Ohio foster 
        care system found that in the sixth grade, African American 
        males in foster care had significantly lower scores than 1 or 
        more of the 4 comparison groups (all students, all African 
        American students, all male students, all African American male 
        students).
            (5) By the ninth grade, the African American males in 
        foster care had significantly lower scores than all of the 
        comparison groups.
            (6) These youth in foster care are less likely to be 
        enrolled in college preparatory classes and are more than twice 
        as likely as non-foster care youth (37 percent vs. 16 percent) 
        to have dropped out of high school.
            (7) A 2002 report issued by the Child Welfare League of 
        America (CWLA) found that more than 26 percent of foster 
        children have repeated a grade at least once since the seventh 
        grade; 60 percent have failed a class in the previous year; 
        over a third were below grade level in written language, math 
        and readings; foster youth have higher absentee and tardy rates 
        than their non-foster peers.
            (8) A report from Casey Family Programs indicated that, 
        nationwide, fewer than 27 percent of foster youth who graduated 
        high school went on to college as compared to 52 percent of the 
        general population.
            (9) A May 2002, report issued by the University of 
        California at Berkeley found that of more than 3200 foster care 
        youth who attended a community college from 1992 through 2000, 
        39 percent earned between 1 and 17 credits. Forty percent of 
        the foster care youth earned no credits. Many did not attempt 
        to take classes for credit, but rather were enrolled in 
        remedial or other non-credit classes.

SEC. 3. FOSTER CARE YOUTH OUTREACH AND HOUSING SERVICES.

    Subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
is amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:

      ``CHAPTER 4--FOSTER CARE YOUTH OUTREACH AND HOUSING SERVICES

``SEC. 408A. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

    ``(a) Program Authorized.--From the amounts appropriated under 
section 408E(a), the Secretary shall provide competitive grants to 
public and private institutions of higher education to provide 
technical assistance and supportive services to foster care youth who 
are prospective students to prepare for, enter, and remain in such 
institutions.
    ``(b) Authorized Services.--Funds provided under this section may 
be used to provide--
            ``(1) academic counseling;
            ``(2) college financial-aid counseling; and
            ``(3) other appropriate support services intended to 
        improve the delivery of services to foster care youth.
    ``(c) Applications.--An institution seeking a grant under this 
section shall submit an application to the Secretary. Such application 
shall--
            ``(1) contain assurances that the applicant will--
                    ``(A) evaluate--
                            ``(i) the extent to which the institution's 
                        current programs are meeting the needs of 
                        foster care youth; and
                            ``(ii) how the institution's outreach and 
                        retention services can be improved;
                    ``(B) report to the Secretary on current and 
                expanded services and efforts to increase the number of 
                foster care youth who attend the institution and remain 
                in school to earn a degree or certificate;
                    ``(C) expand representation on student body 
                governing boards to include at least one former foster 
                care youth that will serve to advise the institution on 
                student life issues, with particular attention to the 
                unique barriers for foster care youth in accessing and 
                completing postsecondary education; and
                    ``(D) coordinate with the State social services and 
                child welfare departments in order to facilitate the 
                outreach and technical assistance efforts for 
                prospective students who are foster care youth; and
            ``(2) contain such additional information and assurances as 
        the Secretary may require.
    ``(d) Selection of Applicants.--The Secretary shall select 
institutions of higher education for the award of grants under this 
section on the basis of identifying those institutions that are most 
likely to be able to successfully carry out the program under this 
section and serve the goal of expanding higher educational 
opportunities for foster care youth.

``SEC. 408B. HOUSING FOR FOSTER CARE YOUTH.

    ``(a) Grants Authorized.--From the amounts appropriated under 
section 408E(b), the Secretary shall provide grants to institutions of 
higher education to ensure basic housing during the regular academic 
school year, including interim housing during regular periods of 
dormitory closing (excluding summer break), for those foster care youth 
living in college dormitories.
    ``(b) Applications.--An institution seeking a grant under this 
section shall submit an application to the Secretary containing such 
information as the Secretary may require.
    ``(c) Selection of Applicants.--The Secretary shall select 
institutions of higher education for the award of grants under this 
section on the basis of identifying those institutions that are most 
likely to be able to successfully carry out the program under this 
section and serve the goal of expanding higher educational 
opportunities for foster care youth.

``SEC. 408C. COORDINATION.

    ``(a) Coordination With the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence 
Program.--The Secretary shall ensure that activities under this chapter 
are coordinated with programs under section 477(i) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 6383).
    ``(b) Coordination With TRIO and GEARUP.--Each recipient of funds 
under the programs authorized by chapters 1 and 2 of this subpart shall 
identify services to foster care youth as a permissible service in 
those programs, and ensure that such youth receive supportive services, 
including mentoring, tutoring, and other services provided by those 
programs.

``SEC. 408D. ELIGIBLE FOSTER CARE YOUTH.

    ``(a) In General.--An individual shall be treated as a foster care 
youth eligible for services and benefits under this chapter if such 
individual is--
            ``(1) a youth for whom the State or an entity licensed by 
        the State has responsibility for placement, care, or 
        supervision, and includes youth in foster homes, group homes, 
        or kinship care; or
            ``(2) a high school senior or student currently enrolled in 
        a postsecondary education program who is older than 18 years 
        old and is no longer living with his or her foster family, as 
        long as he or she was under State care until age 18.
    ``(b) Kinship Care.--For a youth to be eligible as receiving 
kinship care, the State or an entity licensed by the State must have 
intervened on the youth's behalf and a court of competent jurisdiction 
must have issued a court order of dependency and the court order or the 
State or the entity licensed by the State must have placed the youth in 
legal kinship care. A youth who is residing with his or her relatives 
in any other type of situation is not eligible as receiving kinship 
care.

``SEC. 408E. AUTHORIZATION.

    ``(a) Technical Assistance and Outreach Services.--There are 
authorized to be appropriated for grants under section 408A, such sums 
as may be necessary for fiscal year 2005 and for each of the 5 
succeeding fiscal years.
    ``(b) Housing for Foster Care Youth.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated for grants under section 408B, such sums as may be 
necessary for fiscal year 2005 and for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal 
years.''.

SEC. 4. FAIR TREATMENT FOR FOSTER CARE YOUTH IN FINANCIAL NEED 
              ANALYSIS.

    (a) Cost of Attendance.--Section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (11);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (12) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (12) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(13) in the case of a foster care youth who is eligible 
        for services or benefits under section 408D, an additional 
        amount equal to 50 percent of the sum determined under the 
        preceding paragraphs, representing the reasonable living 
        additional expenses of such a youth.''.
    (b) Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.--Section 
491(j) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098(j)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (4);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (5) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(6) examine methods for expanding access to Federal 
        financial aid by foster care youth who are eligible for 
        services or benefits under section 408D, and for simplifying 
        the application process for such youth.''.
    (c) FAFSA Revision.--Section 483(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)(1)) is amended by inserting after the third 
sentence the following new sentence: ``Such data elements shall include 
an identification of whether the student is a foster care youth who is 
eligible for services or benefits under section 408D.''.
    (d) Assessment and Follow-Up.--Section 485(a)(1)(L) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(a)(1)(L)) is amended by inserting 
before the semicolon at the end the following: ``, and, commencing with 
the 2004-2005 academic year, the retention rates of students who 
voluntarily provide to the institution of higher education their status 
as emancipated foster care youth''.
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