[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7038 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7038

 To provide a guaranteed income for older youth who have exited foster 
                                 care.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 18, 2024

Mr. Robert Garcia of California (for himself, Ms. Omar, and Ms. Lee of 
 California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide a guaranteed income for older youth who have exited foster 
                                 care.

    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 ``Guaranteed Income for Foster Youth 
Act''.

SEC. 2. GUARANTEED INCOME FOR OLDER YOUTH WHO HAVE EXITED FOSTER CARE.

    (a) In General.--Section 477 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
677) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(4), by inserting ``, or 27 years of 
        age, in the case of a State with a certification under 
        subsection (b)(3)(L), to provide cash benefits to eligible 
        former foster youth who have not attained such age, in 
        accordance with such subsection'' before the last close 
        parenthesis;
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 
                following:
                    ``(G)(i) Support the enrollment of eligible youth 
                (including youth with disabilities) in the State cash 
                benefit program provided for in subsection (k).
                    ``(ii) Within 5 years after the State begins 
                enrolling youth in the program, provide a pathway for 
                the automatic enrollment in the State cash benefit 
                program provided for in subsection (k) of all youth on 
                emancipation from foster care in the State.''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``, 
                        other than amounts expended to carry out 
                        subsection (k),'' before ``will be expended''; 
                        and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(L) The following certifications by the chief 
                executive of the State with respect to the State cash 
                benefit program provided for in subsection (k):
                            ``(i) A certification that, in developing 
                        the plan for enrolling eligible youth in the 
                        program, the State has consulted widely with 
                        public and private organizations, including 
                        engagement (as defined by the Secretary) with a 
                        local public or private nonprofit entity, 
                        including a community-based organization, with 
                        expertise and experience providing direct 
                        services to foster youth who have not attained 
                        18 years of age or former foster youth, and has 
                        given all interested members of the public at 
                        least 30 days to submit comments on the 
                        enrollment plan before finalizing the plan.
                            ``(ii) A certification that the agencies 
                        implementing the program--
                                    ``(I) will support the enrollment 
                                of eligible youth, including youth with 
                                disabilities, in the program; and
                                    ``(II) are offering voluntary 
                                financial literacy education to all 
                                youth enrolled in the program.
                            ``(iii) Within 5 years after the State 
                        begins enrolling youth in the program, a 
                        certification that the State is automatically 
                        enrolling in the program all youth emancipated 
                        from foster care in the State.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Guaranteed Income Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--All and only the following conditions 
        shall apply to a State cash benefit program under this 
        subsection:
                    ``(A) Eligibility.--Cash benefits and financial 
                literacy education under the program shall be provided, 
                on an unconditional basis, for youth who--
                            ``(i) were in foster care after attaining 
                        14 years of age;
                            ``(ii) exited foster care after attaining 
                        16 years of age; and
                            ``(iii) have not attained 27 years of age.
                    ``(B) Enrollment.--Each youth eligible for benefits 
                under the program who has attained 18 years of age 
                shall be automatically enrolled in the program--
                            ``(i) in the case of a youth who attained 
                        such age before the effective date of this 
                        subsection, on the effective date; or
                            ``(ii) in the case of a youth who attains 
                        such age on or after the effective date, on the 
                        date the youth attains such age.
                    ``(C) Limitation on annual benefits.--The total 
                amount of cash benefits to be provided for a youth 
                under the program in any period of 12 consecutive 
                months shall be $12,000.
                    ``(D) Duration.--Cash benefits under the program 
                may be provided for a youth only during the 5-year 
                period that begins with the later of--
                            ``(i) the date the youth exits foster care; 
                        or
                            ``(ii) the effective date of this 
                        subsection.
                    ``(E) Enrollment support for youth with 
                disabilities.--The program shall, as part of the 
                transition plan developed under section 475(5)(H) for a 
                youth who is eligible for benefits under the program--
                            ``(i) assist the youth in enrolling in the 
                        program; and
                            ``(ii) in the case of a youth with 
                        disabilities, provide reasonable accommodations 
                        to the youth.
                    ``(F) Interim report.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Within 24 months after 
                        cash payments are initially made to youth under 
                        the program and annually thereafter, the State 
                        shall submit to the Congress an interim report 
                        on the program, including the following 
                        information:
                                    ``(I) The total number of youth 
                                participating in the program, 
                                disaggregated by race and ethnicity, 
                                gender, disability status, housing 
                                status, family composition, and income 
                                and assets (including income level as a 
                                percentage of the Federal poverty 
                                line).
                                    ``(II) With respect to each such 
                                youth, to the extent applicable--
                                            ``(aa) the employment type 
                                        and job status of the youth;
                                            ``(bb) the total amount of 
                                        cash payments made to the youth 
                                        under the program; and
                                            ``(cc) the ZIP Code in 
                                        which the residence of the 
                                        youth is located.
                                    ``(III) Any other information that 
                                the State deems necessary
                            ``(ii) Prohibition on release of personally 
                        identifiable information in any public release 
                        of the report.--Any entity who makes available 
                        to the public any content of a report submitted 
                        under clause (i) shall redact from the content 
                        any personally identifiable information.
                    ``(G) Final report.--Not later than 12 months after 
                the end of the program, the State shall submit to the 
                Congress and make available to the public a final 
                report on the program, which shall include a 
                quantitative and qualitative analysis of the effects of 
                the income subsidies provided under the program on--
                            ``(i) financial outcomes of participating 
                        youth;
                            ``(ii) the health and economic well-being 
                        of participating youth; and
                            ``(iii) the social costs of poverty and 
                        income volatility, including connections with 
                        income fluctuation and health, education, 
                        employment, childcare, and other outcomes as 
                        determined appropriate by the Secretary.
                    ``(H) Voluntariness of youth participation in 
                research.--In preparing a report pursuant to 
                subparagraph (F) or (G), a State may not require a 
                youth to provide information.
            ``(2) Treatment of benefits.--The cash benefits provided to 
        a youth under the program shall be disregarded in determining 
        the eligibility of the youth for, and the benefits to be 
        provided to the youth under, any other Federal or federally 
        supported program, and shall not be considered income of the 
        youth for any purpose under any Federal law.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment to Transition Plan Requirements.--Section 
475(5)(H) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(H)) is amended by inserting ``, 
and includes information on the consequences of electing to exit foster 
care and receive benefits under the State cash benefit program, if any, 
funded under section 477(k) on the eligibility of the child for 
benefits and supports, and that provides for the automatic enrollment 
of the child, upon exiting foster care, in the State cash benefit 
program, if any, funded under section 477(k)'' before the semicolon.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on October 1, 2025.
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