[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9316 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9316

  To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to increase 
 awareness among eligible children and youths of, and encourage their 
participation in, the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful 
            Transition to Adulthood, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 6, 2024

Mr. Nunn of Iowa (for himself, Mr. Bacon, and Mrs. Dingell) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and 
                                 Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to increase 
 awareness among eligible children and youths of, and encourage their 
participation in, the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful 
            Transition to Adulthood, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Brighter Futures for Teens and Young 
Adults in Foster Care Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVING AWARENESS OF THE CHAFEE PROGRAM.

    (a) Case Review System Requirements.--Section 475(5)(I) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(I)) is amended to read as 
follows:
                    ``(I)(i) each child in foster care under the 
                responsibility of the State who has attained 14 years 
                of age receives, if the child is eligible to receive 
                the document and without cost to the child--
                            ``(I) a copy of any consumer report (as 
                        defined in section 603(d) of the Fair Credit 
                        Reporting Act) pertaining to the child, each 
                        year until the child is discharged from care, 
                        and assistance (including, when feasible, from 
                        any court-appointed advocate for the child) in 
                        interpreting and resolving any inaccuracies in 
                        the consumer report;
                            ``(II) an official or certified copy of the 
                        United States birth certificate of the child;
                            ``(III) a social security card issued by 
                        the Commissioner of Social Security;
                            ``(IV) health insurance information;
                            ``(V) a copy of the child's medical 
                        records;
                            ``(VI) a driver's license or identification 
                        card issued by a State in accordance with the 
                        requirements of section 202 of the REAL ID Act 
                        of 2005; and
                            ``(VII) official documentation necessary to 
                        prove that the child is in foster care; and
                    ``(ii) each child who is leaving foster care under 
                the responsibility of the State by reason of having 
                attained 18 years of age or such greater age as the 
                State has elected under paragraph (8), unless the child 
                has been in foster care for less than 6 months, is not 
                discharged from care without being provided, without 
                cost to the child--
                            ``(I) official documentation necessary to 
                        prove that the child was in foster care; and
                            ``(II) each document described in 
                        subclauses (I) through (VI) of clause (i), if 
                        the child is eligible to receive the 
                        document.''.
    (b) Additional Case Plan and Case Review System Requirements.--
Section 475A(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 675a(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), to read as follows:
            ``(1) a document that describes the rights of the child--
                    ``(A) with respect to education, health, 
                visitation, and court participation;
                    ``(B) to be informed, in an age-appropriate way, of 
                the services available to the child under the State 
                programs carried out pursuant to section 477, in--
                            ``(i) every meeting between a caseworker 
                        and the child; and
                            ``(ii) every court or administrative 
                        hearing held with respect to the child 
                        requiring the attendance of the child;
                    ``(C) to be provided with the documents specified 
                in section 475(5)(I) in accordance with that section;
                    ``(D) to stay safe and avoid exploitation; and
                    ``(E) to seek redress for a violation of a right of 
                the child under this section;'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by inserting ``described in paragraph (1)'' 
                after ``copy of the document''; and
                    (B) by striking the period and inserting a 
                semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) for each year that the child is in foster care, a 
        document that describes the requirements for the child to 
        receive each document specified in section 475(5)(I) and any 
        assistance available to the child to meet the requirements; and
            ``(4) a signed and dated acknowledgment by the child that 
        the child has been provided with a copy of the document 
        described in paragraph (3), for each year that the document has 
        been provided.''.
    (c) John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to 
Adulthood.--Section 477 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 677) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraphs (1) through 
        (4) and inserting the following:
            ``(1) to support youth who have experienced foster care at 
        age 14 or older, youth in extended foster care, former foster 
        care recipients between ages 18 and 23, and youth placed into 
        guardianship or adoption at age 16 or older in their transition 
        to adulthood to support them in achieving positive outcomes so 
        that they are able to thrive in adulthood consistent with peers 
        who have not experienced foster care;
            ``(2) to provide the individuals access to appropriate 
        supports, services, and programs, without barriers and with the 
        goal of maximizing engagement, in order to achieve positive 
        outcomes among the individuals with respect to--
                    ``(A) secure, meaningful, and permanent connections 
                with family and kin;
                    ``(B) secure, meaningful, and permanent connections 
                with mentors and supportive adults;
                    ``(C) healing and wellness, including substance 
                abuse prevention, preventative health skills (including 
                smoke avoidance, nutrition education, and pregnancy 
                prevention), and areas related to mental health;
                    ``(D) attaining a high school diploma or equivalent 
                qualification and pursuing post-secondary education or 
                vocational training;
                    ``(E) job placement and retention and career 
                exploration;
                    ``(F) acquisition of daily living skills, including 
                driving instruction;
                    ``(G) budgeting, financial management skills, and 
                asset building;
                    ``(H) housing; and
                    ``(I) self-advocacy and leadership skills;
            ``(3) to provide opportunities to the individuals for 
        normalcy and age- or developmentally-appropriate activities and 
        experiences;
            ``(4) to achieve maximum reach and effect by ensuring that 
        State agencies consult and partner with the individuals in 
        planning, implementing, and assessing programs funded under 
        this section;'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``achieving 
                independence'' and inserting ``making a successful 
                transition to adulthood'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``achieve 
                independence'' and inserting ``make a successful 
                transition to adulthood''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(G) Reach and engage eligible youth to encourage 
                their participation in the programs available to them, 
                with particular focus on certain vulnerable 
                populations, including youth--
                            ``(i) with disabilities;
                            ``(ii) experiencing homelessness; or
                            ``(iii) who are, or expecting to be, 
                        parents.
                    ``(H) Ensure that eligible youth are provided 
                information about the services and resources available 
                to them.
                    ``(I) Include eligible youth from across the 
                geographical regions of the State in outreach and in 
                the planning and delivery of services provided under 
                this section.'';
            (3) in subsection (b)(3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (E)--
                            (i) by striking ``30'' and inserting 
                        ``90''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``after making the plan 
                        available to the public for comment'' before 
                        the period;
                    (B) in subparagraph (H), by striking ``independent 
                living'' and inserting ``a successful transition to 
                adulthood'';
                    (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (I) through (K) 
                as subparagraphs (K) through (M), respectively;
                    (D) by inserting after subparagraph (H) the 
                following:
                    ``(J) A certification by the chief executive 
                officer of the State that the State has made all 
                reasonable efforts to provide the eligible youth in the 
                State a description of the programs and services 
                provided under this section.'';
                    (E) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) through (H) 
                as subparagraphs (G) through (I), respectively;
                    (F) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the 
                following:
                    ``(F) A certification by the chief executive 
                officer of the State that the State has consulted with 
                eligible youth from across the State about the 
                effectiveness of the methods used by the State for 
                outreach and engagement and about the development of 
                services and resources provided under this section.''; 
                and
                    (G) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(N) A certification by the chief executive 
                officer of the State that the State developed the 
                portion of the State plan describing how the State 
                intends to comply with paragraph (2)(G)--
                            ``(i) in consultation with children, youth, 
                        and young adults who are or were in foster care 
                        and with community-based stakeholders who can 
                        share best practices in the outreach to and 
                        engagement of children, youth, and young adults 
                        who are or were in foster care; and
                            ``(ii) based on performance measures that 
                        the State collects and evaluates on an ongoing 
                        basis.'';
            (4) in subsection (f)--
                    (A) in the heading, to read as follows: ``Data 
                Collection, Benchmarks, and Performance Incentives.--
                '';
                    (B) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 
                subparagraph (A), by inserting ``youth with experience 
                in foster care or affiliated with foster care 
                organizations or networks,'' before ``and 
                researchers'';
                    (C) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``performance 
                benchmarks for'' before ``outcome measures''; and
                    (D) in paragraph (1)(B), to read as follows:
                    ``(B) identify data elements needed to track--
                            ``(i) the notification of eligible youth of 
                        the type and availability of services;
                            ``(ii) the number of eligible youth who 
                        have signed and dated the acknowledgments 
                        pursuant to section 475A(b)(4); and
                            ``(iii) the number of eligible youth who 
                        have achieved the performance benchmarks after 
                        beginning to receive services provided under 
                        this section; and''; and
                    (E) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Report to congress on recommendations for funding 
        with performance incentives.--Within 6 months after the 
        enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall submit to the 
        Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and 
        the Committee on Finance of the Senate a report with 
        recommendations to develop incentive payments for States based 
        on the performance benchmarks developed pursuant to paragraph 
        (1).''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Technical Assistance.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide technical 
        assistance to States and State agencies in the development and 
        implementation of effective and robust outreach policies and 
        practices.
            ``(2) Content of technical assistance.--The technical 
        assistance shall include--
                    ``(A) guidance on how to reduce barriers to 
                eligible youth accessing the programs available to 
                them, such as through interagency information-sharing 
                agreements; and
                    ``(B) best practices in outreach to and informing 
                eligible youth of the programs available to them.
    ``(l) Definition of Eligible Youth.--In this section, the term 
`eligible youth' means youth eligible to participate in a State program 
under this section.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 
on the 1st day of the 1st fiscal year beginning on or after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to payments--
            (1) except as provided under subparagraph (2), under part E 
        of title IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters 
        beginning on or after such date; and
            (2) under section 477 of such Act pursuant to plans 
        approved by the Secretary on or after such date.
    (b) Delay Permitted if State Legislation Required.--If the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services determines that State 
legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) is required in 
order for any State plan approved under part E of title IV of the 
Social Security Act to meet the additional requirements imposed by the 
amendments made by this Act, the plan shall not be regarded as failing 
to meet any of the additional requirements before the 1st day of the 
1st calendar quarter beginning after the 1st regular session of the 
State legislature that begins after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. For purposes of the preceding sentence, if the State has a 2-year 
legislative session, each year of the session is deemed to be a 
separate regular session of the State legislature.
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