§677. John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program

(a) Purpose

The purpose of this section is to provide States with flexible funding that will enable programs to be designed and conducted-

(1) 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);

(2) 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;

(3) 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;

(4) to provide personal and emotional support to children aging out of foster care, through mentors and the promotion of interactions with dedicated adults; and

(5) 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.

(b) Applications

(1) In general

A State may apply for funds from its allotment under subsection (c) of this section for a period of five consecutive fiscal years by submitting to the Secretary, in writing, a plan that meets the requirements of paragraph (2) and the certifications required by paragraph (3) with respect to the plan.

(2) 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:

(A) Design and deliver programs to achieve the purposes of this section.

(B) Ensure that all political subdivisions in the State are served by the program, though not necessarily in a uniform manner.

(C) Ensure that the programs serve children of various ages and at various stages of achieving independence.

(D) Involve the public and private sectors in helping adolescents in foster care achieve independence.

(E) Use objective criteria for determining eligibility for benefits and services under the programs, and for ensuring fair and equitable treatment of benefit recipients.

(F) Cooperate in national evaluations of the effects of the programs in achieving the purposes of this section.

(3) Certifications

The certifications required by this paragraph with respect to a plan are the following:

(A) 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.

(B) 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) of this section 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.

(C) 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) of this section will be expended for room or board for any child who has not attained 18 years of age.

(D) 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.

(E) 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.

(F) 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) of this section 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.

(G) 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; and 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.

(H) 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.

(I) 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.

(4) Approval

The Secretary shall approve an application submitted by a State pursuant to paragraph (1) for a period if-

(A) the application is submitted on or before June 30 of the calendar year in which such period begins; and

(B) the Secretary finds that the application contains the material required by paragraph (1).

(5) Authority to implement certain amendments; notification

A State with an application approved under paragraph (4) may implement any amendment to the plan contained in the application if the application, incorporating the amendment, would be approvable under paragraph (4). Within 30 days after a State implements any such amendment, the State shall notify the Secretary of the amendment.

(6) Availability

The State shall make available to the public any application submitted by the State pursuant to paragraph (1), and a brief summary of the plan contained in the application.

(c) Allotments to States

(1) In general

From the amount specified in subsection (h) of this section that remains after applying subsection (g)(2) of this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each State with an application approved under subsection (b) of this section for the fiscal year the amount which bears the same ratio to such remaining amount as the number of children in foster care under a program of the State in the most recent fiscal year for which such information is available bears to the total number of children in foster care in all States for such most recent fiscal year, as adjusted in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) Hold harmless provision

(A) In general

The Secretary shall allot to each State whose allotment for a fiscal year under paragraph (1) is less than the greater of $500,000 or the amount payable to the State under this section for fiscal year 1998, an additional amount equal to the difference between such allotment and such greater amount.

(B) Ratable reduction of certain allotments

In the case of a State not described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reduce the amount allotted to the State for the fiscal year under paragraph (1) by the amount that bears the same ratio to the sum of the differences determined under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph for the fiscal year as the excess of the amount so allotted over the greater of $500,000 or the amount payable to the State under this section for fiscal year 1998 bears to the sum of such excess amounts determined for all such States.

(d) Use of funds

(1) In general

A State to which an amount is paid from its allotment under subsection (c) of this section may use the amount in any manner that is reasonably calculated to accomplish the purposes of this section.

(2) No supplantation of other funds available for same general purposes

The amounts paid to a State from its allotment under subsection (c) of this section shall be used to supplement and not supplant any other funds which are available for the same general purposes in the State.

(3) Two-year availability of funds

Payments made to a State under this section for a fiscal year shall be expended by the State in the fiscal year or in the succeeding fiscal year.

(e) Penalties

(1) Use of grant in violation of this part

If the Secretary is made aware, by an audit conducted under chapter 75 of title 31 or by any other means, that a program receiving funds from an allotment made to a State under subsection (c) of this section has been operated in a manner that is inconsistent with, or not disclosed in the State application approved under subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary shall assess a penalty against the State in an amount equal to not less than 1 percent and not more than 5 percent of the amount of the allotment.

(2) Failure to comply with data reporting requirement

The Secretary shall assess a penalty against a State that fails during a fiscal year to comply with an information collection plan implemented under subsection (f) of this section in an amount equal to not less than 1 percent and not more than 5 percent of the amount allotted to the State for the fiscal year.

(3) Penalties based on degree of noncompliance

The Secretary shall assess penalties under this subsection based on the degree of noncompliance.

(f) Data collection and performance measurement

(1) 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-

(A) 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;

(B) identify data elements needed to track-

(i) the number and characteristics of children receiving services under this section;

(ii) the type and quantity of services being provided; and

(iii) State performance on the outcome measures; and

(C) develop and implement a plan to collect the needed information beginning with the second fiscal year beginning after December 14, 1999.

(2) Report to the Congress

Within 12 months after December 14, 1999, 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 detailing the plans and timetable for collecting from the States the information described in paragraph (1) and a proposal to impose penalties consistent with paragraph (e)(2) on States that do not report data.

(g) Evaluations

(1) In general

The Secretary shall conduct evaluations of such State programs funded under this section as the Secretary deems to be innovative or of potential national significance. The evaluation of any such program shall include information on the effects of the program on education, employment, and personal development. To the maximum extent practicable, the evaluations shall be based on rigorous scientific standards including random assignment to treatment and control groups. The Secretary is encouraged to work directly with State and local governments to design methods for conducting the evaluations, directly or by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.

(2) Funding of evaluations

The Secretary shall reserve 1.5 percent of the amount specified in subsection (h) of this section for a fiscal year to carry out, during the fiscal year, evaluation, technical assistance, performance measurement, and data collection activities related to this section, directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements with appropriate entities.

(h) 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 $140,000,000 for each fiscal year.

(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, §477, as added Pub. L. 99–272, title XII, §12307(a), Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 294 ; amended Pub. L. 100–647, title VIII, §8104(a)–(d), (f), Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3796 , 3797; Pub. L. 101–239, title VIII, §8002(a), (b), Dec. 19, 1989, 103 Stat. 2452 ; Pub. L. 101–508, title V, §5073(a), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–233 ; Pub. L. 103–66, title XIII, §13714(a), Aug. 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 657 ; Pub. L. 105–89, title III, §304, Nov. 19, 1997, 111 Stat. 2130 ; Pub. L. 106–169, title I, §101(b), Dec. 14, 1999, 113 Stat. 1824 .)

References in Text

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, referred to in subsec. (b)(3)(F), is Pub. L. 93–415, Sept. 7, 1974, 88 Stat. 1109 , as amended. Part B of title III of the Act is classified generally to Part B (§5714–1 et seq.) of subchapter III of chapter 72 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note under section 5601 of this title and Tables.

Codification

December 14, 1999, referred to in subsec. (f), was in the original "the date of the enactment of this section" which was translated as meaning the date of enactment of Pub. L. 106–119, which amended this section generally, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

Amendments

1999-Pub. L. 106–169 amended section generally, substituting present provisions for provisions which had authorized payments to States and localities for establishment of programs designed to assist children who have attained age 16 in making transition from foster care to independent living, and set forth provisions relating to administration of programs, assurances, types of programs, amounts of entitlement, and provisions requiring annual report and promulgation of regulations.

1997-Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 105–89 inserted before comma at end "(including children with respect to whom such payments are no longer being made because the child has accumulated assets, not to exceed $5,000, which are otherwise regarded as resources for purposes of determining eligibility for benefits under this part)".

1993-Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 103–66, §13714(a)(1), struck out at end "Such payments shall be made only for the fiscal years 1987 through 1992."

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–66, §13714(a)(2), substituted "any succeeding fiscal year" for "any of the fiscal years 1988 through 1992".

Subsec. (e)(1)(A). Pub. L. 103–66, §13714(a)(3), substituted "fiscal year 1987 and any succeeding fiscal year" for "each of the fiscal years 1987 through 1992".

Subsec. (e)(1)(B). Pub. L. 103–66, §13714(a)(4), substituted "fiscal year 1991 and any succeeding fiscal year" for "fiscal years 1991 and 1992".

Subsec. (e)(1)(C)(ii)(II). Pub. L. 103–66, §13714(a)(5), substituted "any succeeding fiscal year" for "fiscal year 1992".

1990-Subsec. (a)(2)(C). Pub. L. 101–508 inserted "who has not attained age 21" after "also include any child" and struck out before semicolon ", but such child may not be so included after the end of the 6-month period beginning on the date of discontinuance of such payments or care".

1989-Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 101–239, §8002(a)(1), substituted "through 1992" for ", 1988, and 1989".

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–239, §8002(a)(2), substituted "any of the fiscal years 1988 through 1992" for "the fiscal year 1988 or 1989".

Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 101–239, §8002(b)(1), (2), (4), (5), designated existing provisions as subpar. (A), substituted "The basic amount" for "The amount" and "the basic ceiling for such fiscal year" for "$45,000,000", and added subpars. (B) and (C).

Pub. L. 101–239, §8002(b)(3), which directed amendment of subpar. (A) by substituting "1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992" for "and 1989" could not be executed because the words "and 1989" did not appear after execution of amendment by Pub. L. 101–239, §8002(a)(1), see below.

Pub. L. 101–239, §8002(a)(1), substituted "through 1992" for ", 1988, and 1989".

1988-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–647, §8104(a)(1), substituted "1987, 1988, and 1989" for "1987 and 1988".

Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 100–647, §8104(c), designated existing provisions as par. (1), substituted "children described in paragraph (2) who have attained age 16" for "children, with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments are being made by the State under this part and who have attained age 16," and added par. (2).

Subsec. (a)(2)(C). Pub. L. 100–647, §8104(d), added subpar. (C).

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–647, §8104(a)(2), substituted "for the fiscal year 1988 or 1989, such description and assurances must be submitted prior to February 1 of such fiscal year" for "for fiscal year 1988, such description and assurances must be submitted prior to January 1, 1988".

Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 100–647, §8104(a)(1), substituted "1987, 1988, and 1989" for "1987 and 1988".

Subsec. (e)(3). Pub. L. 100–647, §8104(f), inserted at end "Amounts payable under this section may not be used for the provision of room or board."

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100–647, §8104(b), inserted at end "Notwithstanding paragraph (3), payments made to a State under this section for the fiscal year 1987 and unobligated may be expended by such State in the fiscal year 1989."

Subsec. (g)(1). Pub. L. 100–647, §8104(a)(3), (4), substituted "Not later than the first January 1 following the end of each fiscal year, each State shall submit to the Secretary a report on the programs carried out during such fiscal year" for "Not later than March 1, 1988, each State shall submit to the Secretary a report on the programs carried out".

Subsec. (g)(2). Pub. L. 100–647, §8104(a)(5), (6), substituted:

"(A) Not later than July 1, 1988, the Secretary shall submit an interim report on the activities carried out under this section.

"(B) Not later than March 1, 1989,"

for "Not later than July 1, 1988," and substituted "fiscal years 1987 and 1988" for "fiscal year 1987" in subpar. (B).

Effective Date of 1997 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 105–89 effective Nov. 19, 1997, except as otherwise provided, with delay permitted if State legislation is required, see section 501 of Pub. L. 105–89, set out as a note under section 622 of this title.

Effective Date of 1993 Amendment

Section 13714(b) of Pub. L. 103–66 provided that: "The amendments made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply to activities engaged in, on, or after October 1, 1992."

Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

Section 5073(b) of Pub. L. 101–508 provided that: "The amendments made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply to payments made under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act [part E of this subchapter] for fiscal years beginning in or after fiscal year 1991."

Effective Date of 1989 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 101–239 effective Oct. 1, 1989, see section 8002(e) of Pub. L. 101–239, set out as a note under section 674 of this title.

Effective Date of 1988 Amendment

Section 8104(g) of Pub. L. 100–647 provided that:

"(1) The amendments made by subsections (a), (b), and (e) [amending this section and section 675 of this title] shall take effect on October 1, 1988.

"(2) The amendments made by subsections (c), (d), and (f) [amending this section] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 10, 1988]."

Regulations

Pub. L. 106–169, title I, §101(d), Dec. 14, 1999, 113 Stat. 1828 , provided that: "Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 14, 1999], the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the amendments made by this section [amending this section and section 674 of this title]."

Findings

Pub. L. 106–169, title I, §101(a), Dec. 14, 1999, 113 Stat. 1823 , provided that: "The Congress finds the following:

"(1) 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.

"(2) 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.

"(3) 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.

"(4) 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.

"(5) 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

Section 8002(d) of Pub. L. 101–239 provided that:

"(1) Study.-The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall study the programs authorized under section 477 of the Social Security Act [this section] 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.

"(2) 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."

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 674 of this title.