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TITLE 42 > CHAPTER 7 > SUBCHAPTER
IV > Part
E > § 677 |
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§ 677.
John H. Chafee Foster Care |
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Release date: 2005-02-25 |
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(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; (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; and (6) to make available vouchers
for education and training, including postsecondary training and education,
to youths who have aged out of foster care. (b) Applications (1) In general (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. (J) 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) of this section, including a statement describing
methods the State will use— (i) 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) of this section; and (ii) to avoid duplication of
benefits under this and any other Federal or Federally assisted benefit
program. (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. (1) General program allotment From
the amount specified in subsection (h)(1) 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 ratio to such remaining amount equal to the State foster care
ratio, 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. (3) Voucher program allotment From
the amount, if any, appropriated pursuant to subsection (h)(2) of this
section for a fiscal year, the Secretary may allot to each State with an
application approved under subsection (b) of this section for the fiscal year
an amount equal to the State foster care ratio multiplied by the amount so
specified. (4) State foster care ratio In
this subsection, the term “State foster care ratio” means the ratio of the
number of children in foster care under a program of the State in the most
recent fiscal year for which the information is available to the total number
of children in foster care in all States for the most recent fiscal year. (d) Use of funds (1) In general (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.
(4) Reallocation of unused funds
If a State does not apply for funds under this section for a fiscal year
within such time as may be provided by the Secretary, the funds to which the
State would be entitled for the fiscal year shall be reallocated to 1 or more
other States on the basis of their relative need for additional payments
under this section, as determined by the Secretary. (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 (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. (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 for
each fiscal year— (1) $140,000,000, which shall be available for all purposes under
this section; and (2) 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. (i) Educational and
training vouchers The following conditions shall
apply to a State educational and training voucher program under this section:
(1) Vouchers under the program may be available to youths otherwise
eligible for services under the State program under this section. (2) For purposes of the voucher program, youths adopted from foster
care after attaining age 16 may be considered to be youths otherwise eligible
for services under the State program under this section. (3) 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. (4) The voucher or vouchers provided for an individual under this
section— (A) may be available for the cost of attendance at an institution
of higher education, as defined in section 1002
of title 20;
and (B) shall not exceed the lesser
of $5,000 per year or the total cost of attendance, as defined in section 1087ll
of title 20.
(5) 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. (6) The program is coordinated with other appropriate education and
training programs. |
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