Continued State Flexibility to Assist Older Foster Youth Act

INSIGHTi

Continued State Flexibility to Assist Older
Foster Youth Act
Updated November 2, 2021
Older youth in, or leaving, foster care during the COVID-19 pandemic face especially tough housing, job,
and other prospects. On October 27, 2021, the House passed (by voice vote) the Continued State
Flexibility to Assist Older Foster Youth Act (H.R. 5661). Introduced by Representative Danny Davis with
Representative Jackie Walorski, the bill would extend certain temporary flexibilities granted to states
under the Supporting Foster Youth and Families Through the Pandemic Act (Division X of P.L. 116-260)
(see CRS Report R46770). The House bill has been referred to the Senate, where a companion bill (S.
3078) was introduced (Senator Debbie Stabenow, with Senator Chuck Grassley), on October 26, 2021.
Chafee Funding and Flexibilities Extended
For FY2021, the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (Chafee
Program, including Education and Training Vouchers (ETVs)) received $586 million in federal
appropriations. This amount included $186 million in regular Chafee/ETV funds and $400 million in
additional COVID-19-related funding (provided via Division X of P.L. 116-260). All this FY2021 funding
is available for states to spend in FY2021 or FY2022. However, under Division X, states were permitted
to use those Chafee/ETV funds for additional purposes only through September 30, 2021.
H.R. 5661 would reinstate, through FY2022 (unless otherwise noted), certain of the flexibilities provided
in Division X. Among these, it would permit
 youth who were formerly in foster care (generally at age 14 or older) to be eligible for
Chafee program services up to age 27 (as opposed to 21 under current law, or 23 in some
states);
 states to spend as much of their Chafee allotment on housing (i.e., “room and board
payments”) as they choose (the current law maximum is 30%) and to offer this assistance
to any youth who had been in foster care at age 14 or older and is at least 18 but not yet
27;
 an ETV to be used to enable youth to remain enrolled in postsecondary school or training
even if the expense would not normally be considered a cost of attendance (current law
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limits use of ETVs to items defined in Section 472 of the Higher Education Act as for the
cost of attendance); and
 youth participating in the ETV program to continue to receive a voucher even if they are
unable, due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, to remain enrolled in
postsecondary education or training, or to make satisfactory progress toward completing
that education/training (flexibility available through December 31, 2021, only).
Maintaining Youth in Foster Care
Division X of P.L. 116-260 suspended, through September 30, 2021, the Title IV-E eligibility criteria
related to age and participation in work/education activities. H.R. 5661 would not extend this provision.
As of October 1, 2021, youth 18 or older may be eligible for Title IV-E foster care support only if they are
under 19 and completing secondary school, or, in states that elect to provide extended Title IV-E
assistance, if they are under 21. They must also meet work/education conditions. States may opt at any
time to amend their Title IV-E plans to use those program funds to serve otherwise eligible youth in care
up to age 21. Additionally, under the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. §5141), the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) permits states—during the
period in which a major disaster declaration due to COVID-19 is made in the state—to temporarily extend
Title IV-E foster care up to age 21. A state providing extended care may also use Stafford Act flexibility—
if a major disaster declaration remains in place in the state and provided the requirement cannot be met
due to the COVID-19 emergency—to waive or modify the Title IV-E work/education requirements
applicable to Title IV-E foster care eligibility (see PI-20-10). (As of late October 2021, each state
continued to have a Stafford Act major disaster declaration due to COVID-19.)
H.R. 5661 would also permit states, through the end of FY2022, to use the additional Chafee funding
provided to them via Division X to provide Title IV-E foster care support for any youth who remains in
care after turning 18 and is not otherwise eligible. Also through September 30, 2022, states could continue
to use Division X’s additional Chafee funds to assist youth in re-entering foster care, including by
providing notice of the ability for youth who age out during the COVID-19 public health emergency (i.e.,
January 27, 2020, through mid-January 2022, subject to extension) to re-enter care.
Funds Used to Date
Based on data from HHS-ACF, some $242 million (out of $350 million) in additional Chafee funding,
and $22 million (out of $50 million) in additional ETV funding, provided via Division X, had not been
reported as obligated by the state or tribe to which it was allotted (as of September 30, 2021). However,
those amounts may change, as states and tribes had until October 31, 2021, to report FY2021 obligations
of additional Chafee/ETV funds. As of September 30, 2021, states differed markedly in the share of the
additional funds they had obligated. A large majority (45, including the District of Columbia [DC], Puerto
Rico [PR], and the Virgin Islands [USVI]) reported having drawn down less than 50% of the additional
Chafee funds provided to them via Division X. Meanwhile, eight states reported spending more than 50%
of those additional Chafee dollars, including one that reported spending 100%. The draw down pattern
was similar for the additional ETV funds: one state reported spending 100%, seven states spent between
51% and 89%, and the remaining states spent less than 50%.
Figure 1 shows state and tribal Title IV-E agencies that extend Title IV-E assistance to youth after their
18th birthday, as of October 20, 2021. Among states (including DC, PR, and the USVI) 34 extended this
assistance under their Title IV-E plans, 5 were using temporary Stafford Act authority, and 14 did not
provide extended Title IV-E assistance. Among the 39 states (including DC and PR) providing Title IV-E
assistance to youth after their 18th birthday, 28 were using Stafford Act authority to temporarily waive
work/education conditions.

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Figure 1. Extension of Foster Care and Waiving of Employment and Education Conditions

Source: Prepared by CRS based on correspondence with HHS-ACF.

Author Information

Emilie Stoltzfus

Specialist in Social Policy




Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.

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IN11785 · VERSION 3 · UPDATED

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