II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2849 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide formula grants 

to States to improve higher education opportunities for foster youth 

and homeless youth, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. LUJA ́N, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 

formula grants to States to improve higher education 

opportunities for foster youth and homeless youth, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fostering Success in 

5 Higher Education Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATES TO IMPROVE HIGH2 ER EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOSTER 

3 YOUTH AND HOMELESS YOUTH. 

4 Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

5 U.S.C. 1133 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘PART F—GRANTS FOR IMPROVING ACCESS TO 

8 AND SUCCESS IN HIGHER EDUCATION FOR 

9 FOSTER YOUTH AND HOMELESS YOUTH 

10 ‘‘SEC. 791. DEFINITIONS. 

11 ‘‘In this part: 

12 ‘‘(1) FOSTER YOUTH.—The term ‘foster 

13 youth’— 

14 ‘‘(A) means an individual whose care and 

15 placement is the responsibility of the State or 

16 Tribal agency that administers a State or Trib17 al plan under part B or E of title IV of the So18 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.; 670 et 

19 seq.), without regard to whether foster care 

20 maintenance payments are made under section 

21 472 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on behalf of 

22 the individual; and 

23 ‘‘(B) includes any individual— 

24 ‘‘(i) whose care and placement was 

25 the responsibility of such a State or Tribal 

26 agency when, or at any time after, the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:22 Sep 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2849.IS S2849

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1 dividual attained 13 years of age, without 

2 regard to whether foster care maintenance 

3 payments were made under section 472 of 

4 such Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on behalf of the 

5 individual; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) who is no longer under the care 

7 and responsibility of such a State or Tribal 

8 agency, without regard to any subsequent 

9 adoption, guardianship arrangement, or 

10 other form of permanency option. 

11 ‘‘(2) HOMELESS YOUTH.—The term ‘homeless 

12 youth’ has the meaning given the term ‘homeless 

13 children and youths’ in section 725 of the McKin14 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 11434a). 

16 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

17 The terms ‘Indian Tribe’ and ‘Tribal organization’ 

18 have the meanings given the terms in section 4 of 

19 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist20 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

21 ‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

22 the several States and the District of Columbia. 

23 ‘‘(5) TERRITORY.—The term ‘territory’ means 

24 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 

25 States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 


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1 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

2 the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 

3 States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 792. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATES TO IMPROVE AC5 CESS TO AND SUCCESS IN HIGHER EDU6 CATION FOR FOSTER YOUTH AND HOMELESS 

7 YOUTH. 

8 ‘‘(a) GRANT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—From the 

9 amount appropriated under subsection (h), the Secretary 

10 shall make allotments under subsection (b), to States hav11 ing applications approved under subsection (c), to enable 

12 each State to— 

13 ‘‘(1) carry out the statewide transition initiative 

14 described in subsection (d); and 

15 ‘‘(2) make subgrants described in subsection 

16 (e). 

17 ‘‘(b) ALLOTMENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) FORMULA.— 

19 ‘‘(A) RESERVATION FOR INDIAN TRIBES

20 AND TERRITORIES.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—From the amount 

22 appropriated under subsection (h) for a 

23 fiscal year and subject to clause (ii), the 

24 Secretary shall reserve— 


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1 ‘‘(I) not more than 3 percent for 

2 grants to Indian Tribes, consortia of 

3 Indian Tribes, or Tribal organiza4 tions; and 

5 ‘‘(II) not more than 2 percent for 

6 grants to territories. 

7 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—In awarding 

8 grants under this subparagraph, the Sec9 retary— 

10 ‘‘(I) shall not award a grant 

11 under subclause (I) or (II) of clause 

12 (i) for a fiscal year for which no In13 dian Tribe (or consortium of Indian 

14 Tribes) or Tribal organization, or ter15 ritory, respectively, submits a satisfac16 tory application for a grant under 

17 such subclause; 

18 ‘‘(II) shall require that any In19 dian Tribe, consortium, Tribal organi20 zation, or territory that receives a 

21 grant under this subparagraph pro22 vide an assurance of a partnership 

23 among relevant education, child wel24 fare, and homeless agencies or organi25 zations; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) may determine any other 

2 requirements with respect to such 

3 grants (including the allocation, appli4 cation, and use of fund requirements), 

5 which to the extent possible, shall be 

6 consistent with the requirements for 

7 States under this part, except that ap8 propriate adjustments shall be made 

9 based on the needs and size of popu10 lations served by the Indian Tribe, 

11 consortium, Tribal organization, or 

12 territory applying for the grant. 

13 ‘‘(B) RESERVATION FOR DEPARTMENT AC14 TIVITIES.—From the amount appropriated 

15 under subsection (h) for a fiscal year, the Sec16 retary may reserve— 

17 ‘‘(i) not more than 7 percent to— 

18 ‘‘(I) provide technical assistance, 

19 in consultation with the Secretary of 

20 Health and Human Services, to 

21 States carrying out activities under 

22 this section; and 

23 ‘‘(II) complete the evaluations re24 quired by subsection (g)(1); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) not more than 3 percent for ad2 ministrative expenses. 

3 ‘‘(C) ALLOTMENTS.—From the amount 

4 appropriated under subsection (h) for a fiscal 

5 year and remaining after the Secretary reserves 

6 funds under subparagraphs (A) and (B), the 

7 Secretary shall allot to each State the greater 

8 of— 

9 ‘‘(i) $500,000; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) the amount that bears the same 

11 proportion to the remaining appropriated 

12 amount for such fiscal year as the number 

13 of foster youth and homeless youth in the 

14 State bears to the number of foster youth 

15 and homeless youth in all States. 

16 ‘‘(D) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the 

17 amount appropriated under subsection (h) for a 

18 fiscal year and remaining after the Secretary 

19 reserves funds under subparagraphs (A) and 

20 (B) is less than the amount required to be allot21 ted to States under subparagraph (C), then the 

22 amount of the allotment to each State shall be 

23 ratably reduced. 

24 ‘‘(2) STATE RESERVATION.—From the amounts 

25 awarded a State under paragraph (1)(C) for a fiscal 


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1 year, the State may reserve not more than 5 percent 

2 for administrative expenses. 

3 ‘‘(3) TEMPORARY INELIGIBILITY FOR SUBSE4 QUENT PAYMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

6 determine a State to be temporarily ineligible to 

7 receive a grant payment under this subsection 

8 for a fiscal year if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the State fails to submit an an10 nual report under subsection (f) for the 

11 preceding fiscal year; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines, based 

13 on information in such annual report, that 

14 the State is not effectively— 

15 ‘‘(I) meeting the outcomes de16 scribed in the application of such 

17 State under subsection (c)(2)(C), and 

18 does not have a plan to improve the 

19 outcomes; 

20 ‘‘(II) monitoring and evaluating 

21 the activities under subsections (d) 

22 and (e); or 

23 ‘‘(III) using funds as required 

24 under subsections (d) and (e). 


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1 ‘‘(B) REINSTATEMENT.—If the Secretary 

2 determines that a State is ineligible under sub3 paragraph (A), the Secretary may enter into an 

4 agreement with the State setting forth the 

5 terms and conditions under which the State 

6 may regain eligibility to receive payments under 

7 this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year for 

10 which a State desires an allotment under subsection 

11 (b), the State shall submit an application to the Sec12 retary— 

13 ‘‘(A) at such time and in such manner as 

14 the Secretary may require; and 

15 ‘‘(B) containing the information described 

16 in paragraph (2). 

17 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—An application 

18 submitted under paragraph (1) shall include the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(A) A plan for how the State will carry 

21 out the activities under subsections (d) and (e). 

22 ‘‘(B) A description of the State’s capacity 

23 to carry out such activities. 

24 ‘‘(C) A description of intended outcomes 

25 for such activities. 


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1 ‘‘(D) A plan for how the State will monitor 

2 and evaluate such activities, including how the 

3 State will use data to continually update and 

4 improve such activities. 

5 ‘‘(E) A description of how students will be 

6 identified and recruited for participation in the 

7 statewide transition initiative under subsection 

8 (d). 

9 ‘‘(F) An estimate of the number and char10 acteristics of the populations targeted for par11 ticipation in the statewide transition initiative 

12 under subsection (d), with attention to the di13 verse needs of homeless youth and foster youth 

14 in the State. 

15 ‘‘(G) A description of how the State will 

16 coordinate services provided under the grant 

17 with services provided to foster youth and 

18 homeless youth under the McKinney-Vento 

19 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et 

20 seq.), the Elementary and Secondary Education 

21 Act of 1965, and the Runaway and Homeless 

22 Youth Act (34 U.S.C. 11201 et seq.), and other 

23 services provided to foster youth and homeless 

24 youth by the State. 


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1 ‘‘(H) An assurance that the State will 

2 comply with subtitle B of title VII of the 

3 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.). 

5 ‘‘(I) An assurance that the State will part6 ner with State educational agencies, local edu7 cational agencies, institutions of higher edu8 cation, State and local child welfare authorities, 

9 and other relevant organizations that serve fos10 ter youth or homeless youth. 

11 ‘‘(J) An assurance that the State will sub12 mit the annual report required under subsection 

13 (f). 

14 ‘‘(K) A budgetary analysis of the use of 

15 funds awarded under this section. 

16 ‘‘(L) Such other information as the Sec17 retary may require. 

18 ‘‘(d) STATEWIDE TRANSITION INITIATIVE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) USE OF FUNDS.—Subject to subsection 

20 (b)(2), and in consultation and coordination with the 

21 entities described in paragraph (2), a State receiving 

22 a grant award under this section shall use not less 

23 than 25 percent of the funds to— 

24 ‘‘(A) provide intensive outreach and sup25 port to foster youth and homeless youth to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) improve the understanding and 

2 preparation of foster youth and homeless 

3 youth for enrollment in institutions of 

4 higher education; 

5 ‘‘(ii) increase the number of applica6 tions to institutions of higher education 

7 submitted by foster youth and homeless 

8 youth; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) increase the number of enroll10 ments of foster youth and homeless youth 

11 at institutions of higher education; 

12 ‘‘(B) provide education to foster youth and 

13 homeless youth with respect to— 

14 ‘‘(i) the benefits and opportunities of 

15 postsecondary education; 

16 ‘‘(ii) planning for postsecondary edu17 cation; 

18 ‘‘(iii) financial aid opportunities for 

19 enrollment at an institution of higher edu20 cation; 

21 ‘‘(iv) the Federal and State services 

22 and benefits available to foster youth and 

23 homeless youth while enrolled at an insti24 tution of higher education, including health 

25 and mental health services; 


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1 ‘‘(v) career exploration; and 

2 ‘‘(vi) financial literacy training, in3 cluding security from identity theft; 

4 ‘‘(C) assist foster youth and homeless 

5 youth with submitting applications for— 

6 ‘‘(i) enrollment at an institution of 

7 higher education; 

8 ‘‘(ii) financial aid for such enrollment; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(iii) scholarships available for such 

11 students, including under a State edu12 cational and training voucher program re13 ferred to in section 477(i) of the Social Se14 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 677(i)); and 

15 ‘‘(D) provide free programming, which may 

16 include free transportation to and from such 

17 programming, for foster youth and homeless 

18 youth to prepare such individuals socially and 

19 academically for the rigors of postsecondary 

20 education during the summer before such indi21 viduals first attend an institution of higher edu22 cation. 

23 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED CONSULTATION AND COORDI24 NATION.—In carrying out the activities described in 

25 paragraph (1), a State shall consult and coordinate 


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1 with State educational agencies, local educational 

2 agencies, institutions of higher education, State and 

3 local child welfare authorities, and other relevant or4 ganizations that serve foster youth or homeless 

5 youth. 

6 ‘‘(e) SUBGRANTS TO CREATE INSTITUTIONS OF EX7 CELLENCE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection 

9 (b)(2), a State receiving a grant under this section 

10 shall, acting through the administering State agen11 cy, use not less than 70 percent of the funds to 

12 award, on a competitive basis, subgrants to eligible 

13 institutions to enable such institutions to become in14 stitutions of excellence by improving access, reten15 tion, and completion rates at eligible institutions for 

16 foster and homeless youth as described in paragraph 

17 (3). 

18 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution 

20 desiring a subgrant under this subsection shall 

21 submit an application to the State in which 

22 such eligible institution is located, at such time, 

23 in such manner, and containing such informa24 tion as the State may require. 


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1 ‘‘(B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Each 

2 State receiving an allotment under this section 

3 shall provide outreach and technical assistance 

4 to eligible institutions with respect to applica5 tions for subgrants under this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(3) ACTIVITIES.—An eligible institution that 

7 receives a subgrant under this subsection shall use 

8 the subgrant funds to carry out the following activi9 ties with respect to homeless youth and foster youth: 

10 ‘‘(A) Provide flexibility and assistance in 

11 completing the application process to enroll at 

12 such institution. 

13 ‘‘(B) Coordinate programs with relevant 

14 on- and off-campus stakeholders to increase the 

15 enrollment of such youth at the institution and 

16 align services at the institution for such youth. 

17 ‘‘(C) Adjust the cost of attendance for 

18 such youth at such eligible institution to include 

19 the cost of housing during periods of non-enroll20 ment. 

21 ‘‘(D) Provide institutional aid to such stu22 dents to meet the cost of attendance that is not 

23 covered by other Federal or State educational 

24 grants. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Provide outreach to such students to 

2 ensure that such youth are aware of housing re3 sources available during periods of non-enroll4 ment. 

5 ‘‘(F) Subsidize any fees for such students 

6 associated with orientation and offer free trans7 portation to the orientation or move-in week at 

8 the eligible institution. 

9 ‘‘(G) Hire and provide training for at least 

10 one full-time staff member at the eligible insti11 tution to serve as a point of contact to provide 

12 case management services and monthly face-to13 face meetings with students who are foster 

14 youth or homeless youth. Such individual shall 

15 have an advanced degree and at least two years 

16 of relevant experience. 

17 ‘‘(H) Establish or enhance campus support 

18 programs to provide such students with a wide19 range of on-campus services, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) assistance with financial aid; 

21 ‘‘(ii) career advice; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) leadership development. 

23 ‘‘(I) Ensure the availability of robust 

24 health services (physical and mental) that meet 


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1 the specific needs of foster youth and homeless 

2 youth. 

3 ‘‘(J) Establish or expand early alert sys4 tems to identify and support such students who 

5 may be struggling academically. 

6 ‘‘(K) For each such student with reason7 able, unanticipated expenses that would not be 

8 covered by the institutional aid provided under 

9 subparagraph (D) and that would be necessary 

10 for the student to persist in higher education 

11 during an academic year, provide the student 

12 with access to an emergency grant to help cover 

13 such expenses. 

14 ‘‘(L) Collect, review, and monitor data for 

15 program improvement. 

16 ‘‘(4) RELIANCE ON INSTITUTIONAL AID OR

17 EMERGENCY GRANTS.—Any institutional aid or 

18 emergency grant funds provided to a student under 

19 subparagraph (D) or (K) of paragraph (3) by an eli20 gible institution during the period of the institution’s 

21 subgrant under this subsection shall continue to be 

22 provided during the student’s continuous enrollment 

23 at the institution, without regard to whether the 

24 subgrant period ends during such enrollment. 

25 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTERING STATE AGENCY.— 

2 The term ‘administering State agency’ means a 

3 State agency— 

4 ‘‘(i) designated by the Governor or ex5 ecutive of the State to administer the sub6 grants under this subsection; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) that, with respect to such State, 

8 has jurisdiction over— 

9 ‘‘(I) foster youth; 

10 ‘‘(II) homeless youth; 

11 ‘‘(III) elementary and secondary 

12 education; or 

13 ‘‘(IV) higher education. 

14 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term 

15 ‘eligible institution’ means an institution of 

16 higher education that— 

17 ‘‘(i) is in partnership with— 

18 ‘‘(I) the State child welfare agen19 cy that is responsible for the adminis20 tration of the State plan under part B 

21 or E of title IV of the Social Security 

22 Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq.; 670 et 

23 seq.); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) an organization that serves 

2 homeless youth (such as a youth shel3 ter or outreach program); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) may partner with any other pro5 vider, agency, official, or entity that serves 

6 foster youth and homeless youth, or former 

7 foster youth and homeless youth. 

8 ‘‘(f) STATE REPORTS.—For each year in which a 

9 State receives an allotment under subsection (b), the State 

10 shall prepare and submit a report to the Secretary that 

11 includes— 

12 ‘‘(1) each activity or service that was carried 

13 out under this section; 

14 ‘‘(2) the cost of providing each such activity or 

15 service; 

16 ‘‘(3) the number of students who received each 

17 activity or service, disaggregated by demographics; 

18 ‘‘(4) using qualitative and quantitative analysis, 

19 how the State— 

20 ‘‘(A) improved access to higher education 

21 for foster youth and homeless youth; and 

22 ‘‘(B) measured youth satisfaction with ac23 tivities carried out under this part; 

24 ‘‘(5) an analysis of the implementation and 

25 progress of the statewide transition initiative under 


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1 subsection (d), including challenges and changes 

2 made to the initiative throughout the preceding year; 

3 ‘‘(6) if, based on the analysis under paragraph 

4 (5), the State determines that the program is not on 

5 track to meet the intended outcomes described in the 

6 application of the State under subsection (c)(2)(C), 

7 a description of how the State plans to meet such 

8 intended outcomes; and 

9 ‘‘(7) information on the eligible institutions re10 ceiving subgrants, including how such institutions 

11 used subgrant funds to carry out the activities de12 scribed in subsection (e)(3). 

13 ‘‘(g) DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) EVALUATIONS.—Beginning on the date on 

15 which funds are first allotted under subsection (b), 

16 and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall evaluate 

17 recipients of allotments and subgrants under this 

18 section. The results of such evaluations shall be 

19 made publicly available on the website of the De20 partment. 

21 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 

22 year after the date on which funds are first allotted 

23 under subsection (b), and annually thereafter, the 

24 Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that in25 cludes— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the amount of each allotment under 

2 subsection (b); 

3 ‘‘(B) the amount of each subgrant under 

4 subsection (e); and 

5 ‘‘(C) with respect to the year for which 

6 such report is made, the results of the evalua7 tions under paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each of the 5 suc11 ceeding fiscal years.’’. 

Æ 


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