II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1792

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 12, 2017

Mr. FRANKEN 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 2017’’. 

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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 new part: 

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 tribal 

17 plan under part B or E of title IV of the Social 

18 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 0ct 09 2002 22:14 Sep 13, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1792.IS S1792
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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 of the individual. 

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

11 youth’ has the meaning given the term ‘homeless 

12 children and youths’ in section 725 of the McKin13 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 11434a). 

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

16 The terms ‘Indian Tribe’ and ‘tribal organization’ 

17 have the meanings given the terms in section 4 of 

18 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist19 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

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

21 the several States and the District of Columbia. 

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

23 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 

24 States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 

25 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

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1 the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 

2 States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 792. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATES TO IMPROVE AC4 CESS TO AND SUCCESS IN HIGHER EDU5 CATION FOR FOSTER YOUTH AND HOMELESS 

6 YOUTH. 

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

8 amount appropriated under subsection (h), the Secretary 

9 shall make allotments under subsection (b), to States hav10 ing applications approved under subsection (c), to enable 

11 each State to—

12 ‘‘(1) carry out the Statewide transition initia13 tive described in subsection (d); and 

14 ‘‘(2) make subgrants described in subsection 

15 (e). 

16 ‘‘(b) ALLOTMENTS.—

17 ‘‘(1) FORMULA.—

18 ‘‘(A) RESERVATION FOR INDIAN TRIBES

19 AND TERRITORIES.—

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—From the amount 

21 appropriated under subsection (h) for a 

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

23 Secretary shall reserve—

24 ‘‘(I) not more than 3 percent for 

25 grants to Indian Tribes, consortia of 

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1 Indian Tribes, or Tribal organiza2 tions; and 

3 ‘‘(II) not more than 2 percent for 

4 grants to territories. 

5 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—In awarding 

6 grants under this subparagraph, the Sec7 retary—

8 ‘‘(I) shall not award a grant 

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

10 (i) for a fiscal year for which no In11 dian Tribe (or consortium of Indian 

12 Tribes) or Tribal organization, or ter13 ritory, respectively, submits a satisfac14 tory application for a grant under 

15 such subclause; 

16 ‘‘(II) shall require that any In17 dian Tribe, consortium, Tribal organi18 zation, or territory that receives a 

19 grant under this subparagraph pro20 vide an assurance of a partnership 

21 among relevant education, child wel22 fare, and homeless agencies or organi23 zations; and 

24 ‘‘(III) may determine any other 

25 requirements with respect to such 

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1 grants (including the allocation, appli2 cation, and use of fund requirements), 

3 which to the extent possible, shall be 

4 consistent with the requirements for 

5 States under this part, except that ap6 propriate adjustments shall be made 

7 based on the needs and size of popu8 lations served by the Indian Tribe, 

9 consortium, Tribal organization, or 

10 territory applying for the grant. 

11 ‘‘(B) RESERVATION FOR DEPARTMENT AC12 TIVITIES.—From the amount appropriated 

13 under subsection (h) for a fiscal year, the Sec14 retary may reserve—

15 ‘‘(i) not more than 7 percent to—

16 ‘‘(I) provide technical assistance, 

17 in consultation with the Secretary of 

18 Health and Human Services, to 

19 States carrying out activities under 

20 this section; and 

21 ‘‘(II) complete the evaluations re22 quired by subsection (g)(1); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) not more than 3 percent for ad24 ministrative expenses. 

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1 ‘‘(C) ALLOTMENTS.—From the amount 

2 appropriated under subsection (h) for fiscal 

3 year and remaining after the Secretary reserves 

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

5 Secretary shall allot to each State the greater 

6 of—

7 ‘‘(i) $500,000; or 

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

9 proportion to the remaining appropriated 

10 amount for such fiscal year as the number 

11 of foster youth and homeless youth in the 

12 State bears to the number of foster youth 

13 and homeless youth in all States. 

14 ‘‘(D) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the 

15 amount appropriated under subsection (h) for a 

16 fiscal year and remaining after the Secretary 

17 reserves funds under subparagraphs (A) and 

18 (B) is less than the amount required to be allot19 ted to States under subparagraph (C), then the 

20 amount of the allotment to each State shall be 

21 ratably reduced. 

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

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

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

25 for administrative expenses. 

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1 ‘‘(3) TEMPORARY INELIGIBILITY FOR SUBSE2 QUENT PAYMENTS.—

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

4 determine a State to be temporarily ineligible to 

5 receive a grant payment under this subsection 

6 for a fiscal year if—

7 ‘‘(i) the State fails to submit an an8 nual report under subsection (f) for the 

9 preceding fiscal year; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines, based 

11 on information in such annual report, that 

12 the State is not effectively—

13 ‘‘(I) meeting the outcomes de14 scribed in the application of such 

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

16 does not have a plan to improve the 

17 outcomes; 

18 ‘‘(II) monitoring and evaluating 

19 the activities under subsections (d) 

20 and (e); or 

21 ‘‘(III) using funds as required 

22 under subsections (d) and (e). 

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

24 determines that a State is ineligible under sub25 paragraph (A), the Secretary may enter into an 

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1 agreement with the State setting forth the 

2 terms and conditions under which the State 

3 may regain eligibility to receive payments under 

4 this section. 

5 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—

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

7 which a State desires an allotment under subsection 

8 (b), the State shall submit an application to the Sec9 retary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

10 the information described in paragraph (2). 

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

12 submitted under paragraph (1) shall include the fol13 lowing: 

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

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

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

17 to carry out such activities. 

18 ‘‘(C) A description of intended outcomes 

19 for such activities. 

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

21 and evaluate such activities, including how the 

22 State will use data to continually update and 

23 improve such activities. 

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

25 identified and recruited for participation in the 

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1 Statewide transition initiative under subsection 

2 (d). 

3 ‘‘(F) An estimate of the number and char4 acteristics of the populations targeted for par5 ticipation in the Statewide transition initiative 

6 under subsection (d) with attention to the di7 verse needs of homeless youth and foster youth 

8 in the State. 

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

10 coordinate services provided under the grant 

11 with services provided to foster youth and 

12 homeless youth under the McKinney-Vento 

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

14 seq.), the Elementary and Secondary Education 

15 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), and the 

16 Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (34 U.S.C. 

17 11201 et seq.), and other services provided to 

18 foster youth and homeless youth by the State. 

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

20 comply with subtitle B of title VII of the 

21 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

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

23 ‘‘(I) An assurance that the State will part24 ner with State educational agencies, local edu25 cational agencies, institutions of higher eduVerDate 0ct 09 2002 22:14 Sep 13, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1792.IS S1792
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1 cation, State and local child welfare authorities, 

2 and other relevant organizations that serve fos3 ter youth or homeless youth. 

4 ‘‘(J) An assurance that the State will sub5 mit the annual report required under subsection 

6 (f). 

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

8 funds awarded under this section. 

9 ‘‘(L) Such other information as the Sec10 retary may require. 

11 ‘‘(d) STATEWIDE TRANSITION INITIATIVE.—

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

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

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

15 a grant award under this section shall use not less 

16 than 25 percent of the funds to—

17 ‘‘(A) provide intensive outreach and sup18 port to foster youth and homeless youth to—

19 ‘‘(i) improve the understanding and 

20 preparation of such youth for enrollment in 

21 institutions of higher education; 

22 ‘‘(ii) increase the number of applica23 tions to institutions of higher education 

24 submitted by such youth; and 

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1 ‘‘(iii) increase the number of enroll2 ments of such youth at institutions of 

3 higher education; 

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

5 homeless youth with respect to—

6 ‘‘(i) the benefits and opportunities of 

7 postsecondary education; 

8 ‘‘(ii) planning for postsecondary edu9 cation; 

10 ‘‘(iii) financial aid opportunities for 

11 enrollment at an institution of higher edu12 cation; 

13 ‘‘(iv) the Federal and State services 

14 and benefits available to foster youth and 

15 homeless youth while enrolled at an insti16 tution of higher education, including health 

17 and mental health services; 

18 ‘‘(v) career exploration; and 

19 ‘‘(vi) financial literacy training, in20 cluding security from identity theft; 

21 ‘‘(C) assist foster youth and homeless 

22 youth with submitting applications for—

23 ‘‘(i) enrollment at an institution of 

24 higher education; 

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

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iii) scholarships available for such 

4 students, including under a State edu5 cational and training voucher program re6 ferred to in section 477(i) of the Social Se7 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 677(i)); and 

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

9 include free transportation to and from such 

10 programming, for foster youth and homeless 

11 youth to prepare such individuals socially and 

12 academically for the rigors of postsecondary 

13 education during the summer before such indi14 viduals first attend an institution of higher edu15 cation. 

16 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED CONSULTATION AND COORDI17 NATION.—In carrying out the activities described in 

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

19 with State educational agencies, local educational 

20 agencies, institutions of higher education, State and 

21 local child welfare authorities, and other relevant or22 ganizations that serve foster youth or homeless 

23 youth. 

24 ‘‘(e) SUBGRANTS TO CREATE INSTITUTIONS OF EX25 CELLENCE.—

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

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

3 shall, acting through the administering State agen4 cy, use not less than 70 percent of the funds to 

5 award, on a competitive basis, subgrants to eligible 

6 institutions to enable such institutions to become in7 stitutions of excellence by improving college access, 

8 retention, and completion rates for foster and home9 less youth as described in paragraph (3). 

10 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—

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

12 desiring a subgrant under this subsection shall 

13 submit an application to the State in which 

14 such eligible institution is located, at such time, 

15 in such manner, and containing such informa16 tion as the State may require. 

17 ‘‘(B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Each 

18 State receiving an allotment under this section 

19 shall provide outreach and technical assistance 

20 to eligible institutions with respect to applica21 tions for subgrants under this subsection. 

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

23 receives a subgrant under this subsection shall use 

24 the subgrant funds to carry out the following activi25 ties with respect to homeless youth and foster youth: 

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1 ‘‘(A) Provide flexibility and assistance in 

2 completing the application process to enroll at 

3 such institution. 

4 ‘‘(B) Coordinate programs with relevant 

5 on- and off-campus stakeholders to increase the 

6 enrollment of such youth at the institution and 

7 align services at the institution for such youth. 

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

9 such youth at such eligible institution to include 

10 the cost of housing during periods of non-enroll11 ment. 

12 ‘‘(D) Provide institutional aid to such stu13 dents to meet the cost of attendance that is not 

14 covered by other Federal or State educational 

15 grants. 

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

17 ensure that such youth are aware of housing re18 sources available during periods of non-enroll19 ment. 

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

21 associated with orientation and offer free trans22 portation to the orientation or move-in week at 

23 the eligible institution. 

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

25 one full-time staff member at the eligible instiVerDate 0ct 09 2002 22:14 Sep 13, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1792.IS S1792
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1 tution to serve as a point of contact to provide 

2 case management services and monthly face-to3 face meetings with students who are foster 

4 youth or homeless youth. Such individual shall 

5 have an advanced degree and at least two years 

6 of relevant experience. 

7 ‘‘(H) Establish or enhance campus support 

8 programs to provide such students with a wide9 range of on-campus services, including—

10 ‘‘(i) assistance with financial aid; 

11 ‘‘(ii) career advice; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) leadership development. 

13 ‘‘(I) Ensure the availability of robust stu14 dent physical and mental health services that 

15 meet the specific needs of foster youth and 

16 homeless youth. 

17 ‘‘(J) Establish or expand early alert sys18 tems to identify and support such students who 

19 may be struggling academically. 

20 ‘‘(K) Collect, review, and monitor data for 

21 program improvement. 

22 ‘‘(4) RELIANCE ON INSTITUTIONAL AID.—Any 

23 institutional aid provided to a student under para24 graph (3)(D) by an eligible institution during the pe25 riod of the institution’s subgrant under this subVerDate 0ct 09 2002 22:14 Sep 13, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1792.IS S1792
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1 section shall continue to be provided during the stu2 dent’s continuous enrollment at the institution, with3 out regard to whether the subgrant period ends dur4 ing such enrollment. 

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

6 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTERING STATE AGENCY.—

7 The term ‘administering State agency’ means a 

8 State agency—

9 ‘‘(i) designated by the Governor or ex10 ecutive of the State to administer the sub11 grants under this subsection; and 

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

13 has jurisdiction over—

14 ‘‘(I) foster youth; 

15 ‘‘(II) homeless youth; 

16 ‘‘(III) elementary and secondary 

17 education; or 

18 ‘‘(IV) higher education. 

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

20 ‘eligible institution’ means an institution of 

21 higher education—

22 ‘‘(i) that is in partnership with—

23 ‘‘(I) the State child welfare agen24 cy that is responsible for the adminis25 tration of the State plan under part B 

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1 or E of title IV of the Social Security 

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

3 seq.); and 

4 ‘‘(II) an organization that serves 

5 homeless youth (such as a youth shel6 ter or outreach program); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) that may partner with any other 

8 provider, agency, official, or entity that 

9 serves foster youth and homeless youth, or 

10 former foster youth and homeless youth. 

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

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

13 shall prepare and submit a report to the Secretary that 

14 includes—

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

16 out under this section; 

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

18 service; 

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

20 activity or service disaggregated by demographics; 

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

22 how the State—

23 ‘‘(A) improved access to higher education 

24 for foster youth and homeless youth; and 

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1 ‘‘(B) measured youth satisfaction with ac2 tivities carried out under this part; 

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

4 progress of the Statewide transition initiative under 

5 subsection (d), including challenges and changes 

6 made to the initiative throughout the preceding year; 

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

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

9 track to meet the intended outcomes described in the 

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

11 a description of how the State plans to meet such 

12 intended outcomes; and 

13 ‘‘(7) information on the eligible institutions re14 ceiving subgrants, including how such institutions 

15 used subgrant funds to carry out the activities de16 scribed in subsection (e)(3). 

17 ‘‘(g) DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES.—

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

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

20 and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall evaluate 

21 recipients of allotments and subgrants under this 

22 section. The results of such evaluations shall be 

23 made publicly available on the website of the De24 partment. 

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

2 year after the date on which funds are first allotted 

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

4 Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that in5 cludes—

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

7 subsection (b); 

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

9 subsection (e); and 

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

11 such report is made, the results of the evalua12 tions under paragraph (1). 

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

14 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2018 and each of the 5 suc16 ceeding fiscal years.’’.

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