I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7010 

To provide an incentive for States to extend child welfare support and services 

for youth through 21 years of age, and to allow youth to re-enter 

foster care after attaining 18 years of age, both without regard to 

the AFDC eligibility of their parents or legal guardians, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 17, 2024 

Ms. CHU (for herself and Mrs. HOUCHIN) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To provide an incentive for States to extend child welfare 

support and services for youth through 21 years of age, 

and to allow youth to re-enter foster care after attaining 

18 years of age, both without regard to the AFDC eligibility of their parents or legal guardians, 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 ‘‘Increasing Access to 

5 Foster Care Through Age 21 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds that each additional year in ex3 tended foster care has— 

4 (1) significantly increased the probability that 

5 youth completed a high school credential by approxi6 mately 8 percent; 

7 (2) increased their expected probability of en8 rolling in college by between 10 percent and 11 per9 cent; 

10 (3) increased the number of quarters that youth 

11 have been employed between their 18th and 21st 

12 birthdays; 

13 (4) increased the amount of money youth have 

14 had in bank accounts by an average of approxi15 mately $404; 

16 (5) increased the odds that youth have de17 scribed a professional as a source of social support; 

18 (6) significantly decreased the amount of money 

19 youth have received in need-based public food assist20 ance by an average of more than $700; 

21 (7) decreased the odds of having experienced an 

22 additional economic hardship between the ages of 17 

23 and 21 by approximately 12 percent; 

24 (8) decreased the odds of being homeless or 

25 couch-surfing between the ages of 17 and 21 by ap26 proximately 28 percent; 


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1 (9) decreased the odds that youth have become 

2 pregnant or impregnated a female between the ages 

3 of 17 and 21 by approximately 28 percent; and 

4 (10) decreased the odds that youth have been 

5 arrested between the ages of 17 and 21 by approxi6 mately 41 percent and decreased the odds that 

7 youth have been convicted of a crime during the 

8 same period by approximately 40 percent. 

9 SEC. 3. EXTENDED CHILD WELFARE SUPPORT AND SERV10 ICES FOR YOUTH TRANSITIONING FROM FOS11 TER CARE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 475(8) of the Social Secu13 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 675(8)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘subparagraphs (B) and (C)’’; 

16 (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(B) At the option of the State and youth in19 volved, the term shall include a youth who is in fos20 ter care under the responsibility of the State.’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) The term shall include a youth— 

23 ‘‘(i)(I) with respect to whom an adoption 

24 assistance agreement is in effect under section 


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1 473 if the youth had attained 16 years of age 

2 before the agreement became effective; or 

3 ‘‘(II) with respect to whom a kinship 

4 guardianship assistance agreement is in effect 

5 under section 473(d) if the youth had attained 

6 16 years of age before the agreement became 

7 effective; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) who has not attained 19, 20, 21, or 

9 22 years of age, as the State may elect. 

10 ‘‘(D) In this paragraph, the term ‘youth’ means 

11 an individual— 

12 ‘‘(i) who has attained 18 years of age; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) who has not attained 22 years of 

14 age.’’. 

15 (b) GUIDANCE AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

16 Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide 

17 guidance and technical assistance to States on best prac18 tices for outreach to youth who are newly eligible for serv19 ices as a result of the enactment of this section. 

20 SEC. 4. PROMOTING THE RE-ENTRY OF YOUTH INTO EX21 TENDED FOSTER CARE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a) of the Social Secu23 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

25 (36); 


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1 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

2 (37); and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(38) if the State exercises the option provided 

5 for in section 475(8), shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) permit any youth who has attained 

7 18 years of age and meets the requirements of 

8 section 475(8)(C) to voluntarily re-enter foster 

9 care; and 

10 ‘‘(B) facilitate the voluntary return of any 

11 such youth to foster care.’’. 

12 (b) GUIDANCE AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

13 Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide 

14 guidance and technical assistance to States on best prac15 tices for outreach to youth who have left foster care and 

16 are otherwise eligible for re-entry into foster care. 

17 SEC. 5. PROVIDING FOR STATES TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES 

18 FOR TRANSITION-AGED YOUTH AND YOUNG 

19 ADULTS. 

20 Section 472(a)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 672(a)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘except in 

22 the case of a youth who has attained 18 years of age and 

23 meets the requirements of section 475(8)(C),’’ before ‘‘the 

24 child’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by this 

3 Act shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st fiscal year 

4 beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this 

5 Act, and shall apply to payments under part E of title 

6 IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters begin7 ning on or after such date. 

8 (b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE9 QUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

10 determines that State legislation (other than legislation 

11 appropriating funds) is required in order for a State plan 

12 developed pursuant to part E of title IV of the Social Se13 curity Act to meet the additional requirements imposed 

14 by the amendments made by this Act, the plan shall not 

15 be regarded as failing to meet any of the additional re16 quirements before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter 

17 beginning after the first regular session of the State legis18 lature that begins after the date of the enactment of this 

19 Act. For purposes of the preceding sentence, if the State 

20 has a 2-year legislative session, each year of the session 

21 is deemed to be a separate regular session of the State 

22 legislature. 

23 SEC. 7. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. 

24 Within 90 days after the date of the enactment of 

25 this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

26 through the Administration for Children and Families, 


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1 shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, develop 

2 and issue guidance to State and local agencies operating 

3 a program under a State plan approved under part E of 

4 title IV of the Social Security Act on how case workers 

5 can connect youth eligible for foster care by reason of an 

6 amendment made by section 3 or 4 of this Act to work7 force development programs under title I of the Workforce 

8 Innovation and Opportunity Act. 

Æ 


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