II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 420 

To support the establishment or expansion and operation of programs using 

a network of public and private community entities to provide mentoring 

for children in foster care. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2011 

Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself, Mr. BEGICH, and Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To support the establishment or expansion and operation 

of programs using a network of public and private community entities to provide mentoring for children in foster care. 

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 ‘‘Foster Care Mentoring 

5 Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Research shows that caring adults can 

2 make a difference in children’s lives. Forty-five per3 cent of mentored teens are less likely to use drugs. 

4 Fifty-nine percent of mentored teens have better 

5 academic performance. Seventy-three percent of 

6 mentored teens achieve higher goals generally. 

7 (2) Children that have mentors have better re8 lationships with adults, fewer disciplinary referrals, 

9 and more confidence to achieve their goals. 

10 (3) In 2009, 423,773 children were in foster 

11 care. Of those children, 65,888 were between the 

12 ages of 10 and 13, and 133,680 were between the 

13 ages of 14 and 18. 

14 (4) States should be encouraged to incorporate 

15 mentor programs into the delivery of their foster 

16 care services. 

17 (5) Mentor programs that serve foster children 

18 are unique and require additional considerations, in19 cluding specialized training and support necessary to 

20 provide for consistent, long-term relationships for 

21 children in care. 

22 (6) Mentor programs are cost-effective ap23 proaches to decreasing the occurrence of so many so24 cial ills such as teen pregnancy, substance abuse, in25 carceration, and violence. 


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1 SEC. 3. PROGRAMS FOR MENTORING CHILDREN IN FOSTER 

2 CARE. 

3 Subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 629 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

5 end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 440. PROGRAMS FOR MENTORING CHILDREN IN FOS7 TER CARE. 

8 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

9 authorize the Secretary to make grants to eligible appli10 cants to support the establishment or expansion and oper11 ation of programs using a network of public and private 

12 community entities to provide mentoring for children in 

13 foster care. 

14 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.—The term 

16 ‘children in foster care’ means children who have 

17 been removed from the custody of their biological or 

18 adoptive parents by a State child welfare agency. 

19 ‘‘(2) MENTORING.—The term ‘mentoring’ 

20 means a structured, managed program— 

21 ‘‘(A) in which children are appropriately 

22 matched with screened and trained adult volun23 teers for one-on-one relationships; 

24 ‘‘(B) that involves meetings and activities 

25 on a regular basis; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) that is intended to meet, in part, the 

2 child’s need for involvement with a caring and 

3 supportive adult who provides a positive role 

4 model. 

5 ‘‘(3) POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.—The term ‘polit6 ical subdivision’ means a local jurisdiction below the 

7 level of the State government, including a county, 

8 parish, borough, or city. 

9 ‘‘(c) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

11 out a program to award grants to States to support 

12 the establishment or expansion and operation of pro13 grams using networks of public and private commu14 nity entities to provide mentoring for children in fos15 ter care. 

16 ‘‘(2) GRANTS TO POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.— 

17 The Secretary may award a grant under this sub18 section directly to a political subdivision if the sub19 division serves a substantial number of foster care 

20 youth (as determined by the Secretary). 

21 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—To be eli22 gible for a grant under paragraph (1), the chief ex23 ecutive officer of the State or political subdivision 

24 shall submit to the Secretary an application con25 taining the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) PROGRAM DESIGN.—A description of 

2 the proposed program to be carried out using 

3 amounts provided under this grant, including— 

4 ‘‘(i) a list of local public and private 

5 organizations and entities that will partici6 pate in the mentoring network; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the name, description, and quali8 fications of the entity that will coordinate 

9 and oversee the activities of the mentoring 

10 network; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the number of mentor-child 

12 matches proposed to be established and 

13 maintained annually under the program; 

14 ‘‘(iv) such information as the Sec15 retary may require concerning the methods 

16 to be used to recruit, screen, support, and 

17 oversee individuals participating as men18 tors, (which methods shall include criminal 

19 background checks on the individuals), and 

20 to evaluate outcomes for participating chil21 dren, including information necessary to 

22 demonstrate compliance with requirements 

23 established by the Secretary for the pro24 gram; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) such other information as the 

2 Secretary may require. 

3 ‘‘(B) TRAINING.—An assurance that all 

4 mentors covered under the program will receive 

5 intensive and ongoing training in the following 

6 areas: 

7 ‘‘(i) Child development, including the 

8 importance of bonding. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Family dynamics, including the 

10 effects of domestic violence. 

11 ‘‘(iii) The foster care system and fos12 ter care principles and practices. 

13 ‘‘(iv) Recognizing and reporting child 

14 abuse and neglect. 

15 ‘‘(v) Confidentiality requirements for 

16 working with children in foster care. 

17 ‘‘(vi) Working in coordination with the 

18 public school system. 

19 ‘‘(vii) Other matters related to work20 ing with children in foster care. 

21 ‘‘(C) SCREENING.—An assurance that all 

22 mentors covered under the program are appro23 priately screened and have demonstrated a will24 ingness to comply with all aspects of the mentor 

25 program, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a description of the methods to be 

2 used to conduct criminal background 

3 checks on all prospective mentors; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) a description of the methods to 

5 be used to ensure that the mentors are 

6 willing and able to serve as a mentor on a 

7 long-term, consistent basis. 

8 ‘‘(D) EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—An 

9 assurance that all mentors recruited to serve as 

10 academic mentors will— 

11 ‘‘(i) have a secondary school diploma 

12 or its recognized equivalent; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) have completed not less than 1 

14 year of study in a program leading to a 

15 baccalaureate, graduate, or postgraduate 

16 degree. 

17 ‘‘(E) COMMUNITY CONSULTATION; COORDI18 NATION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS.—A dem19 onstration that, in developing and implementing 

20 the program, the State or political subdivision 

21 will, to the extent feasible and appropriate— 

22 ‘‘(i) consult with— 

23 ‘‘(I) public and private commu24 nity entities, including religious orga25 nizations, and including, as approVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:24 Mar 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S420.IS S420

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1 priate, Indian tribal organizations and 

2 urban Indian organizations; and 

3 ‘‘(II) family members of children 

4 who may be potential clients of the 

5 program; 

6 ‘‘(ii) coordinate the program and ac7 tivities under the program with other Fed8 eral, State, and local programs serving 

9 children and youth; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) consult and coordinate with ap11 propriate Federal, State, and local correc12 tions, workforce development, and sub13 stance abuse and mental health agencies. 

14 ‘‘(F) EQUAL ACCESS FOR LOCAL SERVICE

15 PROVIDERS.—An assurance that public and pri16 vate entities and community organizations, in17 cluding religious organizations and Indian orga18 nizations, will be eligible to participate on an 

19 equal basis. 

20 ‘‘(G) RECORDS, REPORTS, AND AUDITS.— 

21 An agreement that the State or political sub22 division will maintain such records, make such 

23 reports, and cooperate with such reviews or au24 dits as the Secretary may find necessary for 


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1 purposes of oversight of project activities and 

2 expenditures. 

3 ‘‘(H) EVALUATION.—An agreement that 

4 the State or political subdivision will cooperate 

5 fully with the Secretary’s ongoing and final 

6 evaluation of the program under the plan, by 

7 means including providing the Secretary access 

8 to the program, the program’s staff, program9 related records and documents, and each public 

10 or private community entity receiving funding 

11 under the plan. 

12 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A grant for a program 

14 under this subsection shall be available to pay 

15 a percentage share of the costs of the program 

16 of not more than 75 percent for each year for 

17 which the grant is awarded. 

18 ‘‘(B) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non19 Federal share of the cost of projects under this 

20 subsection may be in cash or in kind. In deter21 mining the amount of the non-Federal share, 

22 the Secretary may attribute fair market value 

23 to goods, services, and facilities contributed 

24 from non-Federal sources. 


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1 ‘‘(5) CONSIDERATIONS IN AWARDING

2 GRANTS.—In awarding grants under this subsection, 

3 the Secretary shall take into consideration— 

4 ‘‘(A) the overall qualifications and capacity 

5 of the State or political subdivision program 

6 and its partners to effectively carry out a men7 toring program under this subsection; 

8 ‘‘(B) the level and quality of training pro9 vided to mentors under the program; 

10 ‘‘(C) evidence of coordination of the pro11 gram with the social services and education pro12 grams of the State or political subdivision; 

13 ‘‘(D) the ability of the State or political 

14 subdivision to provide supervision and support 

15 for mentors under the program and the youth 

16 served by such mentors; 

17 ‘‘(E) evidence of consultation with institu18 tions of higher learning; 

19 ‘‘(F) the number of children in foster care 

20 served by the State or political subdivision; and 

21 ‘‘(G) any other factors that the Secretary 

22 determines to be significant with respect to the 

23 need for or the potential success of carrying out 

24 a mentoring program under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(6) USE OF FUNDS.—Of the amount awarded 

2 to a State or political subdivision under a grant 

3 under this subsection, the State or political subdivi4 sion shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) use not less than 50 percent of the 

6 total grant amount for the training and ongoing 

7 educational support of mentors; and 

8 ‘‘(B) use not more than 10 percent of the 

9 total grant amount for administrative purposes. 

10 ‘‘(7) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants 

12 under this subsection, the Secretary shall con13 sider the number of children served by the ju14 risdiction and the grant amount relative to the 

15 need for services. 

16 ‘‘(B) LIMIT.—The amount of a grant 

17 awarded to a State or political subdivision 

18 under this subsection shall not exceed 

19 $600,000. 

20 ‘‘(8) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

21 after the date of enactment of the Foster Care Men22 toring Act of 2011, and annually thereafter, the Sec23 retary shall prepare and submit to Congress a report 

24 that includes the following with respect to the year 

25 involved: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A description of the number of pro2 grams receiving grant awards under this sub3 section. 

4 ‘‘(B) A description of the number of men5 tors who serve in the programs described in 

6 subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(C) A description of— 

8 ‘‘(i) the number of mentored children 

9 in foster care who graduate from sec10 ondary school; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the number of such children who 

12 enroll in institutions of higher learning; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(iii) the number of such children who 

15 are adopted by their mentors. 

16 ‘‘(D) Any other information that the Sec17 retary determines to be relevant to the evalua18 tion of the program under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(9) EVALUATION.—Not later than 3 years 

20 after the date of enactment of the Foster Care Men21 toring Act of 2011, the Secretary shall conduct an 

22 evaluation of the effectiveness of programs funded 

23 under this section, including a comparison between 

24 the rate of drug and alcohol abuse, teenage preg25 nancy, delinquency, homelessness, and other outVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:24 Mar 01, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S420.IS S420

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1 come measures for mentored youth in foster care 

2 and non-mentored youth in foster care. 

3 ‘‘(10) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this subsection— 

6 ‘‘(A) $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

7 2012 and 2013; and 

8 ‘‘(B) such sums as may be necessary for 

9 each succeeding fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL COORDINATION OF STATEWIDE

11 MENTORING PARTNERSHIPS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award 

13 a competitive grant to an eligible entity to establish 

14 a national hotline service or Web site to provide in15 formation to individuals who are interested in be16 coming mentors to youth in foster care. 

17 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

19 this subsection— 

20 ‘‘(A) $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

21 2012 and 2013; and 

22 ‘‘(B) such sums as may be necessary for 

23 each succeeding fiscal year. 

24 ‘‘(e) LOAN FORGIVENESS.— 

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


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1 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE MENTOR.—The term ‘eligi2 ble mentor’ means an individual who has served 

3 as a mentor in a mentor program established 

4 under subsection (c) for at least 200 hours in 

5 a single calendar year. 

6 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN.—The 

7 term ‘Federal student loan’ means any loan 

8 made, insured, or guaranteed under part B, D, 

9 or E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

10 1965. 

11 ‘‘(C) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

12 means the Secretary of Education. 

13 ‘‘(2) RELIEF FROM INDEBTEDNESS.— 

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

15 carry out a program to provide for the dis16 charge or cancellation of the Federal student 

17 loan indebtedness of an eligible mentor. 

18 ‘‘(B) METHOD OF DISCHARGE OR CAN19 CELLATION.—The amount of a Federal student 

20 loan that will be discharged or canceled under 

21 the program under subparagraph (A) shall be 

22 discharged or canceled as provided for using the 

23 method under section 437(a), 455(a)(1), or 

24 464(c)(1)(F) of the Higher Education Act of 

25 1965, as applicable. 


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1 ‘‘(C) AMOUNT OF RELIEF.—The amount of 

2 relief to be provided under this subsection with 

3 respect to a Federal student loan shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) be equal to $2,000 for each 200 

5 hours of service that the eligible mentor 

6 serves in a mentor program established 

7 under subsection (c) in a calendar year; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) not exceed a total of $10,000 for 

10 an eligible mentor. 

11 ‘‘(3) FACILITATION OF CLAIMS.—The Secretary 

12 shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) establish procedures for the filing of 

14 applications for the discharge or cancellation of 

15 loans under this subsection by regulations that 

16 shall be prescribed and published within 90 

17 days after the date of enactment of this section 

18 and without regard to the requirements of sec19 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; and 

20 ‘‘(B) take such actions as may be nec21 essary to publicize the availability of the pro22 gram established under this subsection for eligi23 ble mentors. 

24 ‘‘(4) FUNDING.—Amounts available for the pur25 poses of making payments to lenders in accordance 


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1 with section 437(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

2 1965 for the discharge of indebtedness of deceased 

3 or disabled individuals shall be available for making 

4 payments to lenders of loans to eligible mentors, as 

5 provided for in this subsection.’’. 

Æ 


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