I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2953 

To require States to take certain additional steps to assist children in foster 

care in making the transition to independent living, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011 

Mr. LANGEVIN (for himself and Mr. STARK) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To require States to take certain additional steps to assist 

children in foster care in making the transition to independent living, 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 ‘‘Foster Youth Financial 

5 Security Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT THAT STATES TAKE CERTAIN ADDI7 TIONAL STEPS TO ASSIST CHILDREN IN FOS8 TER CARE IN MAKING THE TRANSITION TO 

9 INDEPENDENT LIVING. 

10 (a) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 477(b)(2) of the So2 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677(b)(2)) is amended 

3 by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(G) With respect to each child in foster 

5 care under the responsibility of the State— 

6 ‘‘(i) within 6 months after the first 

7 case review of the case of the child, and 

8 annually thereafter, obtain from each con9 sumer reporting agency (as defined in sec10 tion 603(p) of the Fair Credit Reporting 

11 Act) any consumer report (as defined in 

12 section 603(d) of such Act) on the child, 

13 share the report with the child and the at14 torney and guardian ad litem of the child, 

15 and assist the child in resolving any inac16 curacy in the report; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) if the child has attained 14 years 

18 of age— 

19 ‘‘(I) assist the child in preparing 

20 to obtain, and in obtaining (as appro21 priate and in accordance with State 

22 law), a learner’s permit and a license 

23 to operate a motor vehicle; 

24 ‘‘(II) if the child has obtained a 

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1 sist the child in obtaining automobile 

2 insurance; 

3 ‘‘(III) assist the child in applying 

4 to, attending, securing financial aid 

5 for, and completing a postsecondary 

6 education or vocational training pro7 gram; 

8 ‘‘(IV) help determine if the child 

9 is eligible or potentially eligible for a 

10 Federal or State benefit, inform the 

11 child of the eligibility or potential eli12 gibility, and assist the child in apply13 ing for any such benefit and in ap14 pealing any denial of any such benefit; 

15 ‘‘(V) establish and manage an in16 dividual development account for the 

17 child using funds provided under this 

18 section, in accordance with subsection 

19 (k); 

20 ‘‘(VI) assist the child, and the 

21 foster parents or kinship care pro22 viders (or, if the child has been placed 

23 with a biological parent or other pro24 spective parent or guardian, the bio25 logical parent or other such parent or 


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1 guardian) of the child in becoming 

2 educated about youth independence fi3 nancial matters, especially matters re4 lating to the successful transition of 

5 the child to independent living, by 

6 providing education in budgeting and 

7 financial management, applying for 

8 credit (especially student loans), job 

9 readiness, obtaining health care and 

10 health insurance, and obtaining and 

11 maintaining affordable and stable 

12 housing, with the goal of enabling the 

13 child, as an adult, to attain stable 

14 housing and employment, avoid de15 pendence on government assistance, 

16 and achieve financial self-sufficiency; 

17 ‘‘(VII) ensure that the child has 

18 a State-issued identification card; 

19 ‘‘(VIII) assist the child in open20 ing a personal bank account; and 

21 ‘‘(IX) ensure that the child is 

22 provided with information on access23 ing health care after the child exits 

24 from foster care.’’. 


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1 (2) INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNTS.— 

2 Section 477 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 677) is amended 

3 by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(k) INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual development 

6 account is established and managed in accordance 

7 with this subsection if the account is a trust created 

8 or organized in the United States exclusively for the 

9 purpose of paying the qualified expenses of an eligi10 ble individual, or enabling an eligible individual to 

11 make an emergency withdrawal, but only if the writ12 ten governing instrument creating the trust contains 

13 the following requirements: 

14 ‘‘(A) No contribution will be accepted un15 less the contribution is in cash or by check. 

16 ‘‘(B) The trustee is a federally insured fi17 nancial institution, or a State insured financial 

18 institution if no federally insured financial insti19 tution is available. 

20 ‘‘(C) The assets of the trust will be in21 vested in accordance with the direction of the 

22 individual after consultation with the qualified 

23 entity authorized to make deposits into the ac24 count. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The assets of the trust will not be 

2 commingled with other property except in a 

3 common trust fund or common investment 

4 fund. 

5 ‘‘(E) Except as provided in subparagraph 

6 (F), any amount in the trust that is attrib7 utable to a deposit made by a qualified entity 

8 may be paid or distributed out of the trust only 

9 for the purpose of paying the qualified expenses 

10 of the individual. 

11 ‘‘(F) Any balance in the trust on the day 

12 after the date on which the individual for whose 

13 benefit the trust is established dies shall be dis14 tributed within 30 days after that date as di15 rected by that individual to another individual 

16 development account established for the benefit 

17 of another individual. 

18 ‘‘(2) CUSTODIAL ACCOUNTS.—For purposes of 

19 this subsection, a custodial account shall be treated 

20 as a trust if the assets of the custodial account are 

21 held by a bank (as defined in section 408(n) of the 

22 Internal Revenue Code of 1986) or another person 

23 who demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Sec24 retary, that the manner in which the person will ad25 minister the custodial account will be consistent with 


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1 the requirements of this subsection, and if the custo2 dial account would, except for the fact that it is not 

3 a trust, constitute an individual development account 

4 described in paragraph (1) of this subsection. For 

5 purposes of this subsection, in the case of a custo6 dial account treated as a trust by reason of the pre7 ceding sentence, the custodian of the account shall 

8 be treated as the trustee of the account. 

9 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—In this sub10 section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means an indi11 vidual who— 

12 ‘‘(A) has attained 14 years of age; and 

13 ‘‘(B) is in foster care or a kinship guard14 ianship arrangement, or has been adopted. 

15 ‘‘(4) EMERGENCY WITHDRAWAL.—In paragraph 

16 (1), the term ‘emergency withdrawal’ means, with 

17 respect to an individual development account, a 

18 withdrawal by the individual for whose benefit the 

19 trust is established, that— 

20 ‘‘(A) is of funds deposited by the individual 

21 in the account; 

22 ‘‘(B) is permitted on a case-by-case basis 

23 by a qualified entity authorized to make depos24 its into the account; and 

25 ‘‘(C) is made for— 


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1 ‘‘(i) expenses for medical care or nec2 essary to obtain medical care, for the indi3 vidual, the spouse of the individual, or a 

4 dependent of the individual with respect to 

5 whom the individual is allowed a deduction 

6 under section 151 of the Internal Revenue 

7 Code of 1986; 

8 ‘‘(ii) payments necessary to prevent 

9 the eviction of the individual from the resi10 dence of the individual, or foreclosure on 

11 the mortgage for the principal residence of 

12 the individual; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) payments necessary to enable 

14 the individual to meet necessary living ex15 penses following loss of employment. 

16 ‘‘(5) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ’qualified 

17 entity’ means— 

18 ‘‘(A) 1 or more not-for-profit organizations 

19 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 

20 Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax21 ation under section 501(a) of such Code; 

22 ‘‘(B) a State or unit of local government; 

23 ‘‘(C) an entity which has entered into an 

24 agreement with a State or unit of local govern25 ment under which the entity is to provide for 


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1 individual development accounts for eligible 

2 children or children making the transition to 

3 independent living; or 

4 ‘‘(D) an entity that— 

5 ‘‘(i) is— 

6 ‘‘(I) a credit union designated as 

7 a low-income credit union by the Na8 tional Credit Union Administration 

9 (NCUA); or 

10 ‘‘(II) an organization designated 

11 as a community development financial 

12 institution by the Secretary of the 

13 Treasury (or the Community Develop14 ment Financial Institutions Fund); 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) can demonstrate a collaborative 

17 relationship with a local community-based 

18 organization whose activities are designed 

19 to address poverty in the community and 

20 the needs of community members for eco21 nomic independence and stability. 

22 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED EXPENSES.—The term ‘quali23 fied expenses’ means any of the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) HOUSING EXPENSES.—Expenses to 

25 secure and maintain safe and decent housing. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES.—Edu2 cational expenses paid from an individual devel3 opment account directly to an eligible edu4 cational institution. In this subparagraph: 

5 ‘‘(i) EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES.—The 

6 term ‘educational expenses’ means the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(I) TUITION AND FEES.—Tui9 tion and fees required for the enroll10 ment or attendance of a student at an 

11 eligible educational institution. 

12 ‘‘(II) FEES, BOOKS, SUPPLIES, 

13 AND EQUIPMENT.—Fees, books, sup14 plies, and equipment required for 

15 courses of instruction at an eligible 

16 educational institution. 

17 ‘‘(ii) ELIGIBLE EDUCATIONAL INSTI18 TUTION.—The term ‘eligible educational 

19 institution’ means the following: 

20 ‘‘(I) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—A 

21 secondary school (as defined in section 

22 9101 of the Elementary and Sec23 ondary Education Act of 1965). 


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1 ‘‘(II) VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

2 SCHOOL.—A school that provides vo3 cational education. 

4 ‘‘(III) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER

5 EDUCATION.—An institution described 

6 in section 101 or 102 of the Higher 

7 Education Act of 1965. 

8 ‘‘(IV) POSTSECONDARY VOCA9 TIONAL EDUCATION SCHOOL.—An 

10 area vocational education school (as 

11 defined in subparagraph (C) or (D) of 

12 section 521(4) of the Carl D. Perkins 

13 Vocational and Applied Technology 

14 Education Act) which is in any State 

15 (as defined in section 521(33) of such 

16 Act). 

17 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYMENT EXPENSES.—Amounts 

18 paid from an individual development account to 

19 enable an eligible individual to operate a busi20 ness, purchase clothing or supplies necessary to 

21 become or remain employed, or purchase, main22 tain, or repair a motor vehicle (including insur23 ance).’’. 


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1 (b) STATE EVALUATIONS.—Section 477(g) of such 

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 677(g)) is amended by adding at the end 

3 the following: 

4 ‘‘(3) STATE EVALUATIONS OF SPECIFIC SERV5 ICES PROVIDED TO ASSIST THE TRANSITION TO

6 INDEPENDENT LIVING.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Within 3 months after 

8 the end of each fiscal year for which a State re9 ceives funds made available under subsection 

10 (h)(3), the State shall conduct an evaluation of 

11 the uses to which the funds are put, and the ef12 fects of so using the funds, during the fiscal 

13 year. 

14 ‘‘(B) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall re15 serve 5 percent of the amount specified in sub16 section (h)(3) for a fiscal year for grants to 

17 States for evaluations referred to in subpara18 graph (A) of this paragraph.’’. 

19 (c) ELIMINATION OF USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY

20 NUMBER AS IDENTIFIER FOR FOSTER CHILD.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a) of such Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para24 graph (32); 


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1 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

2 paragraph (33) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(34) beginning 1 year after the date of the en5 actment of this paragraph, provides for use of proce6 dures and practices to eliminate the use of the social 

7 security account number of a child who is in foster 

8 care under the responsibility of the State as an iden9 tifier for the child.’’. 

10 (2) DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE SOCIAL

11 SECURITY NUMBERS FOR TAX RETURNS.—The Com12 missioner of Internal Revenue shall develop, not 

13 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

14 this Act a process for the assignment of alternative 

15 taxpayer identification numbers for foster children 

16 for use in tax returns in a manner similar to those 

17 used in the case of adopted children. 

18 (d) FUNDING.—Section 477(h) of the Social Security 

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 677(h)) is amended— 

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

21 (1); 

22 (2) by striking the period at the end of para23 graph (2) and inserting a semicolon; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(3) an additional $45,000,000, which are au2 thorized to be available to enable States to carry out 

3 the State plan requirements described in subsection 

4 (b)(2)(G); and 

5 ‘‘(4) an additional $5,000,000, which are au6 thorized to be available to the Secretary for a grant 

7 to a national coalition or consortium of private, non8 profit organizations and other organizations focused 

9 on the needs of transitioning foster youth, in con10 sultation with individual organizations experienced 

11 in addressing service delivery, legal issues, and fi12 nancial asset management issues, and identity safe13 guarding issues related to youth, for the develop14 ment of materials, technical assistance, and other 

15 support to State foster care agencies to aid in the 

16 implementation of subsection (b)(2)(G).’’. 

17 (e) ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY.—Section 

18 477 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 677), as amended by sub19 section (a)(2) of this section, is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following: 

21 ‘‘(l) STATE REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY.—Within 

22 3 months after the end of each fiscal year, each State to 

23 which a grant is made under subsection (h)(1)(B) for a 

24 fiscal year shall submit to the Secretary a report on— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the number of children for whom the State 

2 obtained a consumer report pursuant to subsection 

3 (b)(2)(G)(i) during the fiscal year, and the number 

4 of such children whose report contained a discrep5 ancy; and 

6 ‘‘(2) the total number of children provided serv7 ices pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(G) during the fis8 cal year, the nature of the services so provided, and 

9 the effects of the provision of financial security and 

10 financial management services on the competence of 

11 the children in such matters.’’. 

12 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

15 shall take effect on October 1, 2011, and shall apply 

16 to payments under part E of title IV of the Social 

17 Security Act for quarters beginning on or after such 

18 date. 

19 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

20 REQUIRED.—In the case of a State plan approved 

21 under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 

22 which the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

23 determines requires State legislation (other than leg24 islation appropriating funds) in order for the plan to 

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1 section (a), the State plan shall not be regarded as 

2 failing to comply with the requirements solely on the 

3 basis of the failure of the plan to meet such addi4 tional requirements before the 1st day of the 1st cal5 endar quarter beginning after the close of the 1st 

6 regular session of the State legislature that ends 

7 after the 1-year period beginning with the date spec8 ified in paragraph (1) of this subsection. For pur9 poses of the preceding sentence, in the case of a 

10 State that has a 2-year legislative session, each year 

11 of the session is deemed to be a separate regular 

12 session of the State legislature. 

13 SEC. 3. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR CHILD WELFARE 

14 AGENCIES. 

15 On request of a State agency responsible for admin16 istering, or supervising the administration of, a State pro17 gram authorized by part E of title IV of the Social Secu18 rity Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

19 in consultation with the Chairman of the Federal Trade 

20 Commission with respect to matters pertaining to trans21 actional security, shall provide the State agency with tech22 nical assistance in carrying out the amendments made by 

23 this Act, and may award grants to and enter into con24 tracts with qualified non-profit or other community-based 


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1 service providers with substantive expertise to provide the 

2 assistance. 

Æ 


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