I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3083 

To support the establishment or expansion and operation of programs using 

a network of public and private community entities to provide mentoring 

for children and youth with experience in foster care. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 11, 2021 

Ms. BASS (for herself, Mr. BACON, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, and Mr. 

MULLIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

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 and 

youth with experience 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 Youth Men5 toring Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Positive relationships are important for chil2 dren and youth. An estimated 20 percent of youth 

3 do not have caring adults in their lives—rep4 resenting 8,500,000 youth. Children who have a 

5 positive caring relationship with an adult can also 

6 benefit from additional positive relationships. 

7 (2) Research shows that mentors make a dif8 ference in young people’s lives. At-risk youth who 

9 have mentors are 55 percent more likely to enroll in 

10 college. Students who meet regularly with their men11 tors are 52 percent less likely than their peers to 

12 skip a day of school. Youth who have mentors are 

13 also 130 percent more likely to hold a leadership po14 sition. 

15 (3) Young people that have mentors have im16 proved relationships with adults, fewer disciplinary 

17 referrals, and more confidence to achieve their goals. 

18 (4) In 2017, 442,995 youth were in foster care. 

19 Of those youth 70,858 were between the ages of 10 

20 and 13, and 101,983 were between the ages of 14 

21 and 20. 

22 (5) Mentoring programs that serve foster youth 

23 are unique and require additional considerations, in24 cluding specialized training and support necessary to 


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1 provide for consistent, long-term relationships for 

2 children in foster care. 

3 (6) Mentoring programs can be used as an ef4 fective preventative or intervention strategy to sup5 port positive outcomes for foster youth. 

6 (7) Mentoring programs targeting at-risk 

7 youth, community-based programs, and programs 

8 lasting 1 year or more are more frequently found to 

9 be effective. 

10 (8) Increasing evidence is showing that peer 

11 mentoring and support can be very effective in en12 gaging young people. Alumni of and youth in foster 

13 care have noted the importance of the support and 

14 service delivery by individuals with lived experience, 

15 including peers. 

16 SEC. 3. PROGRAMS FOR MENTORING CHILDREN IN FOSTER 

17 CARE. 

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

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

20 end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 439A. PROGRAMS FOR MENTORING CHILDREN IN 

22 FOSTER CARE AND YOUTH WITH EXPERI23 ENCE IN FOSTER CARE. 

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

25 authorize the Secretary to make grants to eligible appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3083.IH H3083

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1 cants to support the establishment or expansion and oper2 ation of programs using a network of public and private 

3 community entities to provide mentoring for children in 

4 foster care and children with experience in foster care. 

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

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

7 ‘children in foster care’ means children who have 

8 been removed from the custody of their biological or 

9 adoptive parents by a State or tribal child welfare 

10 agency. 

11 ‘‘(2) CHILDREN WITH EXPERIENCE IN FOSTER

12 CARE.—The term ‘children with experience in foster 

13 care’ means children, youth, and adults who have 

14 not attained 26 years of age and who, at any time, 

15 were removed from the custody of their biological or 

16 adoptive parents by a State or tribal child welfare 

17 agency. 

18 ‘‘(3) MENTORING.—The term ‘mentoring’ 

19 means a structured, managed program— 

20 ‘‘(A) in which children and youth are ap21 propriately matched with screened and trained 

22 adult or peer volunteers for consistent relation23 ships; 


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1 ‘‘(B) that can include direct one-on-one, 

2 group, or peer mentoring services that focus on 

3 1 or more of— 

4 ‘‘(i) academic support; 

5 ‘‘(ii) enrichment; 

6 ‘‘(iii) educational success; 

7 ‘‘(iv) minimizing risk behaviors; or 

8 ‘‘(v) promoting social skills and 

9 healthy relationships; 

10 ‘‘(C) that involves meetings, events, and 

11 activities on a regular basis designed to last at 

12 least 1 year; and 

13 ‘‘(D) that is intended to meet, in part, the 

14 social and emotional development of the child or 

15 youth, the need of the child or youth for in16 volvement with a caring and supportive adult, 

17 and the need of the child or youth for positive 

18 role models, connections, and normalcy. 

19 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en20 tity’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) a nonprofit organization; 

22 ‘‘(B) a State child welfare agency; 

23 ‘‘(C) a local educational agency; 

24 ‘‘(D) an Indian tribe or a tribal organiza25 tion; or 


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1 ‘‘(E) a faith-based organization. 

2 ‘‘(c) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

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

4 out a program to award grants to eligible entities to 

5 support the establishment or expansion and oper6 ation of programs using networks of public and pri7 vate community entities to provide mentoring for 

8 children in foster care and children with experience 

9 in foster care. 

10 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—To be eli11 gible for a grant under paragraph (1), an eligible en12 tity shall submit to the Secretary an application con13 taining the following: 

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

15 the proposed program to be carried out using 

16 amounts provided under this grant, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) targeted outcomes, mentee age 

18 and eligibility, mentor type, setting, dura19 tion, and meeting frequency; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the number of mentor-child 

21 matches proposed to be established and 

22 maintained annually under the program; 

23 ‘‘(iii) the capacity and expertise of the 

24 program to serve children and youth in a 

25 way that is responsive to children and 


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1 youth of color, expectant and parenting 

2 youth, indigenous youth, youth who are 

3 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or 

4 queer, and youth with disabilities; 

5 ‘‘(iv) actions taken to ensure that the 

6 design of the program reflects input from 

7 young people, including children with expe8 rience in foster care; and 

9 ‘‘(v) such other information as the 

10 Secretary may require. 

11 ‘‘(B) RECRUITMENT.—An assurance that 

12 the program will engage in recruitment strate13 gies for mentors that— 

14 ‘‘(i) realistically portray the benefits, 

15 practices, supports, and challenges of par16 ticipating in the program; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) seek to recruit mentors who re18 flect the race, ethnicity, and various identi19 ties of children in foster care and children 

20 with experience in foster care. 

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

22 mentors covered under the program will receive 

23 intensive and ongoing training in the following 

24 areas: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Child and adolescent develop2 ment, including the importance of bonding. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Family dynamics, including the 

4 effects of domestic violence and trauma. 

5 ‘‘(iii) Understanding the education 

6 rights of foster children and youth, includ7 ing those related to post-secondary edu8 cation. 

9 ‘‘(iv) The challenges of and ap10 proaches to support the transition to adult11 hood. 

12 ‘‘(v) Cultural competence practices 

13 and relationship-building strategies. 

14 ‘‘(vi) Positive youth development and 

15 authentic engagement practices. 

16 ‘‘(vii) Recognizing and reporting child 

17 abuse and neglect. 

18 ‘‘(viii) Confidentiality requirements 

19 for working with children in foster care. 

20 ‘‘(ix) Working in coordination with 

21 the child welfare system. 

22 ‘‘(x) Understanding foster the edu23 cational rights of children and youth, in24 cluding those related to post-secondary 

25 education. 


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1 ‘‘(xi) Other matters related to work2 ing with children in foster care and chil3 dren with experience in foster care. 

4 ‘‘(D) SCREENING.—An assurance that all 

5 mentors covered under the program are appro6 priately screened and have demonstrated a will7 ingness to comply with all aspects of the men8 toring program, including— 

9 ‘‘(i) a written screening plan that in10 cludes all of the policies and procedures 

11 used to screen and select mentors, includ12 ing eligibility requirements and preferences 

13 for such applicants; 

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

15 be used to conduct criminal background 

16 checks on all prospective mentors, and the 

17 methods in place to exclude mentors with 

18 convictions for crimes against children and 

19 mentors with convictions occurring within 

20 the past 10 years that are directly related 

21 to child safety; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) a description of the methods to 

23 be used to ensure that the mentors are 

24 willing and able to serve as a mentor on a 


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1 long-term, consistent basis as defined in 

2 the application. 

3 ‘‘(E) COMMUNITY CONSULTATION AND EN4 GAGEMENT; COORDINATION WITH OTHER PRO5 GRAMS.—A demonstration that, in developing 

6 and implementing the program, the eligible en7 tity will— 

8 ‘‘(i) consult with and actively en9 gage— 

10 ‘‘(I) children in foster care and 

11 children with experience in foster 

12 care; 

13 ‘‘(II) public and private commu14 nity entities, including religious orga15 nizations and Indian tribal organiza16 tions and urban Indian organizations; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(III) family members of children 

19 and youth who may be potential cli20 ents of the program; 

21 ‘‘(ii) coordinate the mentoring pro22 gram and the activities of the eligible enti23 ty with other Federal, State, and local pro24 grams serving children and youth; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) consult and coordinate with ap2 propriate Federal, State, and local correc3 tions, workforce development, education, 

4 and substance abuse and mental health 

5 agencies. 

6 ‘‘(F) EQUAL ACCESS FOR LOCAL SERVICE

7 PROVIDERS.—An assurance that public and pri8 vate entities and nonprofit community organiza9 tions, including religious organizations and In10 dian organizations, will be eligible to participate 

11 on an equal basis. 

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

13 An agreement that the eligible entity will main14 tain such records, make such reports, and co15 operate with such reviews or audits as the Sec16 retary may find necessary for purposes of over17 sight of project activities and expenditures. 

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

19 the eligible entity will cooperate fully with the 

20 ongoing and final evaluation of the program 

21 under the plan by the Secretary, by means in22 cluding providing the Secretary access to the 

23 program, the staff of the program, program-re24 lated records and documents, and each public 


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1 or private community entity receiving funding 

2 under the plan. 

3 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS IN AWARDING

4 GRANTS.—In awarding grants under this subsection, 

5 the Secretary shall take into consideration— 

6 ‘‘(A) how, and the degree to which, chil7 dren in foster care and children with experience 

8 in foster care are consulted and engaged in the 

9 development, design, and implementation of the 

10 program; 

11 ‘‘(B) the feasibility and strength of a plan 

12 to recruit and support transition-aged foster 

13 youth; 

14 ‘‘(C) the overall qualifications and capacity 

15 of the eligible entity and its partners to effec16 tively carry out a mentoring program under this 

17 subsection; 

18 ‘‘(D) the level and quality of training pro19 vided to mentors under the program; 

20 ‘‘(E) evidence of coordination of the pro21 gram with the social services and education pro22 grams of the State or political subdivision; 

23 ‘‘(F) the ability of the eligible entity to 

24 provide supervision and support for mentors 


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1 under the program and the youth served by 

2 such mentors; 

3 ‘‘(G) the number of children and youth in 

4 foster care served by the State or political sub5 division; and 

6 ‘‘(H) any other factors that the Secretary 

7 determines to be significant with respect to the 

8 need for, or the potential success of, carrying 

9 out a mentoring program under this section. 

10 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that 

11 receives a grant under this subsection may use such 

12 funds to— 

13 ‘‘(A) develop and carry out a training pro14 gram and ongoing support for mentors; 

15 ‘‘(B) recruit mentors for children and 

16 youth in foster care; 

17 ‘‘(C) compensate mentors including peer 

18 mentors; 

19 ‘‘(D) pay for costs related to mentee par20 ticipation in the program; and 

21 ‘‘(E) provide activities that will help the 

22 development of a child in foster care who is 

23 participating in the program. 

24 ‘‘(5) GRANT AMOUNT.—In awarding grants 

25 under this subsection, the Secretary shall scale 


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1 grants to account for the annual budget and capac2 ity of the eligible entity. 

3 ‘‘(6) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

4 after the date of enactment of this section, and an5 nually thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and 

6 submit to Congress a report that includes the fol7 lowing with respect to the year involved: 

8 ‘‘(A) A description of the number of pro9 grams receiving grant awards under this sub10 section. 

11 ‘‘(B) A description of mentors who partici12 pate in programs described in subparagraph 

13 (A), including the overall number, average 

14 length of participation, and demographics. 

15 ‘‘(C) A description of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the number of children in foster 

17 care who participated in mentoring pro18 grams funded by the grant funds under 

19 this subsection; 

20 ‘‘(ii) data on the academic achieve21 ment of the children in mentoring pro22 grams funded by the grant funds under 

23 this subsection; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) the number of children in foster 

25 care on waiting lists for such mentoring 


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1 programs, including successful transition 

2 into post-secondary education where appli3 cable. 

4 ‘‘(D) Any other information that the Sec5 retary determines to be relevant to the evalua6 tion of the program under this section. 

7 ‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

9 this section— 

10 ‘‘(A) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

11 2022 and 2023; and 

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

13 each succeeding fiscal year.’’. 

Æ 


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