I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9316 
To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to increase awareness 
among eligible children and youths of, and encourage their participation 
in, the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition 
to Adulthood, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 6, 2024 
Mr. NUNN of Iowa (for himself, Mr. BACON, and Mrs. DINGELL) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 
to increase awareness among eligible children and youths 
of, and encourage their participation in, the John H. 
Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition 
to Adulthood, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Brighter Futures for 
Teens and Young Adults in Foster Care Act of 2024’’. 
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SEC. 2. IMPROVING AWARENESS OF THE CHAFEE PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) CASE REVIEW SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.—Sec-
tion 475(5)(I) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
675(5)(I)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(I)(i) each child in foster care under the 
responsibility of the State who has attained 14 
years of age receives, if the child is eligible to 
receive the document and without cost to the 
child— 
‘‘(I) a copy of any consumer report 
(as defined in section 603(d) of the Fair 
Credit Reporting Act) pertaining to the 
child, each year until the child is dis-
charged from care, and assistance (includ-
ing, when feasible, from any court-ap-
pointed advocate for the child) in inter-
preting and resolving any inaccuracies in 
the consumer report; 
‘‘(II) an official or certified copy of 
the United States birth certificate of the 
child; 
‘‘(III) a social security card issued by 
the Commissioner of Social Security; 
‘‘(IV) health insurance information; 
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‘‘(V) a copy of the child’s medical 
records; 
‘‘(VI) a driver’s license or identifica-
tion card issued by a State in accordance 
with the requirements of section 202 of the 
REAL ID Act of 2005; and 
‘‘(VII) official documentation nec-
essary to prove that the child is in foster 
care; and 
‘‘(ii) each child who is leaving foster care 
under the responsibility of the State by reason 
of having attained 18 years of age or such 
greater age as the State has elected under para-
graph (8), unless the child has been in foster 
care for less than 6 months, is not discharged 
from care without being provided, without cost 
to the child— 
‘‘(I) official documentation necessary 
to prove that the child was in foster care; 
and 
‘‘(II) each document described in sub-
clauses (I) through (VI) of clause (i), if the 
child is eligible to receive the document.’’. 
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(b) ADDITIONAL CASE PLAN AND CASE REVIEW SYS-
TEM REQUIREMENTS.—Section 475A(b) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 675a(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) a document that describes the rights of the 
child— 
‘‘(A) with respect to education, health, visi-
tation, and court participation; 
‘‘(B) to be informed, in an age-appropriate 
way, of the services available to the child under 
the State programs carried out pursuant to sec-
tion 477, in— 
‘‘(i) every meeting between a case-
worker and the child; and 
‘‘(ii) every court or administrative 
hearing held with respect to the child re-
quiring the attendance of the child; 
‘‘(C) to be provided with the documents 
specified in section 475(5)(I) in accordance 
with that section; 
‘‘(D) to stay safe and avoid exploitation; 
and 
‘‘(E) to seek redress for a violation of a 
right of the child under this section;’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
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(A) by inserting ‘‘described in paragraph 
(1)’’ after ‘‘copy of the document’’; and 
(B) by striking the period and inserting a 
semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) for each year that the child is in foster 
care, a document that describes the requirements for 
the child to receive each document specified in sec-
tion 475(5)(I) and any assistance available to the 
child to meet the requirements; and 
‘‘(4) a signed and dated acknowledgment by the 
child that the child has been provided with a copy 
of the document described in paragraph (3), for each 
year that the document has been provided.’’. 
(c) JOHN H. CHAFEE FOSTER CARE PROGRAM FOR 
SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD.—Section 477 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 677) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraphs 
(1) through (4) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) to support youth who have experienced fos-
ter care at age 14 or older, youth in extended foster 
care, former foster care recipients between ages 18 
and 23, and youth placed into guardianship or adop-
tion at age 16 or older in their transition to adult-
hood to support them in achieving positive outcomes 
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so that they are able to thrive in adulthood con-
sistent with peers who have not experienced foster 
care; 
‘‘(2) to provide the individuals access to appro-
priate supports, services, and programs, without bar-
riers and with the goal of maximizing engagement, 
in order to achieve positive outcomes among the in-
dividuals with respect to— 
‘‘(A) secure, meaningful, and permanent 
connections with family and kin; 
‘‘(B) secure, meaningful, and permanent 
connections with mentors and supportive adults; 
‘‘(C) healing and wellness, including sub-
stance abuse prevention, preventative health 
skills (including smoke avoidance, nutrition 
education, and pregnancy prevention), and 
areas related to mental health; 
‘‘(D) attaining a high school diploma or 
equivalent qualification and pursuing post-sec-
ondary education or vocational training; 
‘‘(E) job placement and retention and ca-
reer exploration; 
‘‘(F) acquisition of daily living skills, in-
cluding driving instruction; 
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‘‘(G) budgeting, financial management 
skills, and asset building; 
‘‘(H) housing; and 
‘‘(I) self-advocacy and leadership skills; 
‘‘(3) to provide opportunities to the individuals 
for normalcy and age- or developmentally-appro-
priate activities and experiences; 
‘‘(4) to achieve maximum reach and effect by 
ensuring that State agencies consult and partner 
with the individuals in planning, implementing, and 
assessing programs funded under this section;’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)(2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
‘‘achieving independence’’ and inserting ‘‘mak-
ing a successful transition to adulthood’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking 
‘‘achieve independence’’ and inserting ‘‘make a 
successful transition to adulthood’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(G) Reach and engage eligible youth to 
encourage their participation in the programs 
available to them, with particular focus on cer-
tain vulnerable populations, including youth— 
‘‘(i) with disabilities; 
‘‘(ii) experiencing homelessness; or 
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‘‘(iii) who are, or expecting to be, par-
ents. 
‘‘(H) Ensure that eligible youth are pro-
vided information about the services and re-
sources available to them. 
‘‘(I) Include eligible youth from across the 
geographical regions of the State in outreach 
and in the planning and delivery of services 
provided under this section.’’; 
(3) in subsection (b)(3)— 
(A) in subparagraph (E)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘30’’ and inserting 
‘‘90’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘after making the 
plan available to the public for comment’’ 
before the period; 
(B) in subparagraph (H), by striking 
‘‘independent living’’ and inserting ‘‘a success-
ful transition to adulthood’’; 
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (I) 
through (K) as subparagraphs (K) through 
(M), respectively; 
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (H) 
the following: 
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in foster care and with community-based 
stakeholders who can share best practices 
in the outreach to and engagement of chil-
dren, youth, and young adults who are or 
were in foster care; and 
‘‘(ii) based on performance measures 
that the State collects and evaluates on an 
ongoing basis.’’; 
(4) in subsection (f)— 
(A) in the heading, to read as follows: 
‘‘DATA COLLECTION, BENCHMARKS, AND PER-
FORMANCE INCENTIVES.—’’; 
(B) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre-
ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘youth 
with experience in foster care or affiliated with 
foster care organizations or networks,’’ before 
‘‘and researchers’’; 
(C) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘per-
formance benchmarks for’’ before ‘‘outcome 
measures’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (1)(B), to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(B) identify data elements needed to 
track— 
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‘‘(i) the notification of eligible youth 
of the type and availability of services; 
‘‘(ii) the number of eligible youth who 
have signed and dated the acknowledg-
ments pursuant to section 475A(b)(4); and 
‘‘(iii) the number of eligible youth who 
have achieved the performance benchmarks 
after beginning to receive services provided 
under this section; and’’; and 
(E) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON RECOMMENDA-
TIONS FOR FUNDING WITH PERFORMANCE INCEN-
TIVES.—Within 6 months after the enactment of 
this paragraph, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Finance of 
the Senate a report with recommendations to de-
velop incentive payments for States based on the 
performance benchmarks developed pursuant to 
paragraph (1).’’; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(k) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 
technical assistance to States and State agencies in 
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the development and implementation of effective and 
robust outreach policies and practices. 
‘‘(2) CONTENT OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 
The technical assistance shall include— 
‘‘(A) guidance on how to reduce barriers to 
eligible youth accessing the programs available 
to them, such as through interagency informa-
tion-sharing agreements; and 
‘‘(B) best practices in outreach to and in-
forming eligible youth of the programs available 
to them. 
‘‘(l) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE YOUTH.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘eligible youth’ means youth eligible to par-
ticipate in a State program under this section.’’. 
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by this 
Act shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st fiscal year 
beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and shall apply to payments— 
(1) except as provided under subparagraph (2), 
under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 
for calendar quarters beginning on or after such 
date; and 
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(2) under section 477 of such Act pursuant to 
plans approved by the Secretary on or after such 
date. 
(b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE-
QUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
determines that State legislation (other than legislation 
appropriating funds) is required in order for any State 
plan approved under part E of title IV of the Social Secu-
rity Act to meet the additional requirements imposed by 
the amendments made by this Act, the plan shall not be 
regarded as failing to meet any of the additional require-
ments before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter be-
ginning after the 1st regular session of the State legisla-
ture that begins after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. For purposes of the preceding sentence, if the State 
has a 2-year legislative session, each year of the session 
is deemed to be a separate regular session of the State 
legislature. 
Æ 
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