I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3443 
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 17, 2023 
Ms. SCANLON (for herself, Mr. BACON, and Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin) intro-
duced 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 com-
munity entities to provide mentoring for children and 
youth with experience in foster care. 
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 ‘‘Foster Youth Men-
toring Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) Positive relationships are important for chil-
dren and youth. An estimated 20 percent of youth 
do not have caring adults in their lives—rep-
resenting 8,500,000 youth. Children who have a 
positive caring relationship with an adult can also 
benefit from additional positive relationships. 
(2) Research shows that mentors make a dif-
ference in young people’s lives. At-risk youth who 
have mentors are 55 percent more likely to enroll in 
college. Students who meet regularly with their men-
tors are 52 percent less likely than their peers to 
skip a day of school. Youth who have mentors are 
also 130 percent more likely to hold a leadership po-
sition. 
(3) Young people that have mentors have im-
proved relationships with adults, fewer disciplinary 
referrals, and more confidence to achieve their goals. 
(4) In 2017, 442,995 youth were in foster care. 
Of those youth 70,858 were between the ages of 10 
and 13, and 101,983 were between the ages of 14 
and 20. 
(5) Mentoring programs that serve foster youth 
are unique and require additional considerations, in-
cluding specialized training and support necessary to 
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provide for consistent, long-term relationships for 
children in foster care. 
(6) Mentoring programs can be used as an ef-
fective preventative or intervention strategy to sup-
port positive outcomes for foster youth. 
(7) Mentoring programs targeting at-risk 
youth, community-based programs, and programs 
lasting 1 year or more are more frequently found to 
be effective. 
(8) Increasing evidence is showing that peer 
mentoring and support can be very effective in en-
gaging young people. Alumni of and youth in foster 
care have noted the importance of the support and 
service delivery by individuals with lived experience, 
including peers. 
SEC. 3. PROGRAMS FOR MENTORING CHILDREN IN FOSTER 
CARE. 
Subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 629 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 439A. PROGRAMS FOR MENTORING CHILDREN IN 
FOSTER CARE AND YOUTH WITH EXPERI-
ENCE IN FOSTER CARE. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 
authorize the Secretary to make grants to eligible appli-
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cants to support the establishment or expansion and oper-
ation of programs using a network of public and private 
community entities to provide mentoring for children in 
foster care and children with experience in foster care. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.—The term 
‘children in foster care’ means children who have 
been removed from the custody of their biological or 
adoptive parents by a State or tribal child welfare 
agency. 
‘‘(2) CHILDREN WITH EXPERIENCE IN FOSTER 
CARE.—The term ‘children with experience in foster 
care’ means children, youth, and adults who have 
not attained 26 years of age and who, at any time, 
were removed from the custody of their biological or 
adoptive parents by a State or tribal child welfare 
agency. 
‘‘(3) 
MENTORING.—The 
term 
‘mentoring’ 
means a structured, managed program— 
‘‘(A) in which children and youth are ap-
propriately matched with screened and trained 
adult or peer volunteers for consistent relation-
ships; 
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‘‘(E) a faith-based organization. 
‘‘(c) GRANT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 
out a program to award grants to eligible entities to 
support the establishment or expansion and oper-
ation of programs using networks of public and pri-
vate community entities to provide mentoring for 
children in foster care and children with experience 
in foster care. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—To be eli-
gible for a grant under paragraph (1), an eligible en-
tity shall submit to the Secretary an application con-
taining the following: 
‘‘(A) PROGRAM DESIGN.—A description of 
the proposed program to be carried out using 
amounts provided under this grant, including— 
‘‘(i) targeted outcomes, mentee age 
and eligibility, mentor type, setting, dura-
tion, and meeting frequency; 
‘‘(ii) the number of mentor-child 
matches proposed to be established and 
maintained annually under the program; 
‘‘(iii) the capacity and expertise of the 
program to serve children and youth in a 
way that is responsive to children and 
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youth of color, expectant and parenting 
youth, indigenous youth, youth who are 
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or 
queer, and youth with disabilities; 
‘‘(iv) actions taken to ensure that the 
design of the program reflects input from 
young people, including children with expe-
rience in foster care; and 
‘‘(v) such other information as the 
Secretary may require. 
‘‘(B) RECRUITMENT.—An assurance that 
the program will engage in recruitment strate-
gies for mentors that— 
‘‘(i) realistically portray the benefits, 
practices, supports, and challenges of par-
ticipating in the program; and 
‘‘(ii) seek to recruit mentors who re-
flect the race, ethnicity, and various identi-
ties of children in foster care and children 
with experience in foster care. 
‘‘(C) TRAINING.—An assurance that all 
mentors covered under the program will receive 
intensive and ongoing training in the following 
areas: 
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‘‘(i) Child and adolescent develop-
ment, including the importance of bonding. 
‘‘(ii) Family dynamics, including the 
effects of domestic violence and trauma. 
‘‘(iii) Understanding the education 
rights of foster children and youth, includ-
ing those related to post-secondary edu-
cation. 
‘‘(iv) The challenges of and ap-
proaches to support the transition to adult-
hood. 
‘‘(v) Cultural competence practices 
and relationship-building strategies. 
‘‘(vi) Positive youth development and 
authentic engagement practices. 
‘‘(vii) Recognizing and reporting child 
abuse and neglect. 
‘‘(viii) 
Confidentiality 
requirements 
for working with children in foster care. 
‘‘(ix) Working in coordination with 
the child welfare system. 
‘‘(x) Other matters related to working 
with children in foster care and children 
with experience in foster care. 
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‘‘(D) SCREENING.—An assurance that all 
mentors covered under the program are appro-
priately screened and have demonstrated a will-
ingness to comply with all aspects of the men-
toring program, including— 
‘‘(i) a written screening plan that in-
cludes all of the policies and procedures 
used to screen and select mentors, includ-
ing eligibility requirements and preferences 
for such applicants; 
‘‘(ii) a description of the methods to 
be used to conduct criminal background 
checks on all prospective mentors, and the 
methods in place to exclude mentors with 
convictions for crimes against children and 
mentors with convictions occurring within 
the past 10 years that are directly related 
to child safety; and 
‘‘(iii) a description of the methods to 
be used to ensure that the mentors are 
willing and able to serve as a mentor on a 
long-term, consistent basis as defined in 
the application. 
‘‘(E) COMMUNITY CONSULTATION AND EN-
GAGEMENT; COORDINATION WITH OTHER PRO-
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GRAMS.—A demonstration that, in developing 
and implementing the program, the eligible en-
tity will— 
‘‘(i) consult with and actively en-
gage— 
‘‘(I) children in foster care and 
children with experience in foster 
care; 
‘‘(II) public and private commu-
nity entities, including religious orga-
nizations and Indian tribal organiza-
tions and urban Indian organizations; 
and 
‘‘(III) family members of children 
and youth who may be potential cli-
ents of the program; 
‘‘(ii) coordinate the mentoring pro-
gram and the activities of the eligible enti-
ty with other Federal, State, and local pro-
grams serving children and youth; and 
‘‘(iii) consult and coordinate with ap-
propriate Federal, State, and local correc-
tions, workforce development, education, 
and substance abuse and mental health 
agencies. 
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‘‘(F) EQUAL ACCESS FOR LOCAL SERVICE 
PROVIDERS.—An assurance that public and pri-
vate entities and nonprofit community organiza-
tions, including religious organizations and In-
dian organizations, will be eligible to participate 
on an equal basis. 
‘‘(G) RECORDS, REPORTS, AND AUDITS.— 
An agreement that the eligible entity will main-
tain such records, make such reports, and co-
operate with such reviews or audits as the Sec-
retary may find necessary for purposes of over-
sight of project activities and expenditures. 
‘‘(H) EVALUATION.—An agreement that 
the eligible entity will cooperate fully with the 
ongoing and final evaluation of the program 
under the plan by the Secretary, by means in-
cluding providing the Secretary access to the 
program, the staff of the program, program-re-
lated records and documents, and each public 
or private community entity receiving funding 
under the plan. 
‘‘(3) 
CONSIDERATIONS
IN
AWARDING 
GRANTS.—In awarding grants under this subsection, 
the Secretary shall take into consideration— 
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‘‘(H) any other factors that the Secretary 
determines to be significant with respect to the 
need for, or the potential success of, carrying 
out a mentoring program under this section. 
‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that 
receives a grant under this subsection may use such 
funds to— 
‘‘(A) develop and carry out a training pro-
gram and ongoing support for mentors; 
‘‘(B) recruit mentors for children and 
youth in foster care; 
‘‘(C) compensate mentors including peer 
mentors; 
‘‘(D) pay for costs related to mentee par-
ticipation in the program; and 
‘‘(E) provide activities that will help the 
development of a child in foster care who is 
participating in the program. 
‘‘(5) GRANT
AMOUNT.—In awarding grants 
under this subsection, the Secretary shall scale 
grants to account for the annual budget and capac-
ity of the eligible entity. 
‘‘(6) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this section, and an-
nually thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and 
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submit to Congress a report that includes the fol-
lowing with respect to the year involved: 
‘‘(A) A description of the number of pro-
grams receiving grant awards under this sub-
section. 
‘‘(B) A description of mentors who partici-
pate in programs described in subparagraph 
(A), including the overall number, average 
length of participation, and demographics. 
‘‘(C) A description of— 
‘‘(i) the number of children in foster 
care who participated in mentoring pro-
grams funded by the grant funds under 
this subsection; 
‘‘(ii) data on the academic achieve-
ment of the children in mentoring pro-
grams funded by the grant funds under 
this subsection; and 
‘‘(iii) the number of children in foster 
care on waiting lists for such mentoring 
programs, including successful transition 
into post-secondary education where appli-
cable. 
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‘‘(D) Any other information that the Sec-
retary determines to be relevant to the evalua-
tion of the program under this section. 
‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this section— 
‘‘(A) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2024 and 2025; and 
‘‘(B) such sums as may be necessary for 
each succeeding fiscal year.’’. 
Æ 
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