I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4769 
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 
JULY 25, 2025 
Ms. SCANLON (for herself, Mr. BACON, Mr. CASTEN, Mrs. CHERFILUS- 
MCCORMICK, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. NUNN of 
Iowa, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, and Mr. 
LARSON of Connecticut) 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 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 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
11:03 Jul 31, 2025
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4769.IH
H4769
mprince on LAP1J3WLY3PROD with $$_JOB
(1) Positive relationships are important for chil-
dren and youth. An estimated 20 percent of youth 
do not have caring adults in their lives, representing 
8,500,000 youth. Children who have a positive car-
ing relationship with an adult can also benefit from 
additional positive relationships. 
(2) Research shows that mentors make a dif-
ference in young people’s lives. At-risk youth who 
have mentors are 55 percent more likely to enroll in 
college. Students who meet regularly with their men-
tors are 52 percent less likely than their peers to 
skip a day of school. Youth who have mentors are 
also 75 percent more likely to hold a leadership posi-
tion in a club or sports team. 
(3) Young people that have mentors have im-
proved relationships with adults, fewer disciplinary 
referrals, and more confidence in achieving their 
goals. 
(4) In 2021, 391,311 youth were in foster care. 
Of those youth, 86,793 were between the ages of 11 
and 15, and 55,396 were between the ages of 16 and 
20. 
(5) Mentoring programs that serve foster youth 
are unique and require additional considerations, in-
cluding specialized training and support necessary to 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
11:03 Jul 31, 2025
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4769.IH
H4769
mprince on LAP1J3WLY3PROD with $$_JOB
provide for consistent, long-term relationships for 
children in foster care. 
(6) Mentoring programs can be used as an ef-
fective strategy to support positive outcomes for fos-
ter youth, such as improved mental health, reduc-
tions in substance misuse, and increased life satis-
faction. Additionally, mentoring relationships are as-
sociated with supporting fewer placement changes 
for youth and improved use of transition services 
when exiting foster care. 
(7) Mentoring programs targeting youth experi-
encing multiple risk factors, community-based pro-
grams, and programs lasting 1 year or more are 
more effective in supporting youth in foster care. 
(8) Mentored youth showed lower rates of in-
volvement in the juvenile justice system and lower 
rates of involvement in the legal system as adults. 
(9) 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. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
11:03 Jul 31, 2025
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4769.IH
H4769
mprince on LAP1J3WLY3PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 3. PROGRAMS FOR MENTORING CHILDREN IN FOSTER 
CARE. 
Subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 629 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 439A. PROGRAMS FOR MENTORING CHILDREN IN 
FOSTER CARE AND YOUTH WITH EXPERI-
ENCE IN FOSTER CARE. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 
authorize the Secretary to make grants to eligible appli-
cants to support the establishment or expansion and oper-
ation of programs using a network of public and private 
community entities to provide mentoring for children in 
foster care and children with experience in foster care. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE.—The term 
‘children in foster care’ means children who have 
been removed from the custody of their biological or 
adoptive parents by a State or tribal child welfare 
agency. 
‘‘(2) CHILDREN WITH EXPERIENCE IN FOSTER 
CARE.—The term ‘children with experience in foster 
care’ means children, youth, and adults who have 
not attained 26 years of age and who, at any time, 
were removed from the custody of their biological or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
11:03 Jul 31, 2025
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4769.IH
H4769
mprince on LAP1J3WLY3PROD with $$_JOB
adoptive parents by a State or tribal child welfare 
agency. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means— 
‘‘(A) a nonprofit organization; 
‘‘(B) a State child welfare agency; 
‘‘(C) a local educational agency; 
‘‘(D) an Indian tribe or a tribal organiza-
tion; or 
‘‘(E) a faith-based organization. 
‘‘(4) 
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; 
‘‘(B) that can include direct one-on-one, 
group, or peer mentoring services that focus on 
1 or more of— 
‘‘(i) academic support; 
‘‘(ii) enrichment; 
‘‘(iii) educational success; 
‘‘(iv) minimizing risk behaviors; or 
‘‘(v) 
promoting 
social 
skills 
and 
healthy relationships; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
11:03 Jul 31, 2025
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4769.IH
H4769
mprince on LAP1J3WLY3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(C) that involves meetings, events, and 
activities on a regular basis designed to last at 
least 1 year; and 
‘‘(D) that is intended to meet, in part, the 
social and emotional development of the child or 
youth, the need of the child or youth for in-
volvement with a caring and supportive adult, 
and the need of the child or youth for positive 
role models, connections, and normalcy. 
‘‘(c) GRANT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 
out a program to award grants to eligible entities to 
support the establishment or expansion and oper-
ation of programs using networks of public and pri-
vate community entities to provide mentoring for 
children in foster care and children with experience 
in foster care. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—To be eli-
gible for a grant under paragraph (1), an eligible en-
tity shall submit to the Secretary an application con-
taining the following: 
‘‘(A) PROGRAM DESIGN.—A description of 
the proposed program to be carried out using 
amounts provided under this grant, including— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
11:03 Jul 31, 2025
Jkt 000000
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4769.IH
H4769
mprince on LAP1J3WLY3PROD with $$_JOB