Development) of a one-bedroom apartment 
in the geographic area in which the eligible 
individual resides during such month, in-
cluding the cost of— 
‘‘(I) rent; 
‘‘(II) utilities, including elec-
tricity, natural gas, heating oil, water, 
sewer, trash, recycling, cable tele-
vision, telephones, and internet access; 
‘‘(III) maintenance fees or other 
fees commonly paid in connection with 
a residential property; and 
‘‘(IV) renter’s insurance or a 
similar product. 
‘‘(ii) The average monthly cost (as de-
termined by the Secretary in coordination 
with the Secretary of Transportation) of 
automobile ownership in the geographic 
area in which the eligible individual resides 
during such month, including the cost of— 
‘‘(I) automobile operation, main-
tenance, registration, and insurance; 
‘‘(II) licensing and insuring a 
driver; 
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‘‘(III) property, ad valorem, or 
other State or local taxes paid in rela-
tion to owning or operating an auto-
mobile; and 
‘‘(IV) parking an automobile. 
‘‘(B) INITIAL MONTH INSTALLMENT PAY-
MENT.—In the case of an eligible individual 
who receives a basic monthly allowance under 
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall provide 
the individual an initial installment payment for 
the first month of the individual’s independent 
living transition period, in an amount equal to 
and in addition to the basic monthly allowance 
for such month, for the purpose of paying a se-
curity deposit, application fee, or related ex-
penses. 
‘‘(C) 
APPLICABLE
PERCENTAGE.—For 
purposes of subparagraph (A), the applicable 
percentage shall be— 
‘‘(i) 100 percent for any month in the 
1st year of the individual’s independent liv-
ing transition period; 
‘‘(ii) 75 percent for any month in the 
2nd year of the individual’s independent 
living transition period; 
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‘‘(iii) 50 percent for any month in the 
3rd year of the individual’s independent 
living transition period; and 
‘‘(iv) 25 percent for any month in the 
4th year of the individual’s independent 
living transition period. 
‘‘(D) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL 
AMOUNTS.—In addition to amounts otherwise 
provided to an eligible individual under this 
paragraph, the Secretary may use amounts 
made available to carry out this subsection to 
make a one-time payment to any eligible indi-
vidual to purchase items and services and pay 
fees necessary to establish a household. An eli-
gible individual seeking such a payment shall 
apply in such a manner and at such time as the 
Secretary shall prescribe not later than 6 
months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
‘‘(E) NO
REQUIREMENT
RELATING
TO 
AUTOMOBILE
OWNERSHIP.—Nothing in this 
paragraph shall be construed to require an eli-
gible individual who receives a basic monthly al-
lowance under subparagraph (A) to own, oper-
ate, maintain, license, permit, insure, park, or 
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pay taxes on an automobile, or license or insure 
the eligible individual as a driver thereof, in 
order to receive such allowance. 
‘‘(F) NO REDUCTION BASED ON CHANGES 
IN
AVERAGE
HOUSING
OR
TRANSPORTATION 
COST.—The amount of a basic monthly allow-
ance for housing and transportation with re-
spect to an eligible individual may not be re-
duced in any month as a result of changes in 
the average monthly costs, in the geographic 
area in which the eligible individual resides, of 
a one-bedroom apartment or automobile owner-
ship, as such costs are described in subpara-
graph (A). 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—An individual eligible to re-
ceive a basic allowance for housing and transpor-
tation for a month under this subsection is an indi-
vidual— 
‘‘(A) who is a former foster care recipient 
who has attained 21 years of age; 
‘‘(B) who is living independently and not 
residing— 
‘‘(i) at a Federal, State, local, or pri-
vate foster home, group home, or similar 
transitional living facility; or 
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‘‘(ii) with a parent, foster parent, or 
legal guardian; and 
‘‘(C) who is— 
‘‘(i) completing secondary education 
or a program leading to an equivalent cre-
dential; 
‘‘(ii) enrolled in an institution that 
provides postsecondary or vocational edu-
cation; 
‘‘(iii) actively seeking employment or 
participating in a program or activity de-
signed to promote, or remove barriers to, 
employment; 
‘‘(iv) employed for at least 80 hours 
per month; or 
‘‘(v) incapable of doing any of the ac-
tivities described in clauses (i) through (iv) 
due to a medical condition demonstrated 
by regularly updated information sub-
mitted to the Secretary. 
‘‘(4) INDEPENDENT
LIVING
TRANSITION
PE-
RIOD.—For purposes of this subsection, the term 
‘independent living transition period’ means, with re-
spect to an eligible individual, the 4-year period be-
ginning with the month after the month during 
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which the individual aged out of foster care or left 
foster care for independent living. 
‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
To carry out this subsection, there are authorized to 
be appropriated $217,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2021 through 2025. 
‘‘(d) FOSTER YOUTH EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent amounts are 
made available to carry out this subsection, the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(A) award grants to eligible entities to es-
tablish, expand, or support programs for eligi-
ble individuals as described in paragraph (2); 
‘‘(B) ensure that any such programs re-
ceiving funding under this subsection use evi-
dence-informed or evidence-based models, prac-
tices, and methods that are culturally and lin-
guistically appropriate and can be replicated in 
other appropriate settings; and 
‘‘(C) provide technical assistance to eligible 
entities in applying for and administering a 
grant made under this subsection. 
‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may 
use amounts awarded under a grant under para-
graph (1) to— 
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‘‘(A) provide information or services re-
lated to housing, nutrition assistance, financial 
assistance, academic tutoring and guidance, 
mental health support services, child care, or 
career preparatory services for eligible individ-
uals; 
‘‘(B) provide training to employees of eligi-
ble entities in promising and evidence-based 
practices and models for the education of cur-
rent and former foster youth; and 
‘‘(C) evaluate outcomes of current and 
former foster youth enrolled in institutions of 
higher education (as defined in section 101 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1001)). 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES.— 
In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE
INDIVIDUAL.—The term 
‘eligible individual’ means an individual at least 
14 years of age— 
‘‘(i) who— 
‘‘(I) is in foster care; or 
‘‘(II) was formerly in foster care 
at any time after attaining 14 years 
of age; 
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‘‘(ii) is enrolled at an institution of 
higher education (as defined in section 101 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1001)) or a postsecondary voca-
tional institution (as defined in section 
102(c) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1002(c))). 
‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi-
ble entity’ means an institution of higher edu-
cation (as defined in section 101 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) or a 
postsecondary vocational institution (as defined 
in section 102(c) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
1002(c)). 
‘‘(4) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking 
a grant under paragraph (1) shall submit to the 
Secretary an application at such time, in such man-
ner, and containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require. 
‘‘(5) MATCHING
FUNDS.—The Secretary may 
not award a grant under this subsection to an eligi-
ble entity unless the eligible entity agrees, with re-
spect to the costs to be incurred by the eligible enti-
ty in carrying out the activities described in para-
graph (2), to make available non-Federal contribu-
tions (in cash or in kind) toward such costs in an 
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amount that is not less than 10 percent of the total 
amount of Federal funds provided in the grant. 
‘‘(6) COORDINATION WITH FEDERAL TRIO PRO-
GRAMS.—An eligible entity awarded a grant under 
this subsection that also operates a program that re-
ceives assistance under chapter 1 of subpart 2 of 
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq.) shall coordinate activities 
under each such program to ensure that current or 
former foster youth have maximum access and in-
volvement in such activities. 
‘‘(7) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall, by 
grant, contract, or interagency agreement, conduct 
rigorous and well-designed evaluations of the pro-
grams for which a grant is made under this section. 
‘‘(8) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(A) TO THE SECRETARY.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 
awarded a grant under this section shall— 
‘‘(I) submit interim reports to 
the Secretary on the activities carried 
out under the project, including the 
number of applications received and 
the number of participants enrolled; 
and 
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‘‘(II) on the conclusion of the 
project, a final report on the activi-
ties, including the number of partici-
pants who successfully completed the 
program. 
‘‘(ii) DATA
ON
PARTICIPANT
OUT-
COMES.—Each such report shall include 
data on participant outcomes related to 
employment, educational or credential at-
tainment, participant demographics, and 
such other data as may be specified by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(B) TO THE CONGRESS.—Not later than 
December 31 of each calendar year, the Sec-
retary shall submit to the appropriate Congres-
sional committees a report for the preceding fis-
cal year on activities funded under this sub-
section, including— 
‘‘(i) the demographics of the partici-
pants in the projects for which a grant is 
made under this subsection; 
‘‘(ii) the amount of funds spent on 
complying with subparagraphs (A) and (B) 
of paragraph (2) of this subsection, respec-
tively; 
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‘‘(iii) the employment and educational 
credentials acquired by project partici-
pants; 
‘‘(iv) the employment of participants 
on completion of activities under the 
projects, and the earnings of participants 
at entry into employment; 
‘‘(v) best practices and promising 
practices used by grantees; 
‘‘(vi) the nature of any technical as-
sistance provided to grantees under this 
subsection; 
‘‘(vii) with respect to the period since 
the period covered in the most recent prior 
report submitted under this paragraph— 
‘‘(I) the number of applications 
submitted under this subsection and 
the number of applications that were 
approved; and 
‘‘(II) the number of eligible indi-
viduals who applied, enrolled, and re-
mained enrolled in programs operated 
by each eligible entity; and 
‘‘(viii) the 10 individual applications 
not approved for a grant under this sub-
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section that showed the greatest potential 
to meet the goals of this subsection, in-
cluding the estimated number of bene-
ficiaries of each such application. 
‘‘(C) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COM-
MITTEES.—In this paragraph, the term ‘appro-
priate Congressional committees’ means— 
‘‘(i) the Committee on Education and 
Labor of the House of Representatives; 
‘‘(ii) the Committee on Ways and 
Means of the House of Representatives; 
‘‘(iii) the Committee on Appropria-
tions of the House of Representatives; 
‘‘(iv) the Committee on Health, Edu-
cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 
‘‘(v) the Committee on Finance of the 
Senate; and 
‘‘(vi) the Committee on Appropria-
tions of the Senate. 
‘‘(9) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
To carry out this subsection, there are authorized to 
be appropriated $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2021 through 2025. 
‘‘(e) FOSTER YOUTH EDUCATION PREPARATION AS-
SISTANCE.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent amounts are 
made available to carry out this subsection, the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(A) make grants to eligible entities to 
provide assistance to eligible individuals for 
costs associated with preparing for postsec-
ondary education; and 
‘‘(B) provide technical assistance to eligible 
entities in applying for and administering a 
grant made under this subsection. 
‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Assistance provided to 
an eligible individual by a grantee under this 
subsection may be used for— 
‘‘(i) the cost of an examination re-
quired for admission to an institution of 
higher education (as defined in section 101 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1001)) or a postsecondary voca-
tional institution (as defined in section 
102(c) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1002(c))); 
‘‘(ii) the cost of a preparatory course 
for an examination required for admission 
to such an institution; 
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‘‘(iii) the cost of visiting such an insti-
tution prior to attendance, including the 
associated costs of lodging, transportation, 
and food; 
‘‘(iv) the cost of a preparatory course 
for a professional licensing or certification 
examination; or 
‘‘(v) the cost of any applicable appli-
cation fees for enrollment in such an insti-
tution. 
‘‘(B) 
AMOUNT
OF
ASSISTANCE.—The 
amount of assistance provided to an eligible in-
dividual by a grantee under this subsection may 
not exceed— 
‘‘(i) for fiscal year 2021, $1,000; and 
‘‘(ii) for each succeeding fiscal year, 
$1,000 multiplied by the percentage (if 
any) by which the consumer price index for 
all urban consumers (CPI–U) for the fiscal 
year preceding such fiscal year exceeds the 
CPI–U for fiscal year 2020. 
‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 
in this paragraph permits the use of assistance 
provided to an eligible individual under this sec-
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tion to pay for tuition at a private elementary, 
middle, or secondary school. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES.— 
In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE
INDIVIDUAL.—The term 
‘eligible individual’ means an individual who— 
‘‘(i) is in foster care or was formerly 
in foster care and is participating in the 
program under section 477; and 
‘‘(ii) is actively seeking or preparing 
to seek admission to an institution of high-
er education (as defined in section 101 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965) or a 
postsecondary vocational institution (as de-
fined in section 102(c) of such Act). 
‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi-
ble entity’ means an entity eligible to receive 
grants under chapter 1 of subpart 2 of title IV 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq.). 
‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In mak-
ing grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall 
ensure that at least one grantee is an eligible entity 
from which assistance is available to all eligible indi-
viduals in the United States. 
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‘‘(5) VERIFICATION.—Not later than 6 months 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec-
retary shall provide guidance to eligible entities— 
‘‘(A) to regulate the process by which an 
eligible individual receives assistance or reim-
bursement from an eligible entity; and 
‘‘(B) to ensure that such process is as sim-
ple and coordinated for the eligible individual as 
possible. 
‘‘(6) COORDINATION WITH FEDERAL TRIO PRO-
GRAMS.—An eligible entity awarded a grant under 
this subsection that also operates a program that re-
ceives assistance under chapter 1 of subpart 2 of 
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1070a–11 et seq.) shall coordinate activities 
under each such program to ensure that current or 
former foster youth have maximum access and in-
volvement in such activities. 
‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
To carry out this subsection, there are authorized to 
be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2021 through 2025. 
‘‘SEC. 477B. FOSTER YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent amounts are made 
available to carry out this section, the Secretary shall— 
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‘‘(1) award grants to eligible entities to develop, 
maintain, or enhance foster youth mental health pro-
motion, intervention, and treatment programs for el-
igible individuals; 
‘‘(2) ensure that any such programs receiving 
funding under this section use evidence-informed or 
evidence-based models, practices, and methods that 
are culturally and linguistically appropriate and can 
be replicated in other appropriate settings; and 
‘‘(3) provide technical assistance to eligible enti-
ties in applying for and administering a grant made 
under this section. 
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may use 
amounts awarded under a grant under subsection (a) to— 
‘‘(1) provide age-appropriate mental health pro-
motion, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment serv-
ices, including social and behavioral services, for eli-
gible individuals; 
‘‘(2) provide training— 
‘‘(A) to health care professionals with ex-
pertise in the mental health care of foster youth 
and youth suffering traumatic experiences in 
appropriate and relevant integration with other 
disciplines such as primary care clinicians, early 
intervention specialists, child welfare staff, 
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home visitors, and others who work with chil-
dren, adolescents, and young adults; and 
‘‘(B) to mental health clinicians in prom-
ising and evidence-based practices and models 
for foster youth mental health treatment, in-
cluding practices for identifying and treating 
mental illness and behavioral disorders of foster 
youth resulting from exposure or repeated expo-
sure to adverse experiences or trauma; and 
‘‘(3) provide comprehensive services, including 
transportation, child care, and replacement of lost 
wages, to eligible individuals in care in order to fa-
cilitate activities described in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES.—In this 
section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—The term ‘eligi-
ble individual’ means an individual at least 5 years 
of age but not more than 26 years of age— 
‘‘(A) who— 
‘‘(i) is in foster care; or 
‘‘(ii) was formerly in foster care at 
any time after attaining 5 years of age; 
‘‘(B) is at risk for, shows early signs of, or 
has been diagnosed with a mental illness, in-
cluding a serious emotional disturbance; and 
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