Title: Improved Employment Outcomes for Foster Youth Act of 2017
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Improved Employment Outcomes for Foster Youth Act of 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to include the hiring of qualified foster care transition youth.
(The WOTC permits employers who hire individuals who are members of a targeted group [e.g., qualified veterans, ex-felons, SSI recipients] to claim a tax credit equal to a portion of the wages paid to those individuals.)
A "qualified foster care transition youth" is any individual who is certified by the designated local agency as: (1) not having attained age 27 as of the hiring date, and (2) as having been in foster care after attaining the age specified in provisions of the Social Security Act related to the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (currently 16 years of age).

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 885 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 885

   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include foster care 
transition youth as members of targeted groups for purposes of the work 
                          opportunity credit.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                April 6 (legislative day, April 4), 2017

 Mr. Casey (for himself and Mr. Cardin) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include foster care 
transition youth as members of targeted groups for purposes of the work 
                          opportunity credit.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Improved Employment Outcomes for 
Foster Youth Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF FOSTER CARE TRANSITION YOUTH FOR PURPOSES OF WORK 
              OPPORTUNITY CREDIT.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 51(d) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (I),
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (J) 
        and inserting ``, or'', and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(K) a qualified foster care transition youth.''.
    (b) Qualified Foster Care Transition Youth.--Subsection (d) of 
section 51 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 
the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(16) Qualified foster care transition youth.--The term 
        `qualified foster care transition youth' means any individual 
        who is certified by the designated local agency as--
                    ``(A) not having attained age 27 as of the hiring 
                date, and
                    ``(B) having been in foster care (within the 
                meaning of section 477 of the Social Security Act) 
                after attaining the age specified in section 477(a)(7) 
                of the Social Security Act.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to individuals who begin work for the employer after 
the date of the enactment of this Act.
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