Foster Youth and Driving Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7042 To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to expand foster parent training and authorize new appropriations to support the obtainment of a driver’s license. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 28, 2020 Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself and Mr. BACON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to expand foster parent training and authorize new appropriations to support the obtainment of a driver’s license. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foster Youth and 4 Driving Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FOSTER PARENT TRAINING RELATED TO PRE- 6 PARING A CHILD TO DRIVE. 7 Section 471(a)(24) of the Social Security Act (42 8 U.S.C. 671(a)(24)) is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7042.IH H7042 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7042 IH (1) by striking ‘‘and knowledge and skills’’ and 1 inserting ‘‘knowledge and skills’’; and 2 (2) by inserting before the semicolon at the end 3 the following: ‘‘and, when appropriate to the age or 4 other circumstance of the child, knowledge and skills 5 related to preparing the child to drive, including as- 6 suring opportunity for practice driving hours and as- 7 sistance in obtaining a driver’s license and auto- 8 motive insurance and in applying as needed for driv- 9 ing and transportation assistance as described in 10 section 477(k)’’. 11 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO INCLUDE A PLAN FOR DRIVING 12 PREPARATION IN CASE PLAN. 13 Section 475(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 14 675(1)) is amended— 15 (1) in subparagraph (G)(ii), by moving sub- 16 clause (II) 2 ems to the right; and 17 (2) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(H) A plan for assuring that the child, 19 when appropriate to the age or other cir- 20 cumstance of the child, receives assistance, 21 knowledge, and skills related to preparing to 22 drive, including opportunity for practice driving 23 hours and assistance in obtaining a driver’s li- 24 cense and automotive insurance and in applying 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7042.IH H7042 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7042 IH as needed for driving and transportation assist- 1 ance as described in section 477(k).’’. 2 SEC. 4. DRIVING AND TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE PRO- 3 GRAM. 4 (a) PURPOSE.—Section 477(a) of the Social Security 5 Act (42 U.S.C. 677(a)) is amended— 6 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 7 end; 8 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at 9 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(8) to provide driving and transportation as- 12 sistance to children in foster care and certain former 13 foster care recipients who have attained the appro- 14 priate age and circumstances to begin receiving such 15 assistance.’’. 16 (b) DRIVING AND TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE.— 17 Section 477 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677) 18 is amended by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(k) FUNDS FOR DRIVING AND TRANSPORTATION 20 ASSISTANCE.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The following conditions 22 shall apply to a State driving and transportation as- 23 sistance program under this section: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7042.IH H7042 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7042 IH ‘‘(A) Assistance under the program shall 1 be available to youth who have experienced fos- 2 ter care at age 14 or older, as described in sub- 3 section (a)(1). 4 ‘‘(B) The State may allow youths partici- 5 pating in the assistance program on the date 6 they attain 21 years of age to remain eligible 7 until they attain 26 years of age, as long as the 8 State is satisfied that they are working or en- 9 rolled in a postsecondary education or other 10 employment training program and are making 11 satisfactory progress toward completion of that 12 program. 13 ‘‘(C) The assistance provided for an indi- 14 vidual under this section— 15 ‘‘(i) may include vehicle insurance 16 costs, driver’s education class and testing 17 fees, practice lessons, practice hours, li- 18 cense fees, roadside assistance, deductible 19 assistance, assistance in purchasing an 20 automobile, and any other costs related to 21 obtaining a driver’s license and driving le- 22 gally in the State; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:30 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7042.IH H7042 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7042 IH ‘‘(ii) shall not exceed the lesser of 1 $4,000 per year or the total cost of the 2 items described in clause (i). 3 ‘‘(D) The State shall ensure that, in the 4 case of a youth in foster care under the age of 5 18 participating in the assistance program, the 6 youth’s foster parent (if any) may authorize an- 7 other adult to provide any authorization re- 8 quired by the State to be provided by a parent 9 or guardian in order for such a youth to obtain 10 a driver’s license or permit or take driving les- 11 sons. 12 ‘‘(E) The State shall work to remove bar- 13 riers to obtaining a driver’s license and appro- 14 priate insurance for youth under the age of 18, 15 such as addressing liability and insurance laws 16 to allow minor youth to more easily obtain a li- 17 cense. 18 ‘‘(F) The amount of assistance under this 19 section shall be disregarded for purposes of de- 20 termining the recipient’s eligibility for, or the 21 amount of, any other Federal or federally sup- 22 ported assistance, except that the State agency 23 shall take appropriate steps to prevent duplica- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7042.IH H7042 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7042 IH tion of benefits under this and other Federal or 1 federally supported programs. 2 ‘‘(G) The State shall coordinate the pro- 3 gram with other appropriate programs, includ- 4 ing those described under subsection (b)(3)(F), 5 to support current and former youth in their 6 transition to adulthood. 7 ‘‘(H) The State shall work to streamline 8 processes for communicating program eligibility 9 and shall conduct public awareness efforts to 10 ensure that foster youth are aware of the assist- 11 ance available under the program. 12 ‘‘(I) The State agrees to submit such an- 13 nual data to the Secretary as the Secretary may 14 require, including data specifying the number of 15 individuals, of those in foster care or formerly 16 in foster care who have attained from 15 to 26 17 years of age, who (as appropriate to the age 18 and other circumstances of the individual)— 19 ‘‘(i) are eligible for a driver’s license; 20 ‘‘(ii) have completed a driver’s edu- 21 cation course; 22 ‘‘(iii) have completed driver’s training 23 hours; 24 ‘‘(iv) have obtained a learner’s permit; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7042.IH H7042 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7042 IH ‘‘(v) have obtained a driver’s license; 1 ‘‘(vi) own a vehicle or otherwise have 2 access to a vehicle to drive; and 3 ‘‘(vii) have automotive liability insur- 4 ance. 5 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall annually 6 submit a report to the Committee on Ways and 7 Means of the House of Representatives and the 8 Committee on Finance of the Senate on the State 9 driving and transportation assistance program under 10 this subsection, and shall make such report publicly 11 available. Such report shall include a compilation of 12 the State data submitted to the Secretary under 13 paragraph (1)(I).’’. 14 (c) CERTIFICATION.—Section 477(b)(3) of the Social 15 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677(b)(3)) is amended by adding 16 at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(L) A certification by the chief executive 18 officer of the State that the State driving and 19 transportation assistance program under this 20 section is in compliance with the conditions 21 specified in subsection (k)(1), including a state- 22 ment describing methods the State will use— 23 ‘‘(i) to ensure that the total amount 24 of driving and transportation assistance to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7042.IH H7042 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7042 IH a youth under this section and under other 1 Federal and federally supported programs 2 does not exceed the limitation specified in 3 subsection (k)(1)(C)(ii); and 4 ‘‘(ii) to avoid duplication of benefits 5 under this and any other Federal or feder- 6 ally assisted benefit program.’’. 7 (d) INCREASED AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA- 8 TIONS.—Section 477(h) of the Social Security Act (42 9 U.S.C. 677(h)) is amended— 10 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 11 end; 12 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 13 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(3) an additional $36,000,000, which are au- 16 thorized to be available for payments to States for 17 driving and transportation assistance in accordance 18 with subsection (k)(1).’’. 19 (e) ALLOTMENTS TO STATES.—Section 477(c) of the 20 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677(c)) is amended— 21 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para- 22 graph (5); and 23 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol- 24 lowing: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7042.IH H7042 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7042 IH ‘‘(4) DRIVING AND TRANSPORTATION ASSIST- 1 ANCE ALLOTMENT.— 2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the amount, if 3 any, appropriated pursuant to subsection (h)(3) 4 for a fiscal year and remaining after the res- 5 ervation described in subparagraph (B), the 6 Secretary may allot to each State with an appli- 7 cation approved under subsection (b) for the 8 fiscal year an amount equal to the State foster 9 care ratio multiplied by the amount so specified. 10 ‘‘(B) RESERVATIONS FOR INDIAN TRIBES 11 AND TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—The Secretary 12 shall reserve up to 3 percent of the amount ap- 13 propriated each year pursuant to subsection 14 (h)(3) for payments to Indian tribes and tribal 15 organizations to be used in accordance with 16 subsection (k).’’. 17 (f) DISCRETIONARY GRANTS.—Section 474 of the 18 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 674) is amended— 19 (1) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘section 20 477(a)(6)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 477(a)(5)’’; 21 (2) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 22 subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and 23 (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol- 24 lowing: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7042.IH H7042 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7042 IH ‘‘(f) DISCRETIONARY GRANTS FOR DRIVING AND 1 TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE.—From amounts appro- 2 priated pursuant to section 477(h)(3), the Secretary may 3 make a grant to a State with a plan approved under this 4 part, for a calendar quarter, in an amount equal to the 5 lesser of— 6 ‘‘(1) 80 percent of the amounts expended by 7 the State during the quarter to carry out programs 8 for the purposes described in section 477(a)(8); or 9 ‘‘(2) the amount, if any, allotted to the State 10 under section 477(c)(4)(A) for the fiscal year in 11 which the quarter occurs, reduced by the total of the 12 amounts payable to the State under this subsection 13 for such purposes for all prior quarters in the fiscal 14 year.’’. 15 (g) PAYMENTS TO INDIAN TRIBAL ORGANIZA- 16 TIONS.—Section 477 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 17 677), as amended by subsection (b), is further amended 18 by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(l) PAYMENTS TO INDIAN TRIBES AND TRIBAL OR- 20 GANIZATIONS FOR DRIVING AND TRANSPORTATION AS- 21 SISTANCE PROGRAMS.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An Indian tribe or tribal 23 organization (as such terms are defined for purposes 24 of section 428(c)) which has a plan for child welfare 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7042.IH H7042 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7042 IH services approved under subpart 1 of part B of this 1 title and which operates a foster care program may 2 apply for an allotment out of any amounts reserved 3 for a fiscal year under subsection (c)(4)(B) to carry 4 out programs for the purposes described in sub- 5 section (a)(8). 6 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—An Indian tribe or tribal 7 organization desiring an allotment under paragraph 8 (1) of this subsection shall submit an application to 9 the Secretary to directly receive such allotment that 10 includes a plan which— 11 ‘‘(A) satisfies such requirements of sub- 12 sections (b)(3) and (k) as the Secretary deter- 13 mines are appropriate in consultation with the 14 tribe or tribal organization; 15 ‘‘(B) contains a description of the Indian 16 tribe or tribal organization’s consultation proc- 17 ess regarding the programs to be carried out 18 under the plan with each State in which the In- 19 dian tribe or tribal organization is located; and 20 ‘‘(C) contains an explanation of the results 21 of such consultation, particularly with respect 22 to— 23 ‘‘(i) determining the eligibility for 24 driving and transportation assistance bene- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7042.IH H7042 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7042 IH fits and services of Indian children to be 1 served under the programs to be carried 2 out under the plan; and 3 ‘‘(ii) the process for consulting with 4 the State in order to ensure the continuity 5 of such benefits and services for such chil- 6 dren who will transition from receiving 7 such benefits and services under programs 8 carried out under a State plan under sub- 9 section (b)(2) to receiving such benefits 10 and services under programs carried out 11 under a plan under this subsection. 12 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall pay an 13 Indian tribe or tribal organization with an applica- 14 tion approved under this subsection from the allot- 15 ment determined for the Indian tribe or tribal orga- 16 nization under paragraph (4) in the same manner as 17 is provided in section 474(f) with respect to a State, 18 or in such other manner as is determined appro- 19 priate by the Secretary, except that in no case shall 20 an Indian tribe or tribal organization receive a lesser 21 proportion of such funds than a State is [Text truncated for display. 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