Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Fund Evidence-based Grants for Youth Aging Out of Foster Care

Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) jointly introduced legislation on December 11 that would provide $100 million over five years for evidence-based grants under the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood.

The bill (S. 3025) would provide funding for 10-15 five-year grants from FY 2021-2025. Federal funding would need to be matched by state and other non-federal sources. If enacted, it would provide funding for three tiers of evidence-based grants.

  • Development: Programs with preliminary evidence of the potential for positive impacts;
  • Validation: Programs with at least one quasi-experimental study showing positive results;
  • Replication: Programs with at least one experimental study demonstrating positive results.

See the bill text for more details.

Sens. Grassley and Wyden are the ranking Republican and Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee respectively. The bill will likely receive support in the Senate, absent any objections from other senators.

Child welfare bills are often considered on a bipartisan basis in the waning days of a legislative session. It is possible that the bill might be enacted before the end of this calendar year.

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