H.R.7947 will expand upon and replace The Pandemic Protection for Transition-Age Foster Youth Act.
It provides for an additional $50 million dollars for Education and Training Voucher (ETV) programs to raise the yearly award amount from $5,000 to $12,000 per student. There will be more flexibility in what ETV can be used for, and youth will no longer have to maintain satisfactory academic progress to continue receiving the award. The age limit will also be raised to 27. This would continue through fiscal year 2021.
In addition, if a foster youth ages out of care during the pandemic, H.R.7947 stipulates they cannot be required to leave foster care simply due to their age, nor can they be denied voluntary re-entry into care. Youth must be notified of the option to return to care if they aged out during 2020-2021.
Other parts of this act include: increasing federal reimbursement for Title IV-E prevention programs, giving additional funds to the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program, increasing federal reimbursement for Kinship Navigator programs, allowing virtual visits to count as home visits, and ensuring states get adequate funds from the Family First Transition Act.