[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2657 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2657
To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to provide for
opportunity passports and other assistance for youth in foster care and
youth aging out of foster care.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 20, 2002
Mrs. Clinton (for herself, Mr. Edwards, Ms. Landrieu, and Mr. Dodd)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to provide for
opportunity passports and other assistance for youth in foster care and
youth aging out of foster care.
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 ``Opportunity Passport Act of 2002''.
SEC. 2. OPPORTUNITY PASSPORTS.
Section 105(a)(3) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
(42 U.S.C. 5106(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(D) Opportunity passports and other assistance.--
``(i) Grants.--The Secretary may make
grants to partnerships of public agencies or
private nonprofit organizations in not more
than 10 States to assist the partnerships in
developing and implementing methods of
providing long- and short-term financial
security for youth in foster care and youth
aging out of foster care.
``(ii) Use of funds.--
``(I) In general.--A partnership
that receives a grant under clause (i)
shall use the funds made available
through the grant to carry out 1 or
more of the activities described in
clauses (ii) through (v).
``(II) Opportunity passports.--The
partnership may use the funds to
develop and provide, for youth aging
out of foster care, electronic
opportunity passports, such as
electronic cards or secure Internet
databases that contain vital
information, such as medical records,
legal identification (analogous to a
Social Security card or birth
certificate), and school transcripts,
to ensure that the youth can carry or
readily access the vital information.
``(III) Individual development
accounts.--The partnership may use the
funds to establish and provide
individual development accounts, to
assist youth aging out of foster care
to obtain postsecondary education,
purchase a house, pay for medical care,
operate a business, or purchase a car.
In establishing and providing such an
account, the partnership shall provide
a small amount of seed money and shall
require the account holder to attend
money management training before
receiving access to the account.
``(IV) Debit accounts for short-
term use.--The partnership may use the
funds to establish and provide debit
accounts, to assist youth aging out of
foster care for short periods by
enabling the youth to build credit
histories and purchase essential items
such as work uniforms and car
insurance, in order to assist the youth
in becoming self-sufficient. In
establishing and providing such an
account, the partnership shall provide
a small amount of seed money and shall
require the account holder to attend
money management training before
receiving access to the account.
``(V) Assistance from youth
leadership boards and community
partners.--The partnership may use the
funds to establish a youth leadership
board and provide assistance through
the board, or to provide assistance
through members of the partnership, to
enable youth in foster care to
negotiate agreements, obtain expedited
access to education and training
programs, obtain pre-approval for
student loans or other student
financial assistance, and become
entrepreneurs.
``(iii) Definition.--In this subparagraph, the term `youth
aging out of foster care' means children who are--
``(A) leaving foster care because such children
have attained the maximum age for foster care
eligibility in a State; and
``(B) transitioning to independent living, as
determined by the Secretary.''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 112 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42
U.S.C. 5106h) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c);
(2) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ``(other than
section 105(a)(3)(D))'' after ``title''; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
``(b) Opportunity Passports.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out section 105(a)(3)(D) $10,000,000 for fiscal
year 2003 and such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent fiscal
year.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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