H.R. 7343

119 HR 7343 IH: Foster Youth Workforce Opportunity Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-02-04
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 7343  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   February 4, 2026   Mr. Miller of Ohio  (for himself and  Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Ways and Means    A BILL
To amend section 477 of the Social Security Act to expand education and workforce training opportunities for youth who have experienced foster care.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Foster Youth Workforce Opportunity Act  .
2.
Expansion of education and workforce training opportunities for youth who have experienced foster care
Section 477 of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 677 ) is amended—
(1)
in each of subsections (a)(5) and (h)(2), by striking  aged out of foster care  and inserting  experienced foster care at age 14 or older ;
(2)
in each of subsections (a)(6) and (i)(2), by striking  16  and inserting  14 ;
(3)
in subsection (i)(3), by striking  in no event may a youth participate in the program for more than 5 years (whether or not consecutive)  and inserting  may not allow a youth to participate in the program for more than 5 years (or, in the case of a youth who was involved in a remedial education activity referred to in paragraph (4)(B), for more than 6 years), whether or not consecutive ;
(4)
in subsection (i)(4)—
(A)
by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:
(A)
may be available for the cost of attendance—
(i)
at an institution of higher education, as defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, including a community college or postsecondary vocational institution; or
(ii)
at a short-term training program that is eligible for the Workforce Pell program under section 401(k), as described in section 481(b)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1088(b)(3) ), as added by section 83002(b) of  Public Law 119–21 ;
 ;
(B)
by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); and
(C)
by inserting after subparagraph (A), as so amended, the following:
(B)
may be available for costs—
(i)
associated with participation in an apprenticeship program;
(ii)
to obtain a general equivalency degree; or
(iii)
to receive remedial education; and
 ; and
(5)
in subsection (i), by adding at the end the following:
(7)
In this section, the term  remedial education  means education or skill training needed to support obtaining a high school diploma or qualifying for postsecondary education, training, or an apprenticeship that is—
(A)
not provided by the school district of the student or another free local, State, or Federal program; and
(B)
is provided by an instructor with credentials relevant to the subject area of instruction, as determined by the State.
 .
3.
Effective date
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.