scharge.This is a fairly new public law so the effectiveness ofthe law is unstudied. It will be years before anyone willknow if the bill helped the foster children who aged-out offoster care. It looks hopeful that the bill reaches it’sgoals.FundingOne of the goals for bill H.R. 3443 is to increasesfunds to states to assist youths to make the transition fromfoster care to independent living. Federal funding for theIndependent Living program was doubled - from $70 million to$140 million a year. Funds can be used to help youths makethe transition from foster care to self-sufficiency byoffering them the education, vocational and employmenttraining necessary to obtain employment and prepare for postsecondary education, training in daily living skills,substance abuse prevention, pregnancy prevention andpreventive health activities, and connections to dedicatedadults.States must contribute a 20 percent state match forIndependent Living Program funds. States must use federaltraining funds (authorized by Title IV-E of the SocialSecurity Act) to help foster parents, adoptive parents,group home workers, and case managers to address issuesconfronting adolescents preparing for independent living. States must use some portion of their funds for assistanceand services for older youths who have left foster care buthave not reached age 21 (Cook, 1991). States can use up to30 percent of the Independent Living Program funds for roomand board for youths ages 18 to 21 who have left fostercare. States may extend Medicaid to 18, 19, and20-year-olds who have been emancipated from foster care(Schor, 1982). Access to the new independent living fundsis not contingent upon states exercising that option.The bill offers states greater flexibility in designingtheir independent living programs. States can servechildren of various ages who need help preparing forself-sufficiency (not just those ages 16 and over as inpervious law), children at various st...
