‘Resolve, To Improve Degree and Career Attainment for Former Foster Children’

‘Sec. 1. Transition grant program. Resolved: That the Department of Health and Human Services shall establish a transition grant program to provide financial support to eligible individuals to pay for postsecondary education. The department shall adopt rules to implement the program that include the following requirements.

1. An eligible individual must be at least 21 years of age but less than 27 years of age, must have exited the voluntary extended care and support agreement with the State under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 4037-A at 21 years of age and must be enrolled in a postsecondary education institution.

2. The transition grant is for postsecondary support up to the completion of an undergraduate degree. The rules must include the level of financial support, which must be equivalent to the current voluntary extended foster care supports pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 4037-A. The rules must include duration limits, including a 6-year maximum for a 4-year degree and a 4-year maximum for a 2-year degree. The rules must include duration limits for other types of postsecondary education.

3. The program must include postsecondary education navigator services that provide transitional services and college support, and the rules must include the specifics of those services.

4. The rules must establish an advisory committee to provide oversight of the implementation of the transition grant program. The advisory committee must include stakeholders in the postsecondary education field, the postsecondary education navigator under section 2, professionals who work with transitional foster youth, employers, representatives of the Department of Health and Human Services and other interested parties. The rules must determine the membership, terms of office and voting procedures of the advisory committee and other specifics of its governance structure and require the advisory committee to provide an annual report to the Department of Health and Human Services and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters.

5. The number of individuals receiving transition grants must be limited to no more than 40 individuals at any one time.

Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A; and be it further

Sec. 2. Postsecondary education navigator. Resolved: That the Department of Health and Human Services shall develop the roles and responsibilities for one postsecondary education navigator to be hired by the department to provide transitional services and college student support for individuals in the transition grant program established in section 1. The postsecondary education navigator must be a member of the advisory committee established in section 1, subsection 4 and provide data to the advisory committee.’