John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program

Why was the Federal John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program created?

The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program was created in 1999 with passage the Foster Care Independence Act. The Chafee Foster Care Independence Program replaced the Title IV-E Independent Living Initiative of 1986. Its purpose was spelled out in the legislation and had 5 initial points:

1. to identify children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age and to help these children make the transition to self-sufficiency by providing services such as assistance in obtaining a high school diploma, career exploration, vocational training, job placement and retention, training in daily living skills, training in budgeting and financial management skills, substance abuse prevention, and preventive health activities (including smoking avoidance, nutrition education, and pregnancy prevention);

2. to help children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age receive the education, training and services necessary to obtain employment;

3. to help children who are likely to remain in foster care until 18 years of age prepare for and enter post secondary training and education institutions;

4. to provide personal and emotional support to children aging out of foster care, through mentors and the promotion of interactions with dedicated adults;

5. to provide financial, housing, counseling, employment, education and other appropriate support and services to former foster care recipients between 18 and 21 years of age to complement their own efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and to assure that program participants recognize and accept their personal responsibility for preparing for and then making the transition from adolescence to adulthood; and

6. to make available vouchers for education and training, including post secondary learning and education, to youths who have aged out of foster care (this point was added in the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Amendments of 2001).

What changes in provisions resulted from the creation of the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program?

The Chafee program made revisions to previous provisions in the federal law and added some new ones. Some of those changes are outlined here. (Most of the information outlined below was gathered from the Frequently Asked Questions booklet prepared by the National Foster Care Awareness Project).

Provisions	John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program	Former IL initiative
Amount of Funding?	$140 million	$70 million
Are State Matching Funds required?	20% on total allocation	No match for allocations under $45 million
What is used to determine the amount a state can get?	The figure is based on the number of children in federal and state funded foster care in the most recent fiscal year, no state will get less than they did in 1998.	Based on the number of children in federal funded foster care in 1984.
Who is eligible?	Youth who are likely to remain in care until age 18 and who have aged out of care until age 21, regardless of their eligibility for Title IV-E funding (federally funded foster care). A portion of the funds must be set aside for youth 18-21 who have aged out of care.	Youth 16-18 in federally funded foster care. States had an option to serve youth until age 21and those who were in state funded foster care.
What benefits are available to Native American youth?	States are required to make the same benefits available to native youth as are available to other children.	No Provision
How must the youth be involved?	The youth must participate directly in developing their program and they must take responsibility for seeing it happen.	No provision
Can states use the funds for helping a youth with room and board expenses?	States can use up to 30% of their allocation for room and board expenses for youth that are 18-21 as long as they were in care when they turned 18.	Use of funds for room and board was not allowed.
Is independent living a permanency plan?	No. Chafee clarified that independent living activities are not an alternative to seeking permanence for a youth and can be used concurrently with adoption planning and other permanency services.	No provision
What are the provisions for health care coverage?	States have been encouraged to provide medical to youth who have aged out of care and have been given an option of extending Medicaid services to youth 18-21 that have aged out of care.	No provision
How much can a youth own and still be eligible for services?	A youth can now have assets valued up to $10,000. This can include a vehicle and bank accounts.	The previous limit was $1,000.

What does the Chafee program address for education?

The addition in 2001 of the sixth purpose to provide education and training vouchers was unlike anything ever legislated on a national level before. The provision was finally funded in the appropriations legislation for FY2003. Click here to learn more about this sixth purpose, the program instructions and its underlying legislation.

What Legislation supports Federal Independent Living Programs?

Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 - the federal legislation that created the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program which provides approximately $140 million for independent living services for youth in foster care.

Promoting Safe and Stable Families Amendments of 2001- this program includes several provisions affecting funding for FCIA. Provisions include:

• an educational voucher program for transitioning foster youth

• extra time for states to spend their 2000 Chafee allotments (deadline will be Sept. 30, 2002)

• redistribution of unapplied for Chafee funds among the states

What reporting requirements are present under Chafee?

Report to Congress - Each year the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau is required to submit a report to Congress. This year's report (September, 2001) presents the Department's plan and timetable for developing and implementing National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) and establishing a penalty structure for States that do not comply with (NYTD) data collection and reporting requirements.

Fiscal year 2005 marks the beginning of a new cycle in the Child and Family Services Plans which run for 5 years. The program instructions (PI) have been released for the new 5 year plan which is due June 30, 2004. To download a pdf version of the PI, click here.

How much is the funding allotment under Chafee?

Under the Chafee Program, allocations to states are based on the proportion of children in Title IV- E funded and state funded foster care for the most recent year. Allotments to states will, therefore, be adjusted each year.
Allotments for 2002
Allotments for 2003
Allotments for 2004
Allotments for 2005
Allotments for 2006
Allotments for 2007

Where can I find additional information on Chafee?

Frequently Asked Questions I (February, 2000)
This document was prepared by members of the National Foster Care Coalition to answer many of the questions that surfaced during the early stages of Chafee implementation.

Frequently Asked Questions II (December, 2000)
This document is a follow-up document providing more detail about certain provisions of the legislation.

Frequently Asked Questions III
This volume is the third in a series of publications designed to support the full and effective implementation of the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (FCIA) and the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, as well as the Chafee ETV Program.

Policy Manual Update
This is a link to the official Policy Manual maintained by the Children's Bureau. The policy manual helps states to understand the federal legislation and to translate it into state law and practice. The link provided here is specific to the Independent Living legislation, however, other sources can be accessed as well.

Compilation of Chafee Related Legislation
This link is to a PDF that is a compilation of Titles IV-B, IV-E and Related Sections of the Social Security Act which are all related to different sections of Chafee provisions. This resource is a great place to go for the legislation you need all in one place. For a link to an HTML version instead, click here.

For a complete listing of Independent Living Coordinators by state, click here.

For additional information on Chafee, please visit the Children's Bureau web site.