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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6563
AN ACT INCREASING THE AGE OF ELIGIBILITY FOR THE
POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION FUNDING PROGRAM OFFERED
BY THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AND
ESTABLISHING A PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE FOR THE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION OF
ADOPTED YOUTH.
SUMMARY
This bill (1) increases the age of eligibility for the Department of
Children and Families’ (DCF) postsecondary education funding
program for youth who are committed to DCF and (2) requires the
department to amend its rules and regulations to reflect these increases.
Additionally, the bill requires DCF, by January 1, 2024, to establish a
pilot program to provide financial assistance for the postsecondary
education funding of any youth adopted in Connecticut through an out-
of-state foster care program. It appropriates $150,000 to DCF from the
General Fund in FY 24 to administer the program.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023
DCF POSTSECONDARY ED UCATION FUNDING PROGRAM
Under the bill, the “postsecondary education funding program” is
DCF’s program that provides funding to youths who remain committed
to DCF at age 18 and meet the requirements in the department’s policies
and regulations (DCF policy 28-1).
The bill increases, from 21 to 26, the age until which a youth can
qualify for postsecondary education funding. It also increases, from 23
to 28, the age until which a youth enrolled in a postsecondary education
program (i.e., any program that leads to an academic degree or
certification in a vocation or employment training) is eligible for funding
to complete the postsecondary education program, so long as he or she 2023HB-06563-R010649-BA.DOCX
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continues to meet DCF-established requirements.
The bill also requires any youth eligible to receive postsecondary
education funding under the program to complete, as a condition of
receiving the funding, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) and applications for any appropriate scholarships and grants,
including those on the DCF scholarship application portal.
The bill specifies that its provisions should not be construed to
require DCF to continue to provide case management services for any
youth over age 21 who begins to receive funding under the
postsecondary education funding program.
DCF POSTSECONDARY EDUCAT ION FUNDING PILOT PROGRAM
Eligibility
The bill requires DCF, by January 1, 2024, to establish a pilot program
to provide financial assistance for the postsecondary education funding
of any youth who meets the following requirements:
1. is adopted by a Connecticut resident through another state’s
foster care program on or after January 1, 2005;
2. completes the FAFSA for each year they are enrolled in the DCF
postsecondary education program; and
3. meets and continues to meet the postsecondary education
assistance program requirements set forth in current DCF policy,
except the requirement that the youth must be adopted through
the department’s foster care program (DCF policy 25-2).
Under the bill, a youth who qualifies for this financial assistance may
apply to the department in a form and manner the DCF commissioner
chooses, and the commissioner must approve applications until the
youth completes the postsecondary education program. The program’s
benefits are available to eligible youth within available funds and on a
first-come, first-served basis.
Financial Assistance 2023HB-06563-R010649-BA.DOCX
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The bill requires the financial assistance to include the cost of tuition,
fees, room and board, and books but to not exceed the maximum cost of
attendance at a state university within the Connecticut State University
System for an in-state, full-time residential student. The financial
assistance may be paid to the postsecondary education program on a
semester, trimester, or quarterly basis as required.
Reporting
By January 1, 2025, the bill requires DCF to submit a report to the
Appropriations, Children’s, and Higher Education and Employment
Advancement committees on the pilot program and include the (1)
number of youths who received financial assistance, (2) amount of
financial assistance, and (3) feasibility of making the pilot program
permanent.
BACKGROUND
Legislative History
The House referred the bill (File 85) to the Committee on Children,
which reported a substitute (1) requiring that the youth in the
postsecondary funding program remain committed to DCF at age 18, (2)
adding the FAFSA requirement, and (3) adding the pilot program and
its funding.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 18 Nay 4 (02/28/2023)
Committee on Children
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 12 Nay 5 (04/04/2023)