CT
Connecticut House Bill HB06563

Connecticut 2023 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB06563 Compare Versions

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77 General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6563
88 January Session, 2023
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1314 AN ACT INCREASING THE AGE OF ELIGIBILITY FOR THE
1415 POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION FUNDING PROGRAM OFFERED BY
15-THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AND
16-ESTABLISHING A PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL
17-ASSISTANCE FOR THE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION OF
18-ADOPTED YOUTH..
16+THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
1917 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
2018 Assembly convened:
2119
2220 Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) As used in this section: 1
2321 (1) "Department" means the Department of Children and Families; 2
2422 (2) "Postsecondary education program" means any program that 3
25-leads to an academic degree or certification in a vocation or employment 4
26-training; and 5
23+leads to an academic degree or certification in a vocation or 4
24+employment training; and 5
2725 (3) "Postsecondary education funding program" means the program 6
28-set forth in department policy 28-1 under which it funds the 7
29-postsecondary education of a youth who is committed to the 8
30-department, remains committed at the age of eighteen and meets the 9
31-requirements established by the department in its policies and 10
32-regulations. 11
33-(b) The Commissioner of Children and Families shall amend the 12
34-department policies and regulations regarding the postsecondary 13
35-education funding program to (1) increase the age until which a youth 14
36-can qualify for funding from the department under the postsecondary 15 Substitute Bill No. 6563
26+offered by the department under which it funds the postsecondary 7
27+education of a youth who is committed to the department at the age of 8
28+eighteen or younger and meets the requirements established by the 9
29+department in its policies and regulations. 10
30+(b) The Commissioner of Children and Families shall amend the 11
31+department policies and regulations regarding the postsecondary 12
32+education funding program to (1) increase the age until which a youth 13
33+can voluntarily agree to receive and qualify for services and funding 14
34+from the department under the postsecondary education funding 15
35+program from twenty-one to twenty-six years of age, and (2) increase 16 Substitute Bill No. 6563
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43-education funding program from twenty-one to twenty-six years of age, 16
44-(2) increase the age until which a youth who is enrolled in a 17
45-postsecondary education program and continues to meet the 18
46-requirements established by the department is eligible for funding to 19
47-complete such postsecondary education program under the 20
48-postsecondary education funding program from twenty-three to 21
49-twenty-eight years of age, and (3) require any youth who is eligible for 22
50-funding under the postsecondary education funding program to 23
51-complete for each year such youth is enrolled in a postsecondary 24
52-education program, as a condition to receiving such funding, the Free 25
53-Application for Federal Student Aid and applications for any 26
54-appropriate scholarships and grants, including, but not limited to, 27
55-through any scholarship application portal administered by the 28
56-provider of such postsecondary education program. Nothing in this 29
57-section shall be construed to require the department to continue 30
58-providing case management services for any youth who begins 31
59-receiving funding under the postsecondary education funding program 32
60-when such youth is older than twenty-one years of age. 33
61-Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) Not later than January 1, 2024, 34
62-the Commissioner of Children and Families shall establish a pilot 35
63-program to provide financial assistance for the postsecondary education 36
64-of any youth who (1) is adopted by a state resident through another 37
65-state's foster care program on or after January 1, 2005, (2) completes the 38
66-Free Application for Federal Student Aid for each year such youth is 39
67-enrolled in a postsecondary education program, as defined in section 1 40
68-of this act, and (3) meets and continues to meet the postsecondary 41
69-education assistance program requirements set forth in the Department 42
70-of Children and Families policy 25-2, except the requirement that such 43
71-youth be adopted through the department's foster care program. A 44
72-youth who qualifies for financial assistance pursuant to this subsection 45
73-may apply to the department in the form and manner prescribed by the 46
74-commissioner. The commissioner shall approve a youth's application to 47
75-receive such financial assistance until the completion of such youth's 48
76-postsecondary education program, within the limits of available 49 Substitute Bill No. 6563
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83-funding and on a first-come, first-served basis. The amount of financial 50
84-assistance provided by the commissioner to a youth pursuant to this 51
85-subsection (A) shall include the cost of tuition, fees, room and board and 52
86-books, but may not exceed the maximum cost of attendance at a state 53
87-university within the Connecticut State University System for an in-54
88-state, full-time residential student, and (B) may be paid on a semester, 55
89-trimester or quarterly basis as required by the postsecondary education 56
90-program in which such youth is enrolled. 57
91-(b) Not later than January 1, 2025, the Commissioner of Children and 58
92-Families shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of 59
93-section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committees of 60
94-the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to children, 61
95-higher education and employment advancement, and appropriations 62
96-and the budgets of the state agencies concerning the pilot program 63
97-established pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. Such report shall 64
98-include, but need not be limited to, the (1) number of youth who 65
99-received financial assistance, (2) amount of such financial assistance, 66
100-and (3) feasibility of making such pilot program permanent. 67
101-Sec. 3. (Effective July 1, 2023) The sum of one hundred fifty thousand 68
102-dollars is appropriated to the Department of Children and Families from 69
103-the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, for the pilot 70
104-program established pursuant to section 2 of this act. 71
42+the age until which a youth who is enrolled in a postsecondary 17
43+education program and continues to meet the requirements 18
44+established by the department is eligible for funding to complete such 19
45+postsecondary education program under the postsecondary education 20
46+funding program from twenty-three to twenty-eight years of age. 21
10547 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
10648 sections:
10749
10850 Section 1 July 1, 2023 New section
109-Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 New section
110-Sec. 3 July 1, 2023 New section
11151
112-KID Joint Favorable Subst.
52+HED Joint Favorable Subst.
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