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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to young adults who are homeless or 2
were in the child welfare system; amending s. 3
409.1452, F.S.; requiring each Florida College System 4
institution and state university, in consultation with 5
the State Office on Homelessness, to develop a pl an to 6
prioritize the placement of certain students in 7
residence halls or dormitory residences; providing 8
responsibilities for the Office of Continuing Care, 9
Florida College System institutions, and state 10
universities; requiring that certain institutions an d 11
universities give priority to certain students for 12
housing and work-study programs; creating s. 13
409.14521, F.S.; defining the term "young adult"; 14
requiring certain entities to develop programs and 15
supports to help young adults access certain federal 16
programs and vouchers; providing requirements for such 17
programs and supports; requiring specified entities to 18
maintain certain records and provide certain 19
assurances to landlords; providing applicability; 20
creating s. 1009.899, F.S.; creating the Fostering 21
Independence Grant Program within the Department of 22
Education for a specified purpose; providing 23
eligibility requirements; providing for the 24
distribution of grant funds based on whether the 25
HB 879 2025
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student receives other types of financial aid; 26
requiring participating Florida College System 27
institutions and state universities to report certain 28
information to the Department of Education annually; 29
requiring the Office of Program Policy Analysis and 30
Government Accountability, in consultation with other 31
entities, to conduct a specified study and report its 32
findings to the Governor and Legislature by a date 33
certain; providing requirements for such study; 34
effective date. 35
36
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 37
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Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 4 09.1452, Florida 39
Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (5), and a new subsection 40
(3) and subsection (4) are added to that section, to read: 41
409.1452 Collaboration with State University System, 42
Florida College System, and Department of Education to assist 43
children and young adults who have been or are in foster care or 44
are experiencing homelessness; documentation regarding 45
eligibility for tuition and fee exemptions ; housing assistance .—46
The department shall collaborate with the State University 47
System, the Florida College System, and the Department of 48
Education to address the need for a comprehensive support 49
structure in the academic arena to assist children and young 50
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adults who have been or remain in the foster care system in 51
making the transition from a st ructured care system into an 52
independent living setting. 53
(3) Each Florida College System institution and state 54
university shall, in consultation with the State Office on 55
Homelessness, develop a plan to prioritize the placement of 56
students who are 28 year s of age or younger and who: 57
(a) Are or were formerly in foster care in the United 58
States; 59
(b) Are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of 60
experiencing homelessness; or 61
(c) Are eligible for the tuition and fee exemption under 62
s. 1009.25(1)(c)1.-4. or (1)(e), 63
64
in residence halls or dormitory residences owned or operated by 65
the institution or university at which the student attends. The 66
Office of Continuing Care established under s. 414.56 is 67
responsible for determining if a student is or was forme rly in 68
foster care in the United States. Each Florida College System 69
institution and state university is responsible for determining 70
whether a student meets the definition of a homeless child or 71
youth by using the process for determining whether a student is 72
eligible for a tuition or fee exemption under s. 73
1009.25(1)(c)1.-4. or (1)(e). 74
(4) If a Florida College System institution or state 75
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university implements a priority system for the assignment of 76
students to any of the following, the institution or univ ersity 77
must give first priority to students who are eligible for the 78
tuition and fee exemption under s. 1009.25(1)(c)1. -4. or (1)(e): 79
(a) Housing owned or operated by the institution or 80
university. 81
(b) Year-round housing. 82
(c) Work-study programs. 83
Section 2. Section 409.14521, Florida Statutes, is created 84
to read: 85
409.14521 Housing assistance for young adults. — 86
(1) As used in this section, the term "young adult" means 87
a person who is 28 years of age or younger who was in the child 88
welfare system in the United States after he or she attained the 89
age of 14. 90
(2) The department, community -based care lead agencies, 91
their subcontracted providers, and housing authorities created 92
under s. 421.04 shall develop programs and supports to help 93
young adults access all available federal programs and vouchers 94
offered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban 95
Development relating to housing and housing stability. At a 96
minimum, the programs and supports must include all of the 97
following: 98
(a) The creation of a list identifying each young adult 99
eligible for federal housing programs and vouchers within each 100
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community-based care lead agency's geographic service area. 101
(b) A recruitment and communication plan to help 102
community-based care lead agencies co ntact and engage with such 103
young adults. 104
(c) A memorandum of understanding or letter of intent 105
between each community -based care lead agency and each housing 106
authority located within the geographic service area of the 107
community-based care lead agency. 108
(d) Written certification from each community -based care 109
lead agency to each housing authority located within the lead 110
agency's geographic service area which verifies that the young 111
adult was involved in the child welfare system after turning 14 112
years of age. 113
(e) A detailed list of processes and support services that 114
are available to a young adult who is participating in a federal 115
program or voucher. 116
(3) The department, community -based care lead agencies, 117
and their subcontracted service providers that a dminister 118
housing funds for young adults in the child welfare system must 119
maintain detailed records of all reasonable actions taken to 120
facilitate a young adult's acquisition of a residential lease. 121
Reasonable actions include providing assurances to a landl ord 122
that funding will be provided on a monthly basis in order for 123
the young adult to execute a contract for the lease of 124
residential property. Such assurances may include cosigning the 125
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contract to lease the residential property, providing a 126
guarantee, or any other form of assurance acceptable to the 127
landlord. This subsection applies to entities that serve young 128
adults receiving postsecondary educational services and support 129
or aftercare services under s. 409.1451 or young adults 130
receiving continuing care un der 39.6251. 131
Section 3. Section 1009.899, Florida Statutes, is created 132
to read: 133
1009.899 Fostering Independence Grant Program. — 134
(1) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE. —The Fostering Independence 135
Grant Program is established within the Department of Education 136
to ensure that the costs associated with attending a Florida 137
College System institution or state university are not a barrier 138
to postsecondary education for eligible young adults, as defined 139
in s. 409.14521(1), who are or were formerly in foster care and 140
students who are experiencing homelessness. Participating 141
Florida College System institutions and state universities shall 142
administer the program in accordance with rules of the State 143
Board of Education and regulations of the Board of Governors. 144
(2) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible for the program, 145
a student must meet all of the following requirements: 146
(a) Be eligible for a tuition and fee exemption under s. 147
1009.25(1)(c)1.-4. or (1)(e). 148
(b) Earn a standard high school diploma under s. 149
1002.3105(5), s. 1003.4281, or s. 1003.4282 or a high school 150
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equivalency diploma under s. 1003.435. 151
(c) Be enrolled in at least 9 semester hours, or the 152
equivalent per term, in a degree program, a certificate program, 153
or an applied technology program at a Florida Col lege System 154
institution or state university. 155
(d) Be eligible for a Florida Public Student Assistance 156
Grant under s. 1009.50. 157
(e) Submit a complete and accurate Free Application for 158
Federal Student Aid before the disbursement of grant funds. 159
(3) GRANT AWARD.—Subject to legislative appropriation, a 160
student is eligible to receive a maximum award equal to the 161
amount needed to cover 100 percent of the estimated annual cost 162
of attendance to a Florida College System institution or state 163
university after all other federal and state financial aid and 164
any financial aid provided by the Florida College System 165
institution or state university is applied, including, but not 166
limited to, a Pell Grant or Florida Bright Futures Scholarship. 167
(4) REPORTING.—Each participating Florida College System 168
institution and state university must report annually to the 169
Department of Education the retention and graduation rates of 170
recipients of a grant under this section. 171
Section 4. (1) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and 172
Government Accountability (OPPAGA) shall conduct a study 173
relating to the barriers that young adults who are or were in 174
the child welfare system or who are or are at risk of 175
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experiencing homelessness, and who are not enrolled in a Florida 176
College System institution or state university, face when trying 177
to obtain housing. The study must include recommendations for 178
overcoming such barriers. 179
(2) OPPAGA shall conduct such study in consultation with 180
the Department of Children and Families, the Department of 181
Commerce, public housing authorities, young adults affected by 182
this act, and other stakeholders as appropriate. 183
(3) OPPAGA shall report its findings and recommendations 184
to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of 185
the House of Representa tives by December 1, 2026. 186
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 187