Pandemic Protection Act

Pandemic Protection for Transition-age Foster Youth Act or the Pandemic Protection Act

This bill extends eligibility for foster care services to youth who would otherwise age out of such services during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic for three months after such emergency ends. Additionally, the bill removes certain work or education requirements for older foster youth during such period.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6848 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6848

   To temporarily preserve eligibility for foster care benefits, and 
 suspend certain education and work requirements, for youth who would 
   otherwise age out of eligibility for the benefits during a health 
    emergency or disaster declared with respect to the coronavirus 
                   pandemic, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 2020

Ms. Bass (for herself, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Langevin, Mrs. Lawrence, and Mr. 
  Mitchell) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To temporarily preserve eligibility for foster care benefits, and 
 suspend certain education and work requirements, for youth who would 
   otherwise age out of eligibility for the benefits during a health 
    emergency or disaster declared with respect to the coronavirus 
                   pandemic, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pandemic Protection for Transition-
age Foster Youth Act'' or the ``Pandemic Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY PRESERVATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR FOSTER CARE BENEFITS, 
              AND SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN EDUCATION AND WORK 
              REQUIREMENTS, FOR YOUTH WHO WOULD OTHERWISE AGE OUT OF 
              ELIGIBILITY FOR THE BENEFITS DURING A HEALTH EMERGENCY OR 
              DISASTER DECLARED WITH RESPECT TO THE CORONAVIRUS 
              PANDEMIC.

    (a) In General.--During the applicable period--
            (1) a State, Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal 
        consortium operating a program under a plan approved under part 
        E of title IV of the Social Security Act shall not deny a 
        foster care benefit to an eligible youth; and
            (2) section 475(8)(B)(iv) of such Act shall have no force 
        or effect.
    (b) Federal Payments.--For purposes of part E of title IV of the 
Social Security Act, foster care maintenance payments made by such a 
State, Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium for the 
benefit of an eligible child in compliance with subsection (a) of this 
section shall be considered to be made under section 472 of such Act.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Applicable period.--The term ``applicable period'' 
        means the period that begins on the date the Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services declared, pursuant to section 319 of 
        the Public Health Service Act, the public health emergency 
        entitled ``Determination that a Public Health Emergency Exists 
        Nationwide as the Result of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus'', and 
        ends 3 months after the later of--
                    (A) the date the public health emergency so 
                declared terminates; or
                    (B) the end of the period covered by--
                            (i) the emergency declaration issued by the 
                        President on March 13, 2020, pursuant to 
                        section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford 
                        Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
                        (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)); and
                            (ii) any subsequent major disaster 
                        declaration under section 401 of the Robert T. 
                        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                        Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) that supersedes 
                        the emergency declaration referred to in clause 
                        (i) of this subparagraph.
            (2) Eligible youth.--The term ``eligible youth'' means, 
        with respect to a foster care benefit, a child who, as of 
        January 1, 2020, was in foster care under the responsibility of 
        a State or an Indian tribe or was a youth receiving any benefit 
        under section 477 of the Social Security Act, and who, in the 
        absence of this section, would become ineligible for the 
        benefit during the applicable period by reason of age.
            (3) Foster care benefit.--The term ``foster care benefit'' 
        means--
                    (A) foster care under the responsibility of a State 
                or an Indian tribe;
                    (B) foster care maintenance payments under section 
                472 of the Social Security Act; and
                    (C) any benefit under section 477 of such Act.
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