Fresh Starts for Foster Youth Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 7529 Reported in House (RH)] <DOC> Union Calendar No. 557 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7529 [Report No. 119-640] To require States to consider legal issues affecting youth as part of case planning and to provide States with the option to use funds from the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood to support access to legal services and counseling. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 12, 2026 Mr. Davis of Illinois (for himself and Mr. LaHood) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means May 11, 2026 Additional sponsors: Mr. Schweikert and Mr. Lawler May 11, 2026 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 12, 2026] _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To require States to consider legal issues affecting youth as part of case planning and to provide States with the option to use funds from the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood to support access to legal services and counseling. 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 ``Fresh Starts for Foster Youth Act''. SEC. 2. LEGAL CONSULTING AND ACCESS UNDER THE JOHN H. CHAFEE FOSTER CARE PROGRAM FOR SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD. Section 477 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)(4), by inserting ``legal counseling access,'' after ``education,''; and (2) in subsection (b)(3), by adding at the end the following: ``