Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research	BILL ANALYSIS
Higher Education

HB 1244

Brief Description:  Creating the foster care endowed scholarship program.

Sponsors:  Representatives Kenney, Cox, Kagi, Tokuda, Gombosky, Morell, Fromhold, Van Luven, Keiser, Benson, Quall, Delvin, Doumit, Lantz, Wood, McIntire, Cooper, Simpson, Veloria, Lovick, Conway, Kessler, D. Schmidt, Lambert, O'Brien, Schual‑Berke, Edwards, Darneille, Edmonds and Haigh.

Brief Summary of Bill

$Creates a foster care endowed scholarship program administered by the Higher Education Coordinating Board.

$Eligible foster and former foster children, age 16 to 23 years, may receive up to the cost of attendance for an institution of higher education.

$Public and private donations shall be solicited and placed in an endowment fund to be matched by state funds deposited in the scholarship trust account.

Hearing Date:  1/29/01

Staff:  Tracey Taylor (786‑7196).

Background: 

Children may have to be removed from their home due to child abuse, neglect, parental substance abuse or family conflict.  Foster families are recruited, supported, and licensed to care for these children.  Many children are eventually returned to their homes; however, almost 11,000 children per year remain in foster care for at least 90 days, and some experience more than one foster home placement.  Children in the foster care system experience many disruptions in their lives, including disruptions in their education. 

There are some foster children who reach age 18 years without being placed into a permanent home.  The Children=s Administration in the Department of Social and Health Services conducts an annual hand-count of the educational status of these children.  Forty-one percent of the former foster children involved in the hand-count do not have a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma (GED) within one year of ?aging@ out of the foster care system.  Only 38 percent of the sample group enroll in a vocational or educational program.

Summary of Bill: 

The Foster Care Endowed Scholarship Program is created and shall be administered by the Higher Education Coordinating Board (HEC Board).

Eligibility:  A resident student, age 16 to 23 years, who spent a minimum of 6 months in Washington state foster care after their 14th birthday may be eligible for the foster care endowed scholarship.  The student must demonstrate the financial inability to meet the total cost of board, room, books and tuition and incidental fees for any semester.  In addition, the student must have entered or plan on entering an institution of higher education or vocational school in Washington within three years of high school graduation or completion of a GED, not pursue a degree in theology, and make satisfactory progress towards the completion of a degree or certificate program.

Grant:  The grant shall be the remaining cost of attendance for a public institution of higher education in Washington after the receipt of a Pell Grant and State Need Grant.  The grant may be used at a public or private institution of higher education and any other institution of higher education approved by the HEC Board.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Appropriation:  The sum of $150,000 for fiscal year ending June 30, 2002.

Fiscal Note:  Requested on January 23, 2001.