SB 27: "An Act relating to tuition waivers for a child who was in foster care; relating to eligibility for foster care and subsidy payments for a hard-to-place child; and amending the definition of 'child' in certain statutes."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 27 01 "An Act relating to tuition waivers for a child who was in foster care; relating to 02 eligibility for foster care and subsidy payments for a hard-to-place child; and amending 03 the definition of 'child' in certain statutes." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 14.43 is amended by adding a new section to read: 06 Article 3A. Free Tuition for a Person Who Was in Foster Care. 07 Sec. 14.43.086. Free tuition and fees for a person who was in foster care. A 08 person who was in the custody of the state under AS 47.10 or AS 47.14 and placed in 09 foster care is entitled to a waiver of undergraduate tuition and fees if the person enrolls 10 as a student in good standing in a state-supported educational institution in this state. 11 * Sec. 2. AS 25.23.210(b) is amended to read: 12 (b) A subsidy granted by the department under this section may be 13 (1) paid for a specified length of time not to extend after the child's 14 18th birthday or, if the child is living in a foster home, after the child's 23rd
01 birthday; and 02 (2) a deferred subsidy; in this paragraph, "deferred subsidy" means that 03 no monetary reimbursement is paid to a family but other benefits are paid for the 04 child. 05 * Sec. 3. AS 47.10.990(3) is amended to read: 06 (3) "child" means a person who is 07 (A) under 18 years of age; 08 (B) [AND A PERSON] 19 years of age if that person was 09 under 18 years of age at the time that a proceeding under this chapter was 10 commenced; and 11 (C) under 23 years of age if that person is living in a foster 12 home; 13 * Sec. 4. AS 47.14.990 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 14 (13) "child" means a person under 18 years of age and a person under 15 23 years of age if the person is living in a foster home. 16 * Sec. 5. AS 47.18.310 is amended to read: 17 Sec. 47.18.310. Program design. The department, in coordination with local 18 public and private agencies, shall design the program as a continuation of the training 19 efforts related to independent living skills that were initiated when the state foster care 20 recipients were identified as being likely to remain in state foster care until reaching 21 23 years of age [THE AGE OF 18]. The program design must require that program 22 participants are directly involved in identifying the program activities that will prepare 23 them for independent living.