H.R. 4769 — Foster Youth Mentoring Act of 2025

This section states congressional findings on the importance of mentoring relationships for children and youth, including that 20% of youth (8.5 million) lack caring adults; at-risk youth with mentors are 55% more likely to enroll in college, 52% less likely to skip school, and 75% more likely to hold leadership positions; in 2021, 391,311 youth were in foster care (86,793 ages 11-15 and 55,396 ages 16-20); and mentoring programs improve outcomes for foster youth such as mental health, reduced substance misuse, fewer placement changes, and lower juvenile justice involvement.

This section establishes a new grant program under the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program (i.e., discretionary grants to states, localities, tribes, and nonprofits for child welfare services such as family preservation and foster care support) to fund the establishment, expansion, or operation of mentoring programs for children in foster care (i.e., those removed from parental custody by a state or tribal child welfare agency) and children with experience in foster care (i.e., individuals under age 26 previously removed from parental custody). The Secretary of Health and Human Services awards grants to eligible entities—including nonprofits, state child welfare agencies, local educational agencies, Indian tribes or tribal organizations, and faith-based organizations—for structured mentoring that matches screened and trained adult or peer volunteers with mentees for at least one year of regular activities focused on academic support, enrichment, risk behavior minimization, and social-emotional development. Grant applications must describe (1) program design, including targeted outcomes, mentor-mentee matches, capacity to serve diverse youth (e.g., youth of color, LGBTQ+ youth, those with disabilities), and youth input; (2) recruitment strategies to attract demographically representative mentors; (3) intensive, ongoing training in 10 areas (e.g., child development, trauma, cultural competence, child abuse reporting); (4) screening via criminal background checks excluding those with child-related convictions or recent child-safety-related crimes, plus long-term commitment verification; and (5) consultation with youth, community entities, and coordination with other programs.