North Carolina § 108A-48 - State Foster Care Benefits Program.

§ 108A-48. State Foster Care Benefits Program.

The Department is authorized to establish a State Foster Care Benefits Program with appropriations by the General Assembly for the purpose of providing assistance to children who are placed in foster care facilities by county departments of social services in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Social Services Commission. Such appropriations, together with county contributions for this purpose, shall be expended to provide for the costs of keeping children in foster care facilities. Repealed by Session Laws 2015, c. 241, s. 12C.9(a). The Department may continue to provide benefits pursuant to this section to an individual who has attained the age of 18 years and chosen to continue receiving foster care services until reaching 21 years of age if the individual is (i) completing secondary education or a program leading to an equivalent credential, (ii) enrolled in an institution that provides postsecondary or vocational education, (iii) participating in a program or activity designed to promote, or remove barriers to, employment, (iv) employed for at least 80 hours per month, or (v) incapable of completing the educational or employment requirements of this subsection due to a medical condition or disability. With monthly supervision and oversight by the director of the county department of social services or a supervising agency, an individual receiving benefits pursuant to subsection (c) of this section may reside outside a foster care facility in a college or university dormitory or other semi-supervised housing arrangement approved by the director of the county department of social services and continue to receive benefits pursuant to this section. History (1981, c. 275, s. 1; 2015-241, s. 12C.9(a).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2015-241, s. 12C.9( l ), made the amendments to this section by Session Laws 2015-241, s. 12C.9(a), applicable to agreements entered into on or after January 1, 2017. Session Laws 2015-241, s. 12C.9(i)-(k), provides: "(i) The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services (Division), shall develop a plan for the expansion of foster care services for individuals who have attained the age of 18 years and opt to continue receiving foster care services until reaching 21 years of age. The Division shall report on the plan to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the Fiscal Research Division by March 1, 2016. The Division shall report on the plan as implemented to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the Fiscal Research Division by March 1, 2017. "(j) No later than 60 days after the Department implements the plan for the expansion of foster care services as required under subsection (i) of this section, the Division shall submit a State plan amendment to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families to make federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance, as applicable, under Title IV-E, available to a person meeting the requirements of G.S. 108A-48(c) , as enacted in subsection (a) of this section. "(k) Any agreement entered into pursuant to G.S. 108A-48(b) prior to the effective date of subsection (a) of this section shall remain in full force and effect, and no provision of this section shall be construed to affect or alter such an agreement." Session Laws 2015-241, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2015.'" Session Laws 2015-241, s. 33.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2015-241, s. 33.6, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2015-241, s. 12C.9(a), effective January 1, 2017, repealed subsection (b), which formerly read: "No benefits provided by this section shall be granted to any individual who has passed his eighteenth birthday unless he is less than 21 years of age and is a full-time student or has been accepted for enrollment as a full-time student for the next school term pursuing a high school diploma or its equivalent; a course of study at the college level; or a course of vocational or technical training designed to fit him for gainful employment"; and added subsections (c) and (d). For applicability, see editor's note.