Federal grants fund mentoring for foster youth, with rigorous safeguards.

What it does

This bill authorizes federal grants to nonprofits, state agencies, schools, tribes, and faith-based organizations to establish or expand mentoring programs for children and youth in foster care. The grants fund mentor recruitment, training, screening, and program operations, with mentors receiving compensation. The bill requires mentors to undergo background checks, intensive training on trauma and child development, and structured matching with youth for at least one year.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a straightforward federal grant program to fund mentoring services for a vulnerable population. It is a direct public investment in child welfare with no hidden carve-outs or immunity provisions.

What the text implies

• Mentors are compensated, which may create employment pathways for transition-aged foster youth themselves (peer mentors), potentially addressing both mentoring gaps and youth employment simultaneously.
• The bill requires programs to consult foster youth in program design, embedding youth voice in governance—a structural shift toward participatory accountability in child welfare.
• Evaluation and reporting requirements create a federal data stream on mentoring outcomes, potentially establishing evidence standards that could influence state child welfare policy beyond grant recipients.
• The bill does not mandate participation by states or localities; uptake depends on grant competition and local capacity, which may create geographic disparities in access.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Foster youth face documented risks of poor educational, mental health, and life outcomes. Mentoring programs with evidence-based design (structured matching, trained mentors, long-term relationships) demonstrably improve academic enrollment, school attendance, and reduce juvenile justice involvement. The bill funds a public good with clear beneficiaries (vulnerable children) and rigorous safeguards (background checks, trauma training, ongoing evaluation).

Who stands to gain

• nonprofit mentoring organizations
• state child welfare agencies
• local educational agencies
• faith-based organizations
• Indian tribes and tribal organizations

Named in the bill

Department of Health and Human Services (Secretary), State child welfare agencies, Local educational agencies, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, Nonprofit organizations, Faith-based organizations

Where it stands

23 cosponsors: 21 Democrats, 2 Republicans.

• Jul 25, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jul 25, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $10,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 9 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Mary Scanlon, the sponsor, reported $491,978 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Mentoring Partnership Inc — $10,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.