Human Services Public Hearing

Council of the District of Columbia COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004 COUNCILMEMBER BRIANNE K. NADEAU, CHAIRPERSON COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES ANNOUNCES A PUBLIC HEARING ON B24-0857, THE “PRESERVING OUR KIDS’ EQUITY THROUGH TRUSTS (POKETT) AMENDMENT ACT OF 2022” AND B24-0941, THE “FOSTERING STABLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES AMENDMENT ACT OF 2022” Thursday, September 22, 2022 1 p.m. -or- Immediately following the 10:00 a.m. public oversight roundtable on “The District of Columbia’s Community Services Block Grant Program” Virtual Public Hearing via Zoom Streamed live at https://www.brianneknadeau.com On Thursday, September 22, 2022, Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau, Chairperson of the Committee on Human Services, will convene a public hearing to consider B24-0857, the “Preserving Our Kids’ Equity Through Trusts (POKETT) Amendment Act of 2022”, and B24- 0941, the “Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Amendment Act of 2022”. The hearing will be held virtually via the Zoom platform immediately following the Committee’s 10:00 a.m. public oversight roundtable on “The District of Columbia’s Community Services Block Grant Program,” or at 1 p.m., whichever is later. The stated purpose of Bill 24-0857, the “Preserving Our Kids’ Equity Through Trusts (POKETT) Amendment Act of 2022”, is to require the Child and Family Services Agency to conserve the federal benefits of foster youth in advantaged accounts that avoid transgressing federal resource limitations. The Agency currently uses youths’ survivor and disability benefits for the costs of care and returns any remaining balance to the Social Security Administration when children leave care. This legislation would replace the benefits previously used by the Agency for that purpose with local funds, allowing youth to leave care prepared to be financially independent. This legislation also makes several technical and conforming changes to the statutes governing the Grandparent Caregiver Program and the Close Relative Caregiver Pilot Program (“CRCP”), which provide direct financial assistance to low-income kinship caregivers, including making the CRCP permanent. The stated purpose of Bill 24-0941, the “Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Amendment Act of 2022,” is to require the Child and Family Services Agency to participate in the process of drawing down Foster Youth to Independence vouchers for youth aging out of foster care who are at risk of homelessness and who require assistance securing a primary residence for independent living. Under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (“HUD”) Foster Youth to Independence Initiative, public housing authorities can draw down non-competitive Family Unification Program (“FUP”) Housing Choice Vouchers for youth leaving care who are at risk of homelessness on an as needed basis once they use up 90 percent of their FUP allocations. And under the recent Fostering Stable Housing Opportunity amendments, youth who participate in HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency program are eligible for five years of federal housing support. This legislation, if enacted, would require the Agency to provide the District of Columbia Housing Authority with the support to implement the Initiative required by federal law. The Committee invites the public to testify or to submit written testimony. Anyone wishing to testify at the hearing should complete the witness form at https://www.brianneknadeau.com/testify by the close of business on Thursday, September 15, 2022. Witnesses who anticipate needing language interpretation, including sign language interpretation, are asked to inform the Human Services Committee office of the need as soon as possible, but no later than five (5) business days before the proceeding. We will make every effort to fulfill timely requests, but requests received less than five (5) business days in advance may not be fulfilled, and alternatives may be offered. Representatives of organizations will be allowed a maximum of five minutes for oral testimony, and individuals (and any subsequent representatives of the same organization) will be allowed a maximum of three minutes. Witnesses are encouraged to submit a copy of their testimony electronically to humanservices@dccouncil.us in advance of the hearing. For witnesses who are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements will be made part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be submitted either to the Committee at humanservices@dccouncil.us or to Nyasha Smith, Secretary to the Council, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 5, Washington, D.C. 20004. Additionally, voicemail testimony can be provided for the record by calling the Committee’s unique voicemail number at (202) 570-4281. At the beginning of the message, please state and spell your name, provide the name of the organization you are representing (if any), your title (if any), the topic of your testimony, and then begin your testimony. 2 The record will close for all forms of testimony at the end of the business day on Thursday, September 29, 2022. 3