1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Foster Youth Mentoring Act of 2017 . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) Research shows that mentors make a difference in children’s lives. At-risk youth who have mentors are 55 percent more likely to enroll in college. Students who meet regularly with their mentors are 52 percent less likely than their peers to skip a day of school. Youth who have mentors are also 130 percent more likely to hold a leadership position. (2) Children that have mentors have improved relationships with adults, fewer disciplinary referrals, and more confidence to achieve their goals. (3) In 2014, 415,129 children were in foster care. Of those children 62,108 were between the ages of 10 and 13, and 120,567 were between the ages of 14 and 18. (4) Mentoring programs that serve foster children are unique and require additional considerations, including specialized training and support necessary to provide for consistent, long-term relationships for children in care. (5) Mentoring programs can be used as an effective preventative or intervention strategy to support positive outcomes for foster youth. 3. Programs for mentoring children in foster care Subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 629 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 439A. Programs for mentoring children in foster care (a) Purpose It is the purpose of this section to authorize the Secretary to make grants to eligible applicants to support the establishment or expansion and operation of programs using a network of public and private community entities to provide mentoring for children in foster care. (b) Definitions In this section: (1) Children in foster care The term children in foster care means children who have been removed from the custody of their biological or adoptive parents by a State child welfare agency. (2) Mentoring The term mentoring means a structured, managed program— (A) in which children are appropriately matched with screened and trained adult