This bill makes changes to the Department of Children, Youth and Families’ Higher Education Opportunity Incentive Grant program. It adds new language to emphasize the poor educational outcomes of Rhode Island children in state care and the need to improve educational attainment for current and former foster youth. The bill also allows eligible youth to receive funds up to age twenty-six as long as they are making satisfactory progress toward completing their higher education. It expands the eligibility criteria for grant recipients to include youth who are currently or were in foster care between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one, as well as young adults participating in the voluntary extension of care. The bill establishes a grant award selection committee to determine recipients of the grants.

Additionally, the bill specifies that grant awards will be based on high school completion, financial need, and general interest in higher education. It appropriates funds for the program and prohibits the use of these funds for administrative expenses. The bill also requires the department to provide an annual report on the program's expenditures and outcomes. The bill will take effect upon passage.