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_ 475 Item Details($) Appropriations($) ITEM 329. First Year Second Year First Year Second Year FY2025 FY2026 FY2025 FY2026 Licensing Standards, and should ensure that children in foster care: (i) live in safe and appropriate homes under local department of social services and court oversight; (ii) receive monthly financial assistance and supportive services to help meet their needs; and (iii) can access the permanency options offered by Virginia's Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program. R.1. Out of this appropriation, $12,173,560 the first year and $12,173,560 the second year from the general fund is provided to make relative maintenance payments. 2. In order to ensure timely distribution of relative maintenance payments pursuant to legislation passed in the 2024 General Assembly and provisions thereto, the Department of Social Services shall have the authority to implement such changes effective upon passage of this act, and prior to the completion of any regulatory process undertaken in order to effect such changes. S. Out of this appropriation, $564,000 the first year and $564,000 the second year from the general fund is provided for the department to meet the housing support provisions of §63.2-905.1:1, Code of Virginia. T. Out of this appropriation, $246,548 the first year and $246,548 the second year from the general fund shall be provided to fund an increase in adult protective services calls to the child protective services hotline. U. The department shall continue to apply for and utilize federal funding for kinship navigator programs until such time that all available funding has been exhausted. V. Out of this appropriation, $310,000 the first year and $310,000 the second year from the general fund shall be provided to support the development and implementation of a statewide driver's licensing program to support foster care youth in obtaining a driver's license. Funding shall be made available to local departments of social services to reimburse foster care providers for increases to their existing motor vehicle insurance premiums that occur because a foster care youth in their care has been added to their insurance policy. The program may also reimburse foster care providers for additional coverage that provides liability protection should a foster care youth get into or cause a catastrophic accident. Additionally, funding shall be made available to foster care youth in Virginia's Fostering Futures Program to assist in covering the cost of obtaining motor vehicle insurance. The Department shall develop reimbursement policies for foster care providers and foster care youth. The Department shall coordinate and administer the driver's licensing program based on best practices from similar programs in other states, to include developing educational or training materials that educate foster parents, private providers, and foster youth about (i) liability issues, insurance laws, and common insurance practices (to include laws about renewal and cancellation, how long an accident can affect premiums, how to establish that a foster youth is no longer living in the residence, and other applicable topics); (ii) DMV requirements to obtain a learner's permit and driver's license; (iii) what funding and resources are available to assist in this process, to include, paying school lab fees for "Behind the Wheel" or paying a private driving education company; and (iv) why getting a driver's license on time is important for normalcy and a successful transition to adulthood. The Department shall provide information on how many foster care youth were supported by this program and any recommendations to improve the program to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees annually on December 1. W. The Department of Social Services, in consultation with stakeholders, shall develop a process for Virginia localities to enter into memorandums of understanding with localities in surrounding states for the purposes of kinship care. X. The Department of Social Services shall assess the feasibility of requiring local departments to apply for benefits administered by the Social Security Administration or the Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of eligible children in foster care and require local departments that are representative payees for children in foster care to conserve such federal benefits in an appropriate trust instrument. The Department shall report its findings to the Chairs of the House Appropriations, House Finance, and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees by November 1, 2025.