FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 24, 2023

Contact: Ian Fury

Gov. Noem Announces Stronger Families Scholarship Program

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Gov. Kristi Noem and legislators announced SB 100 to establish the Stronger Families Scholarship. This bill appropriates $15 million to improve educational outcomes and stability for children in foster care.

“Foster children go through such difficult, traumatic, and disruptive events that often interrupt their ability to achieve a high-quality education,” sad Governor Noem. “The new Stronger Families Scholarship will equip these children with access to consistent resources and relationships that are critical to healthy academic development.”

The Stronger Families Scholarship will give children in foster care the opportunity to achieve their full potential. The prime sponsor of this legislation is Senator Al Novstrup (R-03).

“Children in foster care face disparate educational outcomes compared to their peers,” said Senator Novstrup. “These scholarships will allow these children to access key services and resources that wouldn’t be available to them otherwise.”

This three-year pilot program will provide up to $4,000 to eligible youth in foster care to reimburse families for the costs of tutoring or teaching services, curriculum, online learning programs, private school tuition, standardized achievement tests, certain transportation expenses, and technology used for educational purposes.

These additional resources help create positive relationships with adults who can provide support to a child and serve as a protector against the negative outcomes we see too often among foster children.

Governor Noem discussed this proposal during her State of the State Address. You can find the video of that portion of the speech here.

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