Jun. 26, 2015
HARRISBURG – Rep. Tarah Toohil (R-Luzerne) on Thursday voiced her support of legislation that would waive tuition costs for foster children who attend postsecondary educational institutions in Pennsylvania. Her comments were made during debate in the House regarding the proposed budget appropriations for the Commonwealth’s state-related universities.
“In Luzerne County this year, we have 193 children who are ‘aging out’ of the system and only 10 of them will be attending a college or university in the fall,” said Toohil. “We are trying to get the conversation started, so that Pennsylvania schools take a look at how the low cost of providing tuition waivers would make a significant difference in the lives of many foster children.”
To view a video of Toohil’s floor remarks visit:
https://youtu.be/FU-Cyesc--g
Toohil is a co-sponsor of
House Bill 453, legislation that would create a tuition and fee waiver program for foster children to be made available to state-owned universities, state-related and state-aided colleges and universities, trade schools and community colleges. The measure would also require that an outreach program be implemented through county agencies to encourage foster children to participate in the initiative.
There are currently more than 22,000 children in foster care in Pennsylvania and each year more than 1,000 of them age out of the system. Only 13 percent of those young people then go on to college.
House Bill 453 has been referred to the House Children and Youth Committee for consideration.
For more information on Toohil and her legislative priorities, please visit
RepToohil.com or
Facebook.com/RepToohil.
Representative Tarah Toohil
116th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: Rep. Toohil’s Office
717.260.6136
RepToohil.com /
Facebook.com/RepToohil