A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to REVISE PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION OF YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE and TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THAT PURPOSE AND to appropriate funds for various other public purposes.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  Section 11C.9(a) of S.L. 2017‑57 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 11C.9.(a)  There is created the Foster Care Transitional Living Initiative Fund to fund and support evidence‑based transitional living services that demonstrate positive outcomes for youth, attract significant private sector funding, and advance clinical research to serve the at‑risk population described in this section. The Fund shall support a demonstration project with services provided by Youth Villages to (i) improve outcomes for youth ages 17‑21 years who transition from foster care through implementation of evidence‑based Transitional Living Services, (ii) identify cost‑savings in social services and juvenile and adult correction services associated with the provision of Transitional Living Services to youth aging out of foster care, and (iii) take necessary steps to establish and maintain an evidence‑based transitional living program available to all youth aging out of foster care. In implementing these goals, the Foster Care Transitional Living Initiative Fund shall support the following strategies:
(1)	Transitional Living Services, which is an evidence‑based program that follows the Youth Villages Transitional Living Model. Outcomes on more than 7,000 participants have been tracked since the program's inception. The program has been evaluated through an independent Randomized Controlled Trial. Results indicate that Youth Villages Transitional Living Model had positive impacts in a variety of areas, including housing stability, earnings, economic hardship, mental health, and intimate partner violence in comparison to the control population.
(2)	Public‑Private Partnership, which is a commitment by private‑sector funding partners to match at least fifty percent (50%) of the funds appropriated to the Foster Care Transitional Living Initiative Fund for the 2019‑2021 fiscal biennium for the purposes of providing Transitional Living Services through the Youth Villages Transitional Living Model to youth aging out of foster care.
(3)	Impact Measurement and Evaluation, which are services funded through private partners to provide independent measurement and evaluation of the impact the Youth Villages Transitional Living Model has on the youth served, the foster care system, and on other programs and services provided by the State which are utilized by former foster care youth.
(4)	Advancement of Evidence‑Based Process, which is the implementation and ongoing evaluation of the Youth Villages Transitional Living Model for the purposes of establishing and implementing the first evidence‑based transitional living program in the nation. To establish the evidence‑based program, additional randomized controlled trials may be conducted to advance the model."
SECTION 1.(b)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) recurring, in additional funds, for each year of the 2019‑2021 fiscal biennium for the continued implementation of the Foster Care Transitional Living Initiative Fund as described under Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources the sum of three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000) in recurring funds for each year of the 2019‑2021 fiscal biennium to support the North Carolina Symphony. These funds shall be in addition to any other funds appropriated for the North Carolina Symphony. Of these funds, the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) shall be used to provide access to North Carolina Symphony performances for public schools without transportation.
SECTION 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Commerce the sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) in recurring funds for each year of the 2019‑2021 fiscal biennium to be allocated to Prospera, a Latino small business outreach program in Charlotte, to provide technical assistance to underserved small businesses in the State of North Carolina.
SECTION 4.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina the sum of four million five hundred thousand dollars ($4,500,000) in nonrecurring funds for renovation of the Cameron and Burson buildings at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
SECTION 5.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources the sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) in recurring funds for each year of the 2019‑2021 fiscal biennium to increase the funding for the Aid to Public Libraries Fund.
SECTION 6.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources the sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2019‑2020 fiscal year for the NC Kids Digital Library program.
SECTION 7.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2019.