Sponsors (18)
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Updates and reauthorizes the federal Runaway and Homeless Youth program by approving multi-year funding, setting grant sizes and priorities, and expanding program rules and protections. It requires longer grants (five years) for short-term shelters, sets standards and new requirements for transitional living and street outreach programs, adds data and reporting elements (including trafficking and demographic data), directs outreach and trauma‑informed care, and creates waiver and nondiscrimination rules to allow flexibility for the Family and Youth Services Bureau. The bill aims to strengthen services (shelter, counseling, education supports, job training, family reunification when safe), prioritize experienced providers and underserved youth, and improve federal coordination, monitoring, and student aid information for youth experiencing homelessness. Some funding amounts are specified for FY2026 with “such sums as may be necessary” for later years; several details (including text for a new prevention part and a national communications insertion) were not included in the provided excerpt.
Amends Section 388(a) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (34 U.S.C. 11280(a)) to read as shown in this section.
Authorizes $200,000,000 to be appropriated to carry out this title (other than parts E and F) for fiscal year 2026, and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2030.
From the amount appropriated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not less than 90 percent to carry out parts A and B.
Of the amount reserved for parts A and B, 45 percent and, in fiscal years in which continuation grant obligations and the quality and number of applicants for parts A and B warrant not more than 55 percent, shall be reserved to carry out part B.
In each fiscal year, after reserving the amounts required for parts A and B, the Secretary shall use the remaining amount (if any) to carry out parts C and D (other than section 345).
Directly affected: runaway, homeless, and street‑connected youth (including youth who have experienced or are at risk of trafficking or sexual abuse), and organizations that provide shelter, transitional living, outreach, and related services. Program and operational impacts:
• Service providers: New and clearer program rules (trauma‑informed care, capacity and staffing limits, written transitional plans, emergency preparedness, FAFSA assistance) will raise service quality expectations and require administrative capacity to comply with reporting, recordkeeping, and certifications. Five‑year grants and explicit priorities for experienced providers increase funding stability for qualifying organizations but may disadvantage newer or smaller providers unless they meet selection priorities or receive capacity support.
• Youth served: Expanded program priorities (mental health, education and workforce supports, family reunification when safe, anti‑trafficking services) should improve access to comprehensive and trauma‑informed services. Attention to FAFSA and student aid independence may increase post‑secondary access for older youth.
• Federal agencies: The Family and Youth Services Bureau and partner agencies must implement expanded data collection, reporting, and coordination responsibilities, plus a new waiver and notification process. That will require staff time, guidance, and possibly system upgrades to handle new data fields (e.g., trafficking indicators) and appeals procedures.
• Local systems and partners: Coordination requirements and outreach expectations involve schools, workforce agencies, child welfare systems, and health providers; these partners may face increased collaboration requests and data‑sharing interactions.
• Funding and sustainability: Specified FY2026 amounts provide near‑term clarity, but later years are subject to appropriations described as "such sums as may be necessary," leaving future funding levels uncertain. Grant award size rules tied to a $200M appropriations threshold may change program scale if Congress funds the programs above or below that level.
• Administrative burden vs. benefits: Providers may experience an initial increase in administrative burden to meet new reporting and certification requirements, but multi‑year grants, clearer priorities, and nondiscrimination protections could promote more stable service delivery and improved program quality. The absence of the full text for the prevention part and national communications insert means potential prevention investments or new national coordination tools are not fully assessable from the excerpt.
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced June 10, 2025 by Suzanne Bonamici · Last progress June 10, 2025
Strikes existing section 351 of Part E of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and inserts new section 351 establishing authority and terms for grants to provide street-based services to runaway, homeless, and street youth who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to, sexual abuse or trafficking, including grant duration, award timing, priority, and eligibility certification requirements.
Amends the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act by inserting new material after part E (inserting text after part E of 34 U.S.C. 11201 et seq.).
Amends Part F of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (codified at 34 U.S.C. 11271 et seq.) to make multiple revisions throughout the part, including terminology changes (e.g., replacing “facility” with “center or project”), adding an administration and enforcement waiver authority (new section 384A), adding a nondiscrimination provision (new section 386B), and revising definitions and program terms in section 387.
Replaces subsection (a) of 34 U.S.C. 11280 to update authorization amounts and covered fiscal years, change exclusion in paragraph (1) to exclude parts E and F, specify allocations, set specific amounts for carrying out section 345 in certain fiscal years, and add authorizations for parts E and F.
Amends paragraph (2) of 34 U.S.C. 11241 by replacing the phrase 'other Federal entities' with an explicit listing: the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Justice.
Amends 34 U.S.C. 11231 (Section 331 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act) by inserting additional text after a specified location (the insertion text/content is not provided in the section text).
Amends Part B of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act by revising provisions in section 321 and section 322 to add/clarify allowable shelter and services, project capacity limits, planning and reporting requirements, outreach and coordination responsibilities, emergency preparedness, prioritization rules for applicants and youth by age, and requirements to inform and assist youth with Federal student aid status and applications.
Replaces subsection (a) of 34 U.S.C. 11211 to require the Secretary to award 5-year grants (with an appeal process) to establish, operate, and maintain local centers that provide specified shelter and services (including trauma-informed services and family services), and updates the scope and types of permissible services and safeguards.
Expand sections to see detailed analysis
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced in House