Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2001 To amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to meet the needs of homeless children, youth, and families, and honor the assessments and priorities of local communities. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 1, 2019 Mr. STIVERS (for himself and Mr. LOEBSACK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addi- tion to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to meet the needs of homeless children, youth, and families, and honor the assessments and priorities of local commu- nities. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Homeless Children and 4 Youth Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2001.IH H2001 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2001 IH SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE MCKINNEY-VENTO HOME- 1 LESS ASSISTANCE ACT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The McKinney-Vento Homeless 3 Assistance Act is amended— 4 (1) in section 103 (42 U.S.C. 11302)— 5 (A) in subsection (a)— 6 (i) in paragraph (5)(A)— 7 (I) by striking ‘‘are sharing’’ and 8 all that follows through ‘‘charitable 9 organizations,’’; 10 (II) by striking ‘‘14 days’’ each 11 place such term appears and inserting 12 ‘‘30 days’’; 13 (III) in clause (i), by inserting 14 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 15 (IV) by striking clause (ii); and 16 (V) by redesignating clause (iii) 17 as clause (ii); and 18 (ii) by amending paragraph (6) to 19 read as follows: 20 ‘‘(6) a child or youth defined as homeless under 21 any other Federal program who, without further ac- 22 tion by the Department of Housing and Urban De- 23 velopment, has been verified as homeless under any 24 other Federal program by the director, designee of 25 the director, or other person responsible for the im- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2001.IH H2001 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2001 IH plementation of a program established under this 1 Act or any other Federal statute.’’; and 2 (B) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(f) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘child or youth defined as home- 5 less under any other Federal program’ has the 6 meaning given the term in section 401; and 7 ‘‘(2) the term ‘other Federal statute’ has the 8 meaning given the term in section 401. 9 ‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—If the Secretary of 10 Housing and Urban Development promulgates rules, 11 issues guidance, or sets forth conditions in any applica- 12 tion, notice of funding availability, or other publication or 13 advisory regarding the provisions of this Act, the Sec- 14 retary shall ensure that— 15 ‘‘(1) any individual defined as ‘homeless’ under 16 section 103 is eligible for any program or program 17 component under this Act; and 18 ‘‘(2) all individuals defined as ‘homeless’ under 19 subsection (a) proposed to be served by an applicant, 20 and all proposed program components or housing or 21 service models, are given the same priority, points, 22 or weight.’’; 23 (2) in section 401 (42 U.S.C. 11360)— 24 (A) in paragraph (1)(C)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2001.IH H2001 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2001 IH (i) by striking clauses (ii) and (iv); 1 (ii) by redesignating clauses (iii), (v), 2 (vi), and (vii) as clauses (ii), (iii), (iv), and 3 (v), respectively; and 4 (iii) by striking the flush text fol- 5 lowing clause (v), as so redesignated; 6 (B) in paragraph (2)(A)— 7 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and 8 lives’’ and all that follows through ‘‘shel- 9 ter’’ and inserting ‘‘under any provision of 10 section 103’’; 11 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and liv- 12 ing or residing in a place not meant for 13 human habitation, a safe haven, or in an 14 emergency shelter continuously’’ and in- 15 serting ‘‘under any provision of section 16 103’’; and 17 (iii) in clause (iii)— 18 (I) by striking ‘‘(or a minor head 19 of household if no adult is present in 20 the household)’’ and inserting ‘‘or a 21 minor head of household (if no adult 22 is present in the household),’’; 23 (II) by inserting before the pe- 24 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2001.IH H2001 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2001 IH has child with a disability, as such 1 term is defined in section 602 of the 2 Individuals with Disabilities Edu- 3 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1401), or an in- 4 fant or toddler with a disability, as 5 such term is as defined in section 632 6 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1432)’’; 7 (C) by striking paragraph (7); 8 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 9 through (6) as paragraphs (3) through (7), re- 10 spectively; 11 (E) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 12 following: 13 ‘‘(2) CHILD OR YOUTH DEFINED AS HOMELESS 14 UNDER ANY OTHER FEDERAL PROGRAM.—The term 15 ‘child or youth defined as homeless under any other 16 Federal program’ means— 17 ‘‘(A) a homeless child or youth, as defined 18 in section 725, including any parent or guard- 19 ian with whom the child or youth is living; and 20 ‘‘(B) a youth who— 21 ‘‘(i) is not more than 24 years of age; 22 ‘‘(ii) cannot live safely with a parent, 23 legal guardian, or relative; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2001.IH H2001 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2001 IH ‘‘(iii) has no other safe alternative liv- 1 ing arrangement.’’; 2 (F) in paragraph (9)(A), by inserting ‘‘any 3 provision of’’ before ‘‘section 103’’; 4 (G) by redesignating paragraphs (14) 5 through (33) as paragraphs (15) through (34), 6 respectively; 7 (H) by inserting after paragraph (13) the 8 following: 9 ‘‘(14) OTHER FEDERAL STATUTE.—The term 10 ‘other Federal statute’ includes— 11 ‘‘(A) the Runaway and Homeless Youth 12 Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.); 13 ‘‘(B) the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 14 et seq.); 15 ‘‘(C) the Child Care and Development 16 Block Grant of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.); 17 ‘‘(D) subtitle N of the Violence Against 18 Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043e et 19 seq.); 20 ‘‘(E) section 330(h) of the Public Health 21 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(h)); 22 ‘‘(F) section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act 23 of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2001.IH H2001 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2001 IH ‘‘(G) the Higher Education Act of 1965 1 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); and 2 ‘‘(H) the United States Housing Act of 3 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.).’’; 4 (I) in paragraph (32), as so redesignated, 5 by inserting ‘‘children under 5 years of age, 6 youth and young adults between 14 and 24 7 years of age,’’ after ‘‘status, or age),’’; 8 (J) in paragraph (33), as so redesignated, 9 by inserting ‘‘trafficking,’’ after ‘‘victims of’’; 10 and 11 (K) in paragraph (34), as so redesig- 12 nated— 13 (i) by inserting ‘‘victims of traf- 14 ficking,’’ after ‘‘assist’’; 15 (ii) by striking ‘‘stalking victims’’ and 16 inserting ‘‘stalking’’; and 17 (iii) by inserting ‘‘trafficking,’’ after 18 ‘‘concerning’’; 19 (3) in section 402(f) (42 U.S.C. 11360a(f))— 20 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting 21 ‘‘considering the prevalence and needs of home- 22 less individuals, as defined under any provision 23 of section 103’’ after ‘‘involved’’; and 24 (B) in paragraph (3)(D)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2001.IH H2001 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2001 IH (i) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 1 the end; 2 (ii) by redesignating clause (vi) as 3 clause (vii); and 4 (iii) by inserting after clause (v) the 5 following: 6 ‘‘(vi) the submission of HMIS data to 7 the Secretary on at least an annual basis; 8 and’’; 9 (4) by inserting after section 408 (42 U.S.C. 10 11364) the following: 11 ‘‘SEC. 409. AVAILABILITY OF HMIS DATA. 12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The community-wide homeless 13 management information system (in this section referred 14 to as ‘HMIS’) data provided to the Secretary under sec- 15 tion 402(f)(3)(D)(vi) shall be made publically available on 16 the Internet website of the Department of Housing and 17 Urban Development. 18 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED DATA.—The data publically available 19 under subsection (a) shall be updated on at least an an- 20 nual basis and shall include— 21 ‘‘(1) a cumulative count of the number of home- 22 less individuals and families, as defined under any 23 provision of section 103; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2001.IH H2001 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2001 IH ‘‘(2) a cumulative assessment of the patterns of 1 assistance provided under subtitles B and C for each 2 geographic area involved; 3 ‘‘(3) a count of the number of homeless individ- 4 uals and families, as defined under any provision of 5 section 103, that are documented through the HMIS 6 by each collaborative applicant; and 7 ‘‘(4) a count of the number of homeless women, 8 as defined under any provision of section 103 and 9 both unaccompanied and accompanied, including a 10 breakout of the count by— 11 ‘‘(A) age range; 12 ‘‘(B) disability; and 13 ‘‘(C) length of time experiencing homeless- 14 ness.’’; 15 (5) in section 422 (42 U.S.C. 11382)— 16 (A) in subsection (c)(1)(B), by striking 17 ‘‘establish’’ and inserting ‘‘demonstrate local, 18 needs-based’’; and 19 (B) by striking subsection (j) and inserting 20 the following:; 21 ‘‘(j) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—In awarding grants 22 under subsection (a) and releasing a notification of fund- 23 ing availability under subsection (b), the Secretary shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2001.IH H2001 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2001 IH ‘‘(1) without further action by the Department, 1 ensure that any individual defined as ‘homeless’ 2 under any provision of section 103 is eligible for any 3 program or program component under this Act; 4 ‘‘(2) ensure that homeless populations proposed 5 to be served by the applicant, and proposed program 6 components or housing or service models, are not 7 awarded different priority, points, or weight; and 8 ‘‘(3) ensure that scoring is based primarily on 9 the extent to which the applicant demonstrates that 10 the project and program components— 11 ‘‘(A) would meet the priorities identified in 12 the plan submitted under section 427(b)(1)(B); 13 and 14 ‘‘(B) are cost-effective in meeting the over- 15 all goals and objectives identified in that plan.’’; 16 (6) in section 424(d) (42 U.S.C. 11384(d)), by 17 striking paragraph (5); 18 (7) in section 425(c) (42 U.S.C. 11385(c)), by 19 striking ‘‘and (G) providing’’ and inserting ‘‘(G) pro- 20 viding transportation to employment, early care and 21 education programs, career and technical education 22 programs, and health and mental health care serv- 23 ices, and (H) providing’’; 24 (8) in section 426(b) (42 U.S.C. 11386(b))— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2001.IH H2001 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2001 IH (A) in paragraph (4), by amending sub- 1 paragraph (D) to read as follows: 2 ‘‘(D) in the case of programs providing 3 housing or services to families or youth, they 4 will designate a staff person to be responsible 5 for ensuring that children and youth being 6 served in the program are— 7 ‘‘(i) enrolled in school and connected 8 to appropriate services in the community, 9 including Head Start, part C of the Indi- 10 viduals with Disabilities Act, programs au- 11 thorized under the Child Care and Devel- 12 opment Block Grant Act of 1990, career 13 and technical education, and services pro- 14 vided by local educational agency liaisons 15 designated under subtitle B of title VII of 16 this Act; and 17 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an unaccompanied 18 youth, as defined in section 725, informed 19 of their status as an independent student 20 under section 480 of the Higher Education 21 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv) and re- 22 ceive verification of such status for pur- 23 poses of the Free Application for Federal 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2001.IH H2001 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2001 IH Student Aid described in section 483 of 1 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1090); and’’; 2 (B) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘the ac- 3 tual compliance with the certifications required 4 under paragraph (4) and’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’; 5 and 6 (C) in paragraph (7)— 7 (i) by inserting ‘‘and youth’’ after 8 ‘‘needs of children’’; 9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or unaccompanied 10 youth’’ after ‘‘when families’’; 11 (iii) by inserting ‘‘and unaccompanied 12 youth’’ after ‘‘with children’’; and 13 (iv) by striking ‘‘such children’s’’ and 14 inserting ‘‘such children and youth’s’’; 15 (9) in section 427(b) (42 U.S.C. 11386a(b))— 16 (A) in paragraph (1)— 17 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 18 (I) in clause (vi), by adding 19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 20 (II) in clause (vii), by striking 21 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 22 (III) by striking clause (viii); 23 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:16 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2001.IH H2001 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2001 IH (I) by amending clause (iii) to 1 read as follows: 2 ‘‘(iii) how the recipient will collaborate 3 with local educational agencies, early care 4 and education programs, and institutions 5 of higher education to assist in the identi- 6 fication of and services to youth and fami- 7 lies who become or remain homeless, in- 8 cluding the steps the recipient will take to 9 inform youth and families of their eligi- 10 bility for services under part B of subtitle 11 VII of this Act, the Head Start Act (42 12 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the Child Care and 13 Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 14 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and the Higher Edu- 15 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 16 seq.);’’; and 17 (II) by striking clause (v) and in- 18 serting the following: 19 ‘‘(v) how the recipient will ensure the 20 full i [Text truncated for display. 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