Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2657 To provide priority under certain federally assisted housing programs to assist youths who are aging out of foster care, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 9, 2019 Mr. TURNER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To provide priority under certain federally assisted housing programs to assist youths who are aging out of foster care, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Fostering Stable Hous- 4 ing Opportunities Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF FAMILY. 6 Subparagraph (A) of section 3(b)(3) of the United 7 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(3)(A)) 8 is amended— 9 (1) in the first sentence— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2657.IH H2657 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2657 IH (A) by striking ‘‘(v)’’ and inserting ‘‘(vi)’’; 1 and 2 (B) by inserting after ‘‘tenant family,’’ the 3 following: ‘‘(v) a child who is in foster care and 4 has attained an age such that the provision of 5 foster care for such child will end by reason of 6 the age of the child within 6 months,’’; and 7 (2) in the second sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 8 (vi)’’ after ‘‘clause (v)’’. 9 SEC. 3. PRIORITY FOR PUBLIC HOUSING OCCUPANCY AND 10 SECTION 8 ASSISTANCE. 11 (a) PUBLIC HOUSING.—Subparagraph (A) of section 12 6(c)(4) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 13 U.S.C. 1437d(c)(4)(A)) is amended— 14 (1) by striking ‘‘may establish a system for 15 making dwelling units available that provides pref- 16 erence’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘shall establish 17 a system for making dwelling units available that— 18 ‘‘(i) shall provide preferences’’; 19 (2) by striking ‘‘each system of preferences es- 20 tablished pursuant to this subparagraph shall be 21 based’’ and inserting the following: 22 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in clause (iii), 23 shall be based’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2657.IH H2657 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2657 IH (3) by adding at the end the following new 1 clause: 2 ‘‘(iii) except for projects or portions of 3 projects designated for occupancy pursuant 4 to section 7(a), shall provide that the high- 5 est preference for occupancy shall be given 6 to otherwise eligible children who are in 7 foster care, have attained an age such that 8 the provision of foster care for such child 9 will end by reason of the age of the child 10 within 6 months, meet the requirements 11 under clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1) 12 of the definition of ‘at risk of homeless- 13 ness’ in section 91.5 of the Secretary’s reg- 14 ulations (24 C.F.R. 91.5), as in effect on 15 September 1, 2016, and have agreed to 16 comply with the requirements under sec- 17 tion 39(c); and 18 ‘‘(iv) may provide highest preference 19 for occupancy to, in addition to eligible 20 children described in clause (iii), not more 21 than two other types of families.’’. 22 (b) VOUCHER ASSISTANCE.—Subparagraph (A) of 23 section 8(o)(6) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 24 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(6)(A)) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2657.IH H2657 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2657 IH (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘may’’ the first 1 place such term appears and inserting ‘‘shall’’; 2 (2) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); 3 (3) by inserting before clause (iii), as so redes- 4 ignated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the fol- 5 lowing new clause: 6 ‘‘(ii) HIGHEST PREFERENCE.—Each 7 system of preferences established pursuant 8 to this subparagraph— 9 ‘‘(I) shall provide that the high- 10 est preference for assistance shall be 11 given to otherwise eligible children 12 who are in foster care, have attained 13 an age such that the provision of fos- 14 ter care for such child will end by rea- 15 son of the age of the child within 6 16 months, meet the requirements under 17 clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1) of 18 the definition of ‘at risk of homeless- 19 ness’ in section 91.5 of the Sec- 20 retary’s regulations (24 C.F.R. 91.5), 21 as in effect on September 1, 2016, 22 and have agreed to comply with the 23 requirements under section 39(c); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2657.IH H2657 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2657 IH ‘‘(II) may provide highest pref- 1 erence for assistance to, in addition to 2 eligible children described in subclause 3 (I), not more than two other types of 4 eligible families.’’; and 5 (4) in clause (iii), as so redesignated by para- 6 graph (2) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘Each sys- 7 tem’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in clause 8 (ii)(I), each system’’. 9 (c) PHA PROJECT-BASED VOUCHER ASSISTANCE.— 10 Subparagraph (J) of section 8(o)(13) of the United States 11 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)(J)) is 12 amended— 13 (1) by striking ‘‘(J) TENANT SELECTION.—A 14 public’’ and inserting the following: 15 ‘‘(J) TENANT SELECTION.— 16 ‘‘(i) SELECTION AND ELIGIBILITY.—A 17 public’’; 18 (2) by striking ‘‘The agency or owner may es- 19 tablish preferences or criteria for selection for a unit 20 assisted under this paragraph that’’ and inserting 21 the following: 22 ‘‘(ii) PREFERENCES FOR OCCU- 23 PANCY.—The agency or owner shall estab- 24 lish a system of preferences or criteria for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2657.IH H2657 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2657 IH selection for a unit assisted under this sec- 1 tion that— 2 ‘‘(I) shall provide that the high- 3 est preference shall be given to other- 4 wise eligible children who are in foster 5 care, have attained an age such that 6 the provision of foster care for such 7 child will end by reason of the age of 8 the child within 6 months, meet the 9 requirements under clauses (i) and (ii) 10 of paragraph (1) of the definition of 11 ‘at risk of homelessness’ in section 12 91.5 of the Secretary’s regulations 13 (24 C.F.R. 91.5), as in effect on Sep- 14 tember 1, 2016, and have agreed to 15 comply with the requirements under 16 section 39(c); 17 ‘‘(II) may provide highest pref- 18 erence to, in addition to eligible chil- 19 dren described in subclause (I), not 20 more than two other types of eligible 21 families; and 22 ‘‘(III) except as provided under 23 subclause (I),’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2657.IH H2657 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2657 IH (3) by striking ‘‘Any family that’’ and inserting 1 the following: 2 ‘‘(iii) WAITING LISTS.—Any family 3 that’’. 4 (d) PROJECT-BASED SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSIST- 5 ANCE.—Subparagraph (A) of section 8(d)(1) of the 6 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 7 1437f(d)(1)(A)) is amended— 8 (1) by realigning such subparagraph so as to be 9 indented 2 ems from the left margin; 10 (2) by striking ‘‘except that with respect’’ and 11 inserting the following: ‘‘except that— 12 ‘‘(i) with respect to assisted dwelling units 13 in a project assisted with project-based assist- 14 ance under this section, the tenant selection cri- 15 teria used by the owner— 16 ‘‘(I) shall provide that the highest 17 preference shall be given to otherwise eligi- 18 ble children who are in foster care, have 19 attained an age such that the provision of 20 foster care for such child will end by rea- 21 son of the age of the child within 6 22 months, meet the requirements under 23 clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1) of the 24 definition of ‘at risk of homelessness’ in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2657.IH H2657 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2657 IH section 91.5 of the Secretary’s regulations 1 (24 C.F.R. 91.5), as in effect on Sep- 2 tember 1, 2016, and have agreed to comply 3 with the requirements under section 39(c); 4 and 5 ‘‘(II) may provide highest preference 6 to, in addition to eligible children described 7 in subclause (I), not more than two other 8 types of eligible families; and 9 ‘‘(ii) with respect’’; and 10 (3) by inserting ‘‘who are not eligible for high- 11 est preference pursuant to clause (i)(I)’’ after ‘‘to be 12 assisted’’. 13 (e) TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON PRIORITY.—Title I 14 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 15 1437 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 16 lowing new section: 17 ‘‘SEC. 39. TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON PREFERENCE FOR 18 ASSISTANCE FOR CHILDREN AGING OUT OF 19 FOSTER CARE. 20 ‘‘(a) PREFERENCE.—For purposes of this section, 21 the term ‘preference for housing assistance’ means pref- 22 erence, for an otherwise eligible child in foster care, for— 23 ‘‘(1) occupancy in a public housing dwelling 24 unit, pursuant to section 6(c)(4)(A)(iii); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2657.IH H2657 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2657 IH ‘‘(2) tenant-based assistance under section 8(o), 1 pursuant to paragraph (6)(A)(ii)(I) of such section; 2 ‘‘(3) project-based assistance under section 3 8(o)(13), pursuant to subparagraph (J)(ii)(I) of 4 such section; and 5 ‘‘(4) occupancy in a dwelling unit in a project 6 assisted with project-based assistance under section 7 8, pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(A)(i)(I) of such sec- 8 tion. 9 ‘‘(b) EARLY APPLICATION FOR ASSISTANCE.—Not- 10 withstanding the period during which a preference for 11 housing assistance is provided for a person, an otherwise 12 eligible person may apply for such occupancy or assistance 13 at any time after such person attains 16 years of age. 14 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENT FOR EDUCATION OR TRAIN- 15 ING.— 16 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Except as provided in 17 paragraph (2), each person occupying a dwelling 18 unit pursuant to a preference for housing assistance 19 shall, not later than 30 months after such initial oc- 20 cupancy, comply with the requirements under one of 21 the following subparagraphs, as selected by the pub- 22 lic housing agency for or project owner of the as- 23 sisted housing dwelling unit involved, in consultation 24 with relevant public child welfare agencies: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2657.IH H2657 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2657 IH ‘‘(A) OPTION 1.—The requirements under 1 this subparagraph are— 2 ‘‘(i) obtaining a recognized postsec- 3 ondary credential or a secondary school di- 4 ploma or its recognized equivalent; 5 ‘‘(ii) enrollment in an institution of 6 higher education, as such term is defined 7 in section 101(a) of the Higher Education 8 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)) and in- 9 cluding the institutions described in sub- 10 paragraphs (A) and (B) of section 11 102(a)(1) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 12 1002(a)(1)); or 13 ‘‘(iii) participation in a career path- 14 way, as such term is defined in section 3 15 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 16 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 17 Notwithstanding any other provision of this 18 paragraph, a public housing agency or project 19 owner may consider employment as satisfying 20 the requirements under this subparagraph. 21 ‘‘(B) OPTION 2.—The requirements under 22 this subparagraph are compliance with the 23 terms and conditions applicable under section 24 23 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2657.IH H2657 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2657 IH (42 U.S.C. 1437u) and the regulations imple- 1 menting such section to a person participating 2 in a family self-sufficiency program under such 3 section, except that— 4 ‘‘(i) a public housing agency may se- 5 lect the option under this subparagraph 6 only if the agency is participating in such 7 self-sufficiency program or has made such 8 commitments to commence participation as 9 the Secretary considers sufficient; and 10 ‘‘(ii) a project owner of assisted hous- 11 ing may select the option under this sub- 12 paragraph only if the public housing agen- 13 cy in whose jurisdiction the project is lo- 14 cated is participating in such self-suffi- 15 ciency program or has made such commit- 16 ments to commence participation as the 17 Secretary considers sufficient. 18 ‘‘(C) OPTION 3.—The requirements under 19 this subparagraph are compliance with any 20 combination of the terms, conditions, and re- 21 quirements under subparagraphs (A) and (B), 22 as may be established by the public housing 23 agency, except that a project owner of assisted 24 housing may select the option under this sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2657.IH H2657 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2657 IH paragraph only if the public housing agency in 1 whose jurisdiction the project is located has se- 2 lected the option under this subparagraph and 3 has established such terms, conditions, and re- 4 quirements. In designing such terms, condi- 5 tions, and requirements, the public housing 6 agency may consult with local workforce devel- 7 opment agencies and other organizations and 8 entities with expertise and experience in this 9 field. 10 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirement under 11 paragraph (1) shall not apply to— 12 ‘‘(A) a parent or other household member 13 responsible for the care of a dependent child 14 under the age of 6 or for the care of an inca- 15 pacitated person; 16 ‘‘(B) a person who is regularly and actively 17 participating in a drug addiction or alcohol 18 treatment and rehabilitation program; and 19 ‘‘(C) a person who is incapable of com- 20 plying with the requirement under paragraph 21 (1) due to a documented medical condition. 22 ‘‘(3) VERIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE.—The Sec- 23 retary shall require the public housing agency or 24 project owner, as applicable, to verify compliance 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:33 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2657.IH H2657 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2657 IH with the requirement under paragraph (1) by each 1 person occupying a dwelling unit assisted or admin- 2 istered by such agency or owner, as applicable, pur- 3 suant to a preference for housing assistance annu- 4 ally in conjunction with reviews of [Text truncated for display. 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