Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4300 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 19, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs AN ACT To provide Federal housing assistance on behalf of 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 4300 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fostering Stable Hous- 2 ing Opportunities Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF FAMILY. 4 Subparagraph (A) of section 3(b)(3) of the United 5 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(3)(A)) 6 is amended— 7 (1) in the first sentence— 8 (A) by striking ‘‘(v)’’ and inserting ‘‘(vi)’’; 9 and 10 (B) by inserting after ‘‘tenant family,’’ the 11 following: ‘‘(v) a youth described in section 12 8(x)(2)(B),’’; and 13 (2) in the second sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 14 (vi)’’ after ‘‘clause (v)’’. 15 SEC. 3. HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS FOR FOSTERING STA- 16 BLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES. 17 (a) ASSISTANCE FOR YOUTH AGING OUT OF FOSTER 18 CARE.—Section 8(x) of the United States Housing Act of 19 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(x)) is amended— 20 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘subject to 21 paragraph (5),’’ after ‘‘(B)’’; 22 (2) in paragraph (3)— 23 (A) by striking ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.—The’’ 24 and inserting the following: 25 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 4300 RFS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The’’; and 1 (B) by adding at the end the following new 2 subparagraph: 3 ‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE FOR YOUTH AGING OUT 4 OF FOSTER CARE.—Notwithstanding any other 5 provision of law, the Secretary shall, subject 6 only to the availability of funds, allocate such 7 assistance to any public housing agencies that 8 (i) administer assistance pursuant to paragraph 9 (2)(B), or seek to administer such assistance, 10 consistent with procedures established by the 11 Secretary, (ii) have requested such assistance so 12 that they may provide timely assistance to eligi- 13 ble youth, and (iii) have submitted to the Sec- 14 retary a statement describing how the agency 15 will connect assisted youths with local commu- 16 nity resources and self-sufficiency services, to 17 the extent they are available, and obtain refer- 18 rals from public child welfare agencies regard- 19 ing youths in foster care who become eligible 20 for such assistance.’’; 21 (3) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para- 22 graph (6); and 23 (4) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol- 24 lowing new paragraph: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 4300 RFS ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS FOR ASSISTANCE FOR 1 YOUTH AGING OUT OF FOSTER CARE.—Assistance 2 provided under this subsection for an eligible youth 3 pursuant to paragraph (2)(B) shall be subject to the 4 following requirements: 5 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS TO EXTEND ASSIST- 6 ANCE.— 7 ‘‘(i) PARTICIPATION IN FAMILY SELF- 8 SUFFICIENCY.—In the case of a public 9 housing agency that is providing such as- 10 sistance under this subsection on behalf of 11 an eligible youth and that is carrying out 12 a family self-sufficiency program under 13 section 23, the agency shall, subject only 14 to the availability of such assistance, ex- 15 tend the provision of such assistance for 16 up to 24 months beyond the period re- 17 ferred to in paragraph (2)(B), but only 18 during such period that the youth is in 19 compliance with the terms and conditions 20 applicable under section 23 and the regula- 21 tions implementing such section to a per- 22 son participating in a family self-suffi- 23 ciency program. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 4300 RFS ‘‘(ii) EDUCATION, WORKFORCE DE- 1 VELOPMENT, OR EMPLOYMENT.—In the 2 case of a public housing agency that is 3 providing such assistance under this sub- 4 section on behalf of an eligible youth and 5 that is not carrying out a family self-suffi- 6 ciency program under section 23, or is car- 7 rying out such a program in which the 8 youth has been unable to enroll, the agency 9 shall, subject only to the availability of 10 such assistance, extend the provision of 11 such assistance for two successive 12- 12 month periods, after the period referred to 13 in paragraph (2)(B), but only if for not 14 less than 9 months of the 12-month period 15 preceding each such extension the youth 16 was— 17 ‘‘(I) engaged in obtaining a rec- 18 ognized postsecondary credential or a 19 secondary school diploma or its recog- 20 nized equivalent; 21 ‘‘(II) enrolled in an institution of 22 higher education, as such term is de- 23 fined in section 101(a) of the Higher 24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 HR 4300 RFS 1001(a)) and including the institu- 1 tions described in subparagraphs (A) 2 and (B) of section 102(a)(1) of such 3 Act (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)(1)); or 4 ‘‘(III) participating in a career 5 pathway, as such term is defined in 6 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation 7 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 8 3102). 9 Notwithstanding any other provision of 10 this clause, a public housing agency shall 11 consider employment as satisfying the re- 12 quirements under this subparagraph. 13 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding 14 clauses (i) and (ii), a public housing agen- 15 cy that is providing such assistance under 16 this subsection on behalf of an eligible 17 youth shall extend the provision of such as- 18 sistance for up to 24 months beyond the 19 period referred to in paragraph (2)(B), 20 and clauses (i) and (ii) of this subpara- 21 graph shall not apply, if the eligible youth 22 certifies that he or she is— 23 ‘‘(I) a parent or other household 24 member responsible for the care of a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 HR 4300 RFS dependent child under the age of 6 or 1 for the care of an incapacitated per- 2 son; 3 ‘‘(II) a person who is regularly 4 and actively participating in a drug 5 addiction or alcohol treatment and re- 6 habilitation program; or 7 ‘‘(III) a person who is incapable 8 of complying with the requirement 9 under clause (i) or (ii), as applicable, 10 due to a documented medical condi- 11 tion. 12 ‘‘(iv) VERIFICATION OF COMPLI- 13 ANCE.—The Secretary shall require the 14 public housing agency to verify compliance 15 with the requirements under this subpara- 16 graph by each eligible youth on whose be- 17 half the agency provides such assistance 18 under this subsection on an annual basis 19 in conjunction with reviews of income for 20 purposes of determining income eligibility 21 for such assistance. 22 ‘‘(B) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.— 23 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY.—Each eligible 24 youth on whose behalf such assistance 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 HR 4300 RFS under this subsection is provided shall be 1 eligible for any supportive services (as such 2 term is defined in section 103 of the Work- 3 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 4 U.S.C. 3102)) made available, in connec- 5 tion with any housing assistance program 6 of the agency, by or through the public 7 housing agency providing such assistance. 8 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION.—Upon the initial 9 provision of such assistance under this 10 subsection on behalf of any eligible youth, 11 the public housing agency shall inform 12 such eligible youth of the existence of any 13 programs or services referred to in clause 14 (i) and of their eligibility for such pro- 15 grams and services. 16 ‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY TO MOVING TO WORK 17 AGENCIES.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 18 sion of law, the requirements of this paragraph 19 shall apply to assistance under this subsection 20 pursuant to paragraph (2)(B) made available 21 by each public housing agency participating in 22 the Moving to Work Program under section 204 23 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and 24 Housing and Urban Development, and Inde- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 HR 4300 RFS pendent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (42 1 U.S.C. 1437f note), except that in lieu of com- 2 pliance with clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph 3 (A) of this paragraph, such an agency may 4 comply with the requirements under such 5 clauses by complying with such terms, condi- 6 tions, and requirements as may be established 7 by the agency for persons on whose behalf such 8 rental assistance under this subsection is pro- 9 vided. 10 ‘‘(D) TERMINATION OF VOUCHERS UPON 11 TURN-OVER.—A public housing agency shall not 12 reissue any such assistance made available from 13 appropriated funds when assistance for the 14 youth initially assisted is terminated, unless 15 specifically authorized by the Secretary. 16 ‘‘(E) REPORTS.— 17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 18 shall require each public housing agency 19 that provides such assistance under this 20 subsection in any fiscal year to submit a 21 report to the Secretary for such fiscal year 22 that— 23 ‘‘(I) specifies the number of per- 24 sons on whose behalf such assistance 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 HR 4300 RFS under this subsection was provided 1 during such fiscal year; 2 ‘‘(II) specifies the number of per- 3 sons who applied during such fiscal 4 year for such assistance under this 5 subsection, but were not provided 6 such assistance, and provides a brief 7 identification in each instance of the 8 reason why the public housing agency 9 was unable to award such assistance; 10 and 11 ‘‘(III) describes how the public 12 housing agency communicated or col- 13 laborated with public child welfare 14 agencies to collect such data. 15 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION COLLECTIONS.— 16 The Secretary shall, to the greatest extent 17 possible, utilize existing information collec- 18 tions, including the voucher management 19 system (VMS), the Inventory Management 20 System/PIH Information Center (IMS/ 21 PIC), or the successors of those systems, 22 to collect information required under this 23 subparagraph. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 HR 4300 RFS ‘‘(F) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall 1 consult with the Secretary of Health and 2 Human Services to provide such information 3 and guidance to the Secretary of Health and 4 Human Services as may be necessary to facili- 5 tate such Secretary in informing States and 6 public child welfare agencies on how to correctly 7 and efficiently implement and comply with the 8 requirements of this subsection relating to as- 9 sistance provided pursuant to paragraph 10 (2)(B).’’. 11 (b) COORDINATION BETWEEN PHAS AND PUBLIC 12 CHILD WELFARE AGENCIES.— 13 (1) APPLICABILITY TO FOSTERING STABLE 14 HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM.—Subparagraph 15 (A) of section 8(x)(4) of the United States Housing 16 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(x)(4)(A)) is amended 17 by inserting before the semicolon at the end the fol- 18 lowing: ‘‘and establishing a point of contact at public 19 housing agencies to ensure that public housing agen- 20 cies receive appropriate referrals regarding eligible 21 recipients’’. 22 (c) PHA ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.—Subsection (q) of 23 section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 HR 4300 RFS U.S.C. 1437f(q)) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 1 lowing new paragraph: 2 ‘‘(5) SUPPLEMENTS FOR ADMINISTERING AS- 3 SISTANCE FOR YOUTH AGING OUT OF FOSTER 4 CARE.—The Secretary may provide supplemental 5 fees under this subsection to the public housing 6 agency for the cost of administering any assistance 7 for foster youth under subsection (x)(2)(B), in an 8 amount determined by the Secretary, but only if the 9 agency waives for such eligible youth receiving as- 10 sistance any residency requirement that it has other- 11 wise established pursuant to subsection 12 (r)(1)(B)(i).’’. 13 SEC. 4. EXCEPTIONS TO LIMITATIONS FOR PROJECT-BASED 14 VOUCHER ASSISTANCE. 15 (a) PERCENTAGE LIMITATION.—The first sentence of 16 clause (ii) of section 8(o)(13)(B) of the United States 17 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)(B)(ii)) is 18 amended by inserting before ‘‘or that’’ the following: ‘‘that 19 house eligible youths receiving assistance pursuant to sub- 20 section (x)(2)(B),’’. 21 (b) INCOME-MIXING REQUIREMENT.—Subclause (I) 22 of section 8(o)(13)(D)(ii) of the United States Housing 23 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)(D)(ii)(I)) is amend- 24 ed by inserting after ‘‘elderly families’’ the following: ‘‘, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 HR 4300 RFS to eligible youths receiving assistance pursuant to sub- 1 section (x)(2)(B),’’. 2 SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY. 3 The amendments made by this Act shall not apply 4 to housing choice voucher assistance made available pur- 5 suant to section 8(x) of the United States Housing Act 6 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(x)) that is in use on behalf of 7 an assisted family as of the date of the enactment of this 8 Act. 9 Passed the House of Representatives November 18, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 Nov 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.RFS H4300 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS