It may not be perfect, but it's what we've got. On May 19, Congress passed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act (S. 896). Our May 20 CFK Update [1] offered some background on the bill.

Included in this legislation is the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, which reauthorizes the HUD McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act programs. The Child Welfare League of America has a good backgrounder on McKinney-Vento [2].

Many child advocates worked tirelessly to broaden HUD’s definition of homelessness so that it more closely resembles the Department of Education definition—which includes not only families living on the street or in shelters, but also those "doubling up" with relatives or friends, for example. Under the expanded definition, more than 500,000 homeless children would gain access to HUD’s homeless assistance programs, according to First Focus.

Unfortunately, the bill contains a definition of homelessness that largely maintains current policy. See the definition summary [3] below.

"Specifically, the HEARTH Act contains a definition of homelessness that imposes arbitrary timelines and conditions on people living in motels and doubled-up situations. Additionally, under this law HUD will consider as homeless children who are defined as homeless under other federal laws, only if they have been homeless for a long period of time, and if they have moved multiple times, and if they can be expected to remain homeless because their family suffers from chronic disabilities, substance addiction, histories of domestic violence, or other factors. Further, communities can only use 10 percent of their funding for these children and families, unless the community has a low rate of homelessness," reports First Focus.

The good news is that the bill contains some provisions that will be helpful for homeless children and youth.

"Funding will be made available for homeless prevention services. Additionally, HUD Continuums of Care will be required to assist schools in identifying families who are homeless, to inform families and youth of their educational rights, and to designate a contact person for ensuring school enrollment and connection to services. HUD Continuums will be prohibited from enacting policies or practices that restrict educational rights, and will be required to make efforts to take children and youth’s educational needs into account when placing them in shelter.

"These provisions will help children and youth who are served by HUD programs receive the education to which they are entitled—and which remains their best chance of escaping poverty as adults," according to First Focus.

For more updates and analysis, keep an eye on the First Focus homepage [4].

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From First Focus, the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth and the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness:

SUMMARY OF HOMELESS DEFINITION AND
 CHILD-YOUTH PROVISIONS IN S. 896,
THE HUD MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT REAUTHORIZATION

HUD DEFINITION OF HOMELESSNESS

• S. 896 add the following categories to the definition of homelessness:
• People in motels not paid for by government or charities where they lack the resources to reside there for more than 14 days, provided they have no subsequent residence identified and lack the resources or support networks needed to obtain other permanent housing.

• People sharing the housing of others where there is “credible evidence” that the owner or renter of the housing will not allow the individual or family to stay for more than 14 days, provided they have no subsequent residence identified and lack the resources or support networks needed to obtain other permanent housing. Any oral statement from an individual or family seeking homeless assistance that is “found to be credible” will be considered credible evidence.

• Any individual or family who is fleeing, or is attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other dangerous or life threatening conditions in the individual’s or family’s current housing situation, including where the health and safety of children are jeopardized, and who have no other residence and lack the resources or support networks to obtain other permanent housing.

• Unaccompanied youth and families with children and youth who are homeless under other federal statutes (i.e. the education definition, the RHYA definition, etc.) who have:
  1. experienced a long term period without living independently in permanent housing; and
  2. have experienced persistent instability as measured by frequent moves over such period; and
  3. can be expected to continue in such status for an extended period of time because of chronic disabilities, chronic physical health or mental health conditions, substance addiction, histories of domestic violence or childhood abuse, the presence of a child or youth with a disability, or multiple barriers to employment.

Note: Communities may spend only 10% of their Continuum of Care funds on families and youth considered homeless under this category, and under any other federal statute, except that communities with low rates of homelessness may spend up to100% of Continuum of Care funds on families and youth considered homeless under other federal statutes.

• Prohibits HUD from requiring communities to count any of the newly added categories of homelessness.

• Clarifies that changes to the HUD definition apply only to HUD programs, and that no other federal definition of homelessness is altered by these amendments (i.e. the education definition remains the federal definition for purposes of education).

• Requires HUD to issue regulations within six months of the date of enactment to ensure “uniform and consistent” implementation of these changes to the HUD definition of homelessness.

• Requires the Interagency Council on Homelessness to convene a meeting of stakeholders (government, providers, advocates) on the HUD definition of homelessness within six months of the completion of a GAO study on the HUD definition of homelessness and provide transcripts of this meeting to relevant Congressional committees

OTHER PROVISIONS RELATED TO CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND EDUCATION

• Continuum of Care plans must describe how the recipient will collaborate with local education agencies to assist in the identification of families, and how families and youth will be informed of their eligibility for McKinney-Vento education services.

• Two years after the law is passed, agencies receiving funds to serve families may not deny admission to shelter based on the age of children under 18, unless appropriate alternative living arrangements have been secured, or unless the agency operates a transitional housing program with a “primary purpose” of implementing “evidence-based” practice requiring units targeted to children of certain

• Agencies must certify that programs that provide housing or services to families will designate a staff person to ensure that children are enrolled in school and connected to appropriate services in the community, including early childhood programs such as Head Start, part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and McKinney-Vento education services.

• Agencies must certify that they will establish policies and practices that are consistent with, and do not restrict the exercise of rights provided by the education subtitle of the McKinney-Vento Act, and other laws relating to the provision of educational and related services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

• Collaborative applicants for HUD Continuum of Care funding must take the educational needs of children into account when families are placed in emergency or transitional shelter and will, to the maximum extent practicable, place families with children as close to possible to their school of origin so as not to disrupt children’s education.