II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 923 

To fight homelessness in the United States by authorizing a grant program 

within the Health Resources and Services Administration for housing 

programs that offer comprehensive services and intensive case management for homeless individuals and families. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 28, 2019 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BENNET, Ms. SMITH, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, 

Ms. HARRIS, and Ms. ROSEN) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

and Pensions 

A BILL 

To fight homelessness in the United States by authorizing 

a grant program within the Health Resources and Services Administration for housing programs that offer comprehensive services and intensive case management for 

homeless individuals and families. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fighting Homelessness 

5 Through Services and Housing Act’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 923 IS

1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Health 

3 Resources and Services Administration (referred to in this 

4 section as the ‘‘Administrator’’), in consultation with the 

5 working group established under subsection (b), shall es6 tablish a grant program to award competitive grants to 

7 eligible entities for the planning and implementation of 

8 programs to address homelessness. 

9 (b) WORKING GROUP.—The Administrator shall es10 tablish an interagency working group to provide advice to 

11 the Administrator in carrying out the program under sub12 section (a). The working group shall include representa13 tives from the United States Interagency Council on 

14 Homelessness, Department of Education, Department of 

15 Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and 

16 Urban Development, Department of Labor, Department 

17 of Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs, De18 partment of Agriculture, Department of the Treasury, De19 partment of Justice, and Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

20 (c) TYPES OF GRANTS.— 

21 (1) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Under the program 

23 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall 

24 award 5-year implementation grants to eligible 

25 entities to assist such entities in carrying out 

26 activities, and paying capital building costs, asVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:51 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S923.IS S923

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 923 IS

1 sociated with the provision of housing and serv2 ices to homeless individuals and families, in3 cluding homeless children and youths (as de4 fined by section 725 of the McKinney-Vento 

5 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)), 

6 or those at risk of becoming homeless. 

7 (B) AMOUNT.—The amount awarded to an 

8 entity under a grant under this paragraph shall 

9 not exceed $25,000,000. 

10 (C) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—With re11 spect to the costs of the activities to be carried 

12 out by an entity under a grant under this para13 graph, the entity shall make available (directly 

14 or through donations from public or private en15 tities) non-Federal contributions toward such 

16 costs in an amount that equals 25 percent of 

17 the amount of the grant. 

18 (2) PLANNING GRANTS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Under the program 

20 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall 

21 award 1-year planning grants to eligible entities 

22 to assist such entities in developing comprehen23 sive plans to address homelessness in the com24 munities and regions served by such entities or 

25 to enhance the effectiveness of existing proVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:51 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S923.IS S923

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 923 IS

1 grams that serve homeless individuals and fami2 lies, including homeless children and youths (as 

3 defined by section 725 of the McKinney-Vento 

4 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)), 

5 or those at risk of becoming homeless. 

6 (B) AMOUNT.—The amount awarded to an 

7 entity under a grant under this paragraph shall 

8 not exceed $100,000, and such amount shall 

9 not be subject to any matching requirement. 

10 (d) ELIGIBILITY.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

12 grant under the program under subsection (a), an 

13 entity shall— 

14 (A) be a governmental entity (at the coun15 ty, city, regional, or locality level), Indian tribe, 

16 or tribal organization; 

17 (B) demonstrate that the capacity of the 

18 entity for providing services under the grant in19 cludes the ability to address mental health, sub20 stance use disorder and recovery services, dis21 abling or other chronic health conditions, edu22 cational and job training or employment out23 comes, and life skills needs (including financial 

24 literacy); and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 923 IS

1 (C) submit to the Administrator an appli2 cation that includes an assurance that, in car3 rying out activities under the grant, the entity 

4 will— 

5 (i) ensure stable housing, intensive 

6 case management, and comprehensive serv7 ices that include, at minimum, mental 

8 health, substance use disorder treatment 

9 and recovery services, education and job 

10 training, age-appropriate services for chil11 dren, and life skills training (such as fi12 nancial literacy training); 

13 (ii) coordinate with the population to 

14 be served by the entity to ensure that sup15 portive services are tailored to meet the 

16 specific and actual needs of the individuals 

17 and families served; 

18 (iii) coordinate with local law enforce19 ment, courts (including specialized courts), 

20 probation, and other public services agen21 cies to conduct outreach and better iden22 tify at-risk or homeless populations that 

23 would benefit from services offered by the 

24 entity; 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 923 IS

1 (iv) follow trauma-informed best prac2 tices to address the needs of the popu3 lations to be served; 

4 (v) provide services under the grant 

5 on-site or in-home as appropriate; 

6 (vi) provide assistance in addressing 

7 the transportation needs of individuals for 

8 services provided under the grant off-site; 

9 and 

10 (vii) comply with additional require11 ments, if the entity intends to serve fami12 lies with children under the grant, to en13 sure— 

14 (I) that services include chil15 dren’s behavioral and mental health 

16 services, early childhood education, 

17 regular and age-appropriate children’s 

18 programming and activities, child 

19 health, development, and nutrition 

20 screening (including coordination of 

21 medical and well-child services), and 

22 parenting classes and support pro23 grams; 

24 (II) in conditions where family 

25 housing is provided in a central facilVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:51 Apr 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S923.IS S923

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 923 IS

1 ity and not in mixed units in a com2 mercial building, that a safe space for 

3 play and age-appropriate activities is 

4 available on-site and has regular 

5 hours of operation; and 

6 (III) that the entity has in place 

7 protocol for staff training and best 

8 practices to identify and prevent child 

9 trafficking, abuse, and neglect. 

10 (2) CASE MANAGEMENT.—An entity receiving a 

11 grant under this section shall ensure that case man12 agement provided by the entity under the grant does 

13 not exceed a ratio of 1 caseworker to 20 cases. 

14 (3) PARTNERSHIPS.—An entity may enter into 

15 a partnership with more than one provider that may 

16 include a local health agency, non-profit service pro17 viders, medical and mental health providers, housing 

18 providers, and other service providers as necessary. 

19 (e) OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 (1) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year 

21 after the date on which a grant is received by an en22 tity under subsection (a), and annually thereafter 

23 for the term of the grant, such entity shall submit 

24 to the Administrator a report on the activities car25 ried out under the grant. Such report shall include, 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 923 IS

1 with respect to activities carried out under the grant 

2 in the community served, measures of outcomes re3 lating to— 

4 (A) whether individuals and families who 

5 are served continued to have housing and did 

6 not experience intermittent periods of homeless7 ness; 

8 (B) whether individuals and families who 

9 are served see improvements in their physical 

10 and mental health, have access to a specific pri11 mary care provider, promptly receive any need12 ed health care, and have a health care plan that 

13 meets their individual needs (including access to 

14 mental health and substance use treatment as 

15 applicable, and family-based treatment models); 

16 (C) whether children who are served are 

17 enrolled in school, attend regularly, and are re18 ceiving services to meet their educational needs; 

19 (D) whether children who are served have 

20 access to trauma-informed mental health care 

21 and screening for any mental and behavioral 

22 health needs, as well as other services to meet 

23 their needs, as appropriate; 

24 (E) how grant funds are used; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 923 IS

1 (F) other matters determined appropriate 

2 by the Administrator. 

3 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

4 subsection shall be construed to condition the receipt 

5 of future housing and other services by individuals 

6 under the grant on the outcomes detailed in the re7 ports submitted under paragraph (1). 

8 (f) DEFINITION.—In this section, the terms ‘‘Indian 

9 tribe’’ and ‘‘tribal organization’’ have the meanings given 

10 such terms in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

11 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304) and shall 

12 include tribally designated housing entities (as defined in 

13 section 4(22) of the Native American Housing Assistance 

14 and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

15 4103(22))) and entities that serve Native Hawaiians (as 

16 defined in section 338K(c) of the Public Health Service 

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 254s(c))). 

18 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

19 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

20 $750,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025, 

21 of which— 

22 (1) not less than 5 percent of such funds shall 

23 be awarded to Indian tribes and tribal organizations; 

24 (2) $5,000,000 shall be made available for plan25 ning grants under subsection (c)(2); and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 923 IS

1 (3) the remainder shall be made available for 

2 implementation grants under subsection (c)(1). 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS