III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 442 

Designating November 2019 as ‘‘National Runaway Prevention Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2019 

Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, 

Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. MURKOWSKI, and 

Mrs. MURRAY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

DECEMBER 2, 2019 

Committee discharged; considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating November 2019 as ‘‘National Runaway 

Prevention Month’’. 

Whereas results from the Voices of Youth Count national 

survey, as published by Chapin Hall at the University of 

Chicago in ‘‘Missed Opportunities: Youth Homelessness 

in America’’, indicates that an estimated 4,200,000 youth 

and young adults between 13 and 24 years of age experienced homelessness during a 12-month period ending in 

2017, including— 

(1) an estimated 700,000 children between 13 and 

17 years of age who experienced unaccompanied homelessness; and 


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SRES 442 ATS 

(2) an estimated 3,500,000 young adults between 18 

and 24 years of age; 

Whereas the rates of youth experiencing homelessness are 

similar in rural and nonrural areas; 

Whereas runaway youth often have been expelled from their 

homes by their families, have experienced abuse and trauma, are involved in the foster care system, are too poor 

to secure their own basic needs, and may be ineligible or 

unable to access medical or mental health resources; 

Whereas individuals without a high school degree or general 

educational development certificate are nearly 4 times 

more likely to report homelessness than their peers, making lack of education a leading risk factor for homelessness; 

Whereas youth of color and lesbian, gay, bisexual, 

transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) youth experience higher 

rates of homelessness than their straight and White 

peers; 

Whereas pregnant youth, parents who are 25 years of age or 

younger, and their children experience higher rates of 

homelessness than youth and young adults without children; 

Whereas runaway and homeless youth are at an increased 

risk for exploitation and becoming victims of sex and 

labor trafficking, and between 19 percent and 49 percent 

of young people who experience homelessness will become 

victims of trafficking; 

Whereas youth who run away from home or from foster care 

are more likely to be coerced into participating in criminal activity, joining a gang, or using illegal drugs, which 


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SRES 442 ATS 

lead to a higher likelihood of involvement in the criminal 

justice system; 

Whereas preventing youth from running away from home or 

from foster care and supporting youth in high-risk situations is a family, community, and national responsibility; 

Whereas the future well-being of the Nation is dependent on 

the value placed on youth and the opportunities provided 

for youth to acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities 

necessary to help youth successfully develop into safe, 

healthy, and productive adults; 

Whereas effective programs supporting runaway youth and 

assisting youth and their families in providing safe and 

stable homes succeed because of partnerships created 

among families, youth-based advocacy organizations, 

community-based human service agencies, law enforcement, schools, faith-based organizations, and businesses; 

and 

Whereas the National Runaway Safeline and the National 

Network for Youth are leading the promotion of National 

Runaway Prevention Month in November 2019— 

(1) to raise awareness of the runaway and homeless 

youth crisis and the issues these young people face; and 

(2) to educate the public about solutions and the 

role they can play in ending youth homelessness: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates November 2019 as ‘‘National 

3 Runaway Prevention Month’’; and 


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SRES 442 ATS 

1 (2) recognizes and supports the goals and ideals 

2 of National Runaway Prevention Month. 

Æ 


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