II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 611 

To amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to meet the needs 

of homeless children, youth, and families, and honor the assessments 

and priorities of local communities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 13, 2017 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. PORTMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to 

meet the needs of homeless children, youth, and families, 

and honor the assessments and priorities of local communities. 

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 ‘‘Homeless Children and 

5 Youth Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE MCKINNEY-VENTO HOME2 LESS ASSISTANCE ACT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The McKinney-Vento Homeless 

4 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) in section 103— 

6 (A) in subsection (a)— 

7 (i) in paragraph (5)(A)— 

8 (I) by striking ‘‘are sharing’’ and 

9 all that follows through ‘‘charitable 

10 organizations,’’; 

11 (II) by striking ‘‘14 days’’ each 

12 place that term appears and inserting 

13 ‘‘30 days’’; 

14 (III) in clause (i), by inserting 

15 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 

16 (IV) by striking clause (ii); and 

17 (V) by redesignating clause (iii) 

18 as clause (ii); and 

19 (ii) by amending paragraph (6) to 

20 read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(6) a child or youth defined as homeless under 

22 another Federal program who, without further ac23 tion by the Department of Housing and Urban De24 velopment, has been verified as homeless under an25 other Federal program by the director, designee of 

26 the director, or other person responsible for the imVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Mar 17, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S611.IS S611

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1 plementation of a program established under this 

2 Act or any other Federal statute.’’; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(f) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

5 ‘‘(1) the term ‘child or youth defined as home6 less under another Federal program’ has the mean7 ing given the term in section 401; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the term ‘other Federal statute’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 401. 

10 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary of Housing and 

11 Urban Development may not— 

12 ‘‘(1) promulgate any rule with respect to the 

13 definition of the terms ‘homeless’, ‘homeless indi14 vidual’, and ‘homeless person’ in subsection (a); or 

15 ‘‘(2) issue non-regulatory guidance or set forth 

16 in an application, a notice of funding availability, or 

17 other publication or advisory any statement or provi18 sion that— 

19 ‘‘(A) has the effect of restricting eligibility 

20 for assistance for any individual defined as 

21 ‘homeless’ under subsection (a) for any pro22 gram or program component under this Act; or 

23 ‘‘(B) purports to be legally binding.’’; 

24 (2) in section 401 (42 U.S.C. 11360)— 

25 (A) in paragraph (1)(C)— 


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1 (i) by striking clauses (ii) and (iv); 

2 (ii) by redesignating clauses (iii), (v), 

3 (vi), and (vii) as clauses (ii), (iii), (iv), and 

4 (v), respectively; and 

5 (iii) by striking the flush text fol6 lowing clause (v), as so redesignated; 

7 (B) by striking paragraph (7); 

8 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

9 through (6) as paragraphs (3) through (7), re10 spectively; 

11 (D) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(2) CHILD OR YOUTH DEFINED AS HOMELESS

14 UNDER ANOTHER FEDERAL PROGRAM.—The term 

15 ‘child or youth defined as homeless under another 

16 Federal program’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) a homeless child or youth, as defined 

18 in section 725, including any parent or guard19 ian with whom the child or youth is living; and 

20 ‘‘(B) a youth who— 

21 ‘‘(i) is not more than 22 years of age; 

22 ‘‘(ii) cannot live safely with a parent, 

23 legal guardian, or relative; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) has no other safe alternative liv25 ing arrangement.’’; 


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1 (E) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated— 

2 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and 

3 lives’’ and all that follows through ‘‘shel4 ter’’ and inserting ‘‘under any provision of 

5 section 103’’; and 

6 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘(or a 

7 minor head of household if no adult is 

8 present in the household)’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

9 a minor head of household (if no adult is 

10 present in the household), or a child’’; 

11 (F) in paragraph (9)(A), by inserting ‘‘any 

12 provision of’’ before ‘‘section 103’’; 

13 (G) by redesignating paragraphs (14) 

14 through (33) as paragraphs (15) through (34), 

15 respectively; 

16 (H) by inserting after paragraph (13) the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(14) OTHER FEDERAL STATUTE.—The term 

19 ‘other Federal statute’ includes— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Runaway and Homeless Youth 

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.); 

22 ‘‘(B) the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 

23 et seq.); 

24 ‘‘(C) the Child Care and Development 

25 Block Grant of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(D) subtitle N of the Violence Against 

2 Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043e et 

3 seq.); 

4 ‘‘(E) section 330(h) of the Public Health 

5 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(h)); 

6 ‘‘(F) section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act 

7 of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 

8 ‘‘(G) the Higher Education Act of 1965 

9 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); and 

10 ‘‘(H) the United States Housing Act of 

11 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.).’’; 

12 (I) in paragraph (32), as so redesignated, 

13 by inserting ‘‘children under 5 years of age, 

14 youth and young adults between 14 and 25 

15 years of age,’’ after ‘‘status, or age),’’; 

16 (J) in paragraph (33), as so redesignated, 

17 by inserting ‘‘trafficking,’’ after ‘‘victims of’’; 

18 and 

19 (K) in paragraph (34), as so redesig20 nated— 

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘victims of traf22 ficking,’’ after ‘‘assist’’; 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘stalking victims’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘stalking’’; and 


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1 (iii) by inserting ‘‘trafficking,’’ after 

2 ‘‘concerning’’; 

3 (3) in section 402(f) (42 U.S.C. 11360a(f))— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting 

5 ‘‘considering the prevalence and needs of home6 less individuals, as defined under any provision 

7 of section 103’’ after ‘‘involved’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (3)(D)— 

9 (i) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

10 the end; 

11 (ii) by redesignating clause (vi) as 

12 clause (vii); and 

13 (iii) by inserting after clause (v) the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(vi) the submission of HMIS data to 

16 the Secretary on at least an annual basis; 

17 and’’; 

18 (4) by inserting after section 408 the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 409. AVAILABILITY OF HMIS DATA. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The community-wide homeless 

21 management information system (in this section referred 

22 to as ‘HMIS’) data provided to the Secretary under sec23 tion 402(f)(3)(D)(vi) shall be made publically available on 

24 the Internet website of the Department of Housing and 

25 Urban Development. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED DATA.—The data publically available 

2 under subsection (a) shall be updated on at least an an3 nual basis and shall include— 

4 ‘‘(1) a cumulative count of the number of home5 less individuals and families, as defined under any 

6 provision of section 103; 

7 ‘‘(2) a cumulative assessment of the patterns of 

8 assistance provided under subtitles B and C for the 

9 each geographic area involved; 

10 ‘‘(3) a count of the number of homeless individ11 uals and families, as defined under any provision of 

12 section 103, that are documented through the HMIS 

13 by each collaborative applicant; and 

14 ‘‘(4) a count of the number of homeless women, 

15 as defined under any provision of section 103 and 

16 both unaccompanied and accompanied, including a 

17 breakout of the count by— 

18 ‘‘(A) age range; 

19 ‘‘(B) disability; 

20 ‘‘(C) trauma experience, such as child 

21 abuse, sexual assault, or interpersonal violence 

22 experienced during the lifetime of the woman 

23 and during the preceding year, and if the 

24 woman is a veteran (as defined in section 101 


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1 of title 38, United States Code), during the pe2 riod of service; and 

3 ‘‘(D) length of time experiencing homeless4 ness.’’; 

5 (5) in section 422 (42 U.S.C. 11382)— 

6 (A) in subsection (a)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 

8 inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

10 (ii) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTIONS.—In awarding grants 

13 under paragraph (1), the Secretary— 

14 ‘‘(A) may not award greater priority, 

15 points, or weight in scoring based solely on the 

16 specific homeless populations proposed to be 

17 served by the applicant, or the proposed pro18 gram component or housing or service model; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) shall ensure that scoring is based pri21 marily on the extent to which the applicant 

22 demonstrates that the project and program 

23 components— 


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1 ‘‘(i) would meet the priorities identi2 fied in the plan submitted under section 

3 427(b)(1)(B); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) are cost-effective in meeting the 

5 overall goals and objectives identified in 

6 that plan.’’; 

7 (B) in subsection (b)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 

9 inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

11 (ii) by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTIONS.—Each notification of 

14 funding availability described in paragraph (1) shall 

15 comply with the restrictions described in subsection 

16 (a)(2).’’; 

17 (C) in subsection (c)(1)(B), by striking 

18 ‘‘establish’’ and inserting ‘‘demonstrate local, 

19 needs-based’’; and 

20 (D) by striking subsection (j); 

21 (6) in section 424(d) (42 U.S.C. 11384(d)), by 

22 striking paragraph (5); 

23 (7) in section 425(c) (42 U.S.C. 11385(c)), by 

24 striking ‘‘and (G) providing’’ and inserting ‘‘(G) pro25 viding transportation to employment, early care and 


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1 education programs, career and technical education 

2 programs, and health and mental health care serv3 ices, and (H) providing’’; 

4 (8) in section 426(b) (42 U.S.C. 11386(b))— 

5 (A) in paragraph (4), by amending sub6 paragraph (D) to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(D) in the case of programs providing 

8 housing or services to families or youth, they 

9 will designate a staff person to be responsible 

10 for ensuring that children and youth being 

11 served in the program are— 

12 ‘‘(i) enrolled in school and connected 

13 to appropriate services in the community, 

14 including Head Start, part C of the Indi15 viduals with Disabilities Act, programs au16 thorized under the Child Care and Devel17 opment Block Grant Act of 1990, career 

18 and technical education, and services pro19 vided by local educational agency liaisons 

20 designated under subtitle B of title VII of 

21 this Act; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an unaccompanied 

23 youth, as defined in section 725, informed 

24 of their status as an independent student 

25 under section 480 of the Higher Education 


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1 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv) and re2 ceive verification of such status for pur3 poses of the Free Application for Federal 

4 Student Aid described in section 483 of 

5 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1090); and’’; 

6 (B) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘the ac7 tual compliance with the certifications required 

8 under paragraph (4) and’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’; 

9 and 

10 (C) in paragraph (7)— 

11 (i) by inserting ‘‘and youth’’ after 

12 ‘‘needs of children’’; 

13 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or unaccompanied 

14 youth’’ after ‘‘when families’’; 

15 (iii) by inserting ‘‘and unaccompanied 

16 youth’’ after ‘‘with children’’; and 

17 (iv) by striking ‘‘such children’s’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘such children and youth’s’’; 

19 (9) in section 427(b) (42 U.S.C. 11386a(b))— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

22 (I) in clause (vi), by adding 

23 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

24 (II) in clause (vii), by striking 

25 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 


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1 (III) by striking clause (viii); 

2 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

3 (I) by amending clause (iii) to 

4 read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(iii) how the recipient will collaborate 

6 with local educational agencies, early care 

7 and education programs, and institutions 

8 of higher education to assist in the identi9 fication of and services to youth and fami10 lies who become or remain homeless, in11 cluding the steps the recipient will take to 

12 inform youth and families of their eligi13 bility for services under part B of subtitle 

14 VII of this Act, the Head Start Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the Child Care and 

16 Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

17 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and the Higher Edu18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 

19 seq.);’’; and 

20 (II) by striking clause (v) and in21 serting the following: 

22 ‘‘(v) how the recipient will ensure the 

23 full implementation of the certifications 

24 and agreements described in paragraphs 

25 (4)(D) and (7) of section 426(b);’’; 


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1 (iii) in subparagraph (C)(i), by insert2 ing ‘‘and appropriate’’ after ‘‘rapid’’; 

3 (iv) by striking subparagraph (F) and 

4 inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(F) for communities that establish and 

6 operate a centralized or coordinated assessment 

7 system, the extent to which that system— 

8 ‘‘(i) ensures that individuals who are 

9 most in need of assistance receive it in a 

10 timely manner; 

11 ‘‘(ii) in assessing need under clause 

12 (i), uses separate, specific, age-appropriate 

13 criteria for assessing the safety and needs 

14 of children under 5 years of age, school15 age children, unaccompanied youth and 

16 young adults between 14 and 25 years of 

17 age, and families that are unrelated to the 

18 criteria through which an individual quali19 fies as ‘homeless’ under section 103; 

20 ‘‘(iii) is accessible to unaccompanied 

21 youth and homeless families; 

22 ‘‘(iv) diverts individuals to safe, sta23 ble, age-appropriate accommodations; and 

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1 hood programs, local educational agencies, 

2 and mental health organizations; and’’; 

3 and 

4 (v) by amending subparagraph (G) to 

5 read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(G) such other factors as the Secretary 

7 determines to be appropriate to carry out this 

8 subtitle in an effective and efficient manner, ex9 cept that such factors may not have the effect 

10 of prioritizing or weighting, unless justified by 

11 local data or information contained in a plan 

12 submitted under subparagraph (B)— 

13 ‘‘(i) any service with respect to a spe14 cific subpopulation of homeless individuals 

15 over another; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) any program component or hous17 ing or service model over another.’’; and 

18 (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘(3) HOMELESSNESS COUNTS.—The Secretary 

21 shall require that communities that conduct an an22 nual count of homeless people shall count homeless 

23 individuals as defined under any provision of section 

24 103.’’; 

25 (10) in section 428 (42 U.S.C. 11386b)— 


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1 (A) in subsection (a)(1)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘disabilities and’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘disabilities,’’; and 

4 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and homeless fami5 lies where a child has a disability’’ before 

6 the period at the end; 

7 (B) in subsection (d)— 

8 (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting 

9 ‘‘promoting’’ before ‘‘independent’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary shall not 

13 provide bonuses or other incentives under paragraph 

14 (1) that have the effect of prioritizing or weighting, 

15 unless justified by local data or information con16 tained in a plan submitted under section 

17 427(b)(1)(B)— 

18 ‘‘(A) any service with respect to a specific 

19 subpopulation of homeless individuals over an20 other; or 

21 ‘‘(B) any program component or housing 

22 or service model over another. 

23 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes 

24 of this subsection, activities that have been proven to 

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1 ducing homelessness for a specific subpopulation in2 clude any activity determined by the Secretary, after 

3 providing notice and an opportunity for public com4 ment, to have been proven effective at— 

5 ‘‘(A) reducing homelessness generally; 

6 ‘‘(B) reducing homelessness for a specific 

7 subpopulation; 

8 ‘‘(C) reducing homelessness in a commu9 nity for populations overrepresented in any 

10 counts conducted in that community under sec11 tion 427(b)(3); or 

12 ‘‘(D) achieving homeless prevention and 

13 promoting independent living goals as set forth 

14 in section 427(b)(1)(F). 

15 ‘‘(4) ENCOURAGING LOCAL SUCCESS AND INNO16 VATION.—In providing bonuses or incentives under 

17 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall seek to encourage 

18 the implementation of proven strategies and innova19 tion in reducing homelessness among the local pri20 ority populations identified in the plan submitted by 

21 an applicant under section 427(b)(1)(B). The Sec22 retary shall not implement bonuses or incentives 

23 that promote a national priority established by the 

24 Secretary.’’; and 

25 (C) by striking subsection (e); and 


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1 (11) by amending section 434 to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 434. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit to 

5 Congress an annual report, which shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) summarize the activities carried out under 

7 this subtitle and set forth the findings, conclusions, 

8 and recommendations of the Secretary as a result of 

9 the activities; and 

10 ‘‘(2) include, for the year preceding the date on 

11 which the report is submitted— 

12 ‘‘(A) data required to be made publically 

13 available in the report under section 409; and 

14 ‘‘(B) data on programs funded under any 

15 other Federal statute. 

16 ‘‘(b) TIMING.—A report under subsection (a) shall be 

17 submitted not later than 4 months after the end of each 

18 fiscal year.’’. 

19 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

20 The table of contents in section 101(b) of the McKinney21 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 note) 

22 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

23 408 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 409. Availability of HMIS data.’’. 

Æ 


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