II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1638 

To provide priority under certain federally assisted housing programs to 

assist youths who are aging out of foster care, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2017 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. 

KING, and Mr. SCOTT) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide priority under certain federally assisted housing 

programs to assist youths who are aging out of foster 

care, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Fostering Stable Hous5 ing Opportunities Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF FAMILY. 

7 Section 3(b)(3)(A) of the United States Housing Act 

8 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(3)(A)) is amended— 

9 (1) in the first sentence— 

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1 (A) by striking ‘‘(v)’’ and inserting ‘‘(vi)’’; 

2 and 

3 (B) by inserting after ‘‘tenant family,’’ the 

4 following: ‘‘(v) a child who is in foster care and 

5 has attained an age such that the provision of 

6 foster care for the child will end by reason of 

7 the age of the child within 6 months,’’; and 

8 (2) in the second sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 

9 (vi)’’ after ‘‘clause (v)’’. 

10 SEC. 3. PRIORITY FOR PUBLIC HOUSING OCCUPANCY AND 

11 SECTION 8 ASSISTANCE. 

12 (a) PUBLIC HOUSING.—Section 6(c)(4)(A) of the 

13 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

14 1437d(c)(4)(A)) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘this subparagraph’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘this clause’’; and 

17 (2) by striking the subparagraph designation 

18 and all that follows through ‘‘making dwelling units 

19 available’’ and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) making dwelling units in public hous21 ing available for occupancy, which shall provide 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(i) except for projects or portions of 

24 projects designated for occupancy pursuant 

25 to section 7(a), preference shall be given to 

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1 otherwise eligible children who are in foster 

2 care, have attained an age such that the 

3 provision of foster care for the child will 

4 end by reason of the age of the child with5 in 6 months, meet the requirements under 

6 clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1) of the 

7 definition of the term ‘at risk of homeless8 ness’ in section 91.5 of title 24, Code of 

9 Federal Regulations, as in effect on Sep10 tember 1, 2016, and have agreed to comply 

11 with the requirements under section 38(c); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the public housing agency may 

14 establish a system for making dwelling 

15 units that are not occupied pursuant to the 

16 preference under clause (i) available’’. 

17 (b) PROJECT-BASED SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSIST18 ANCE.—Section 8(d)(1)(A) of the United States Housing 

19 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(d)(1)(A)) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘except that with respect’’ and 

21 inserting the following: ‘‘except that— 

22 ‘‘(i) in the case of assisted dwelling 

23 units in a project assisted with project24 based assistance under this section, the 

25 tenant selection criteria used by the owner 

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1 shall give preference to otherwise eligible 

2 children who are in foster care, have at3 tained an age such that the provision of 

4 foster care for the child will end by reason 

5 of the age of the child within 6 months, 

6 meet the requirements under clauses (i) 

7 and (ii) of paragraph (1) of the definition 

8 of the term ‘at risk of homelessness’ in 

9 section 91.5 of title 24, Code of Federal 

10 Regulations, as in effect on September 1, 

11 2016, and have agreed to comply with the 

12 requirements under section 38(c); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) with respect’’; and 

14 (2) by inserting ‘‘after preference is provided 

15 pursuant to clause (i)’’ after ‘‘to be assisted’’. 

16 (c) VOUCHER ASSISTANCE.—Section 8(o)(6)(A) of 

17 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

18 1437f(o)(6)(A)) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 

20 clauses (ii) and (iii), respectively; 

21 (2) by inserting before clause (ii), as so redesig22 nated, the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) CHILDREN AGING OUT OF FOS24 TER CARE.—In making tenant-based as25 sistance under this subsection available on 

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1 behalf of eligible families, each public hous2 ing agency shall give preference to other3 wise eligible children who are in foster 

4 care, have attained an age such that the 

5 provision of foster care for the child will 

6 end by reason of the age of the child with7 in 6 months, meet the requirements under 

8 clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1) of the 

9 definition of the term ‘at risk of homeless10 ness’ in section 91.5 of title 24, Code of 

11 Federal Regulations, as in effect on Sep12 tember 1, 2016, and have agreed to comply 

13 with the requirements under section 

14 38(c).’’; 

15 (3) in clause (ii), as so redesignated, by insert16 ing ‘‘that is not made available in accordance with 

17 the preference under clause (i)’’ after ‘‘under this 

18 subsection’’; and 

19 (4) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, by strik20 ing ‘‘this subparagraph’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (ii)’’. 

21 (d) PHA PROJECT-BASED VOUCHER ASSISTANCE.— 

22 Section 8(o)(13)(J) of the United States Housing Act of 

23 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)(J)) is amended— 

24 (1) in the first sentence, by inserting before the 

25 period at the end the following: ‘‘, except that the 

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1 agency shall give preference to otherwise eligible 

2 children who are in foster care, have attained an age 

3 such that the provision of foster care for the child 

4 will end by reason of the age of the child within 6 

5 months, meet the requirements under clauses (i) and 

6 (ii) of paragraph (1) of the definition of the term ‘at 

7 risk of homelessness’ in section 91.5 of title 24, 

8 Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on Sep9 tember 1, 2016, and have agreed to comply with the 

10 requirements under section 38(c)’’; and 

11 (2) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

12 agency’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘For units that 

13 are made available after preference is provided pur14 suant to the first sentence of this subparagraph, the 

15 agency’’. 

16 (e) TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON PRIORITY.—Title I 

17 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

18 1437 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 38. TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON PREFERENCE FOR 

21 ASSISTANCE FOR CHILDREN AGING OUT OF 

22 FOSTER CARE. 

23 ‘‘(a) PREFERENCE.—In this section, the term ‘pref24 erence for housing assistance’ means preference, for an 

25 otherwise eligible child in foster care, for— 

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1 ‘‘(1) occupancy in a public housing dwelling 

2 unit, pursuant to section 6(c)(4)(A)(i); 

3 ‘‘(2) occupancy in a dwelling unit in a project 

4 assisted with project-based assistance under section 

5 8, pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(A)(i) of such sec6 tion; 

7 ‘‘(3) tenant-based assistance under section 8(o), 

8 pursuant to paragraph (6)(A)(i) of such section; and 

9 ‘‘(4) project-based assistance under section 

10 8(o)(13), pursuant to subparagraph (J) of such sec11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(b) EARLY APPLICATION FOR ASSISTANCE.—Not13 withstanding the period during which a preference for 

14 housing assistance is provided for a person, an otherwise 

15 eligible person may apply for such occupancy or assistance 

16 at any time after the person attains 16 years of age. 

17 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENT FOR EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION, 

18 OR TRAINING.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para20 graph (3), each person occupying a dwelling unit 

21 pursuant to a preference for housing assistance shall 

22 be, not later than 12 months after the initial occu23 pancy and for not less than 9 months of each suc24 cessive 12-month period thereafter— 

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1 ‘‘(A) employed on average at least 35 

2 hours of service per week; 

3 ‘‘(B) engaged in vocational, technical, or 

4 workforce development training or in an ap5 prenticeship, on a full-time basis, as classified 

6 by a vocational, technical, or workforce develop7 ment training institution or entity; 

8 ‘‘(C) enrolled in a secondary school, an in9 stitution of higher education, or other institu10 tion providing post-secondary education, on a 

11 full-time basis, as classified by an educational 

12 institution; or 

13 ‘‘(D) engaged in a combination of activities 

14 described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) to 

15 such an extent that, in the aggregate, the en16 gagement is on a full-time basis. 

17 ‘‘(2) VERIFICATION.—The Secretary shall re18 quire a public housing agency or project owner, as 

19 applicable, to annually verify compliance with the re20 quirement under paragraph (1) by each person occu21 pying a dwelling unit assisted or administered by the 

22 agency or owner, as applicable, pursuant to a pref23 erence for housing assistance in conjunction with re24 views of income for purposes of determining eligi25 bility for assistance described in subsection (a). 

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1 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirement under 

2 paragraph (1) shall not apply to— 

3 ‘‘(A) a person physically or mentally unfit 

4 for employment, as determined in accordance 

5 with such standards as the Secretary shall es6 tablish; 

7 ‘‘(B) a parent or other household member 

8 responsible for the care of a dependent child 

9 under 6 or an incapacitated person; and 

10 ‘‘(C) a person who is regularly and actively 

11 participating in a drug addiction or alcoholic 

12 treatment and rehabilitation program. 

13 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON BEDROOMS.—A dwelling unit 

14 that is occupied by a person, or assisted with assistance 

15 made available on behalf of a person, pursuant to a pref16 erence for housing assistance may contain more than 1 

17 bedroom only if each additional bedroom is occupied only 

18 by other persons who occupy the dwelling unit, or receive 

19 assistance made available, pursuant to a preference for 

20 housing assistance. 

21 ‘‘(e) TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A public housing agency or 

23 project owner, as applicable, shall terminate any oc24 cupancy of, or assistance on behalf of, a person pur25 suant to any preference for housing assistance upon 

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1 the person attaining 25 years of age or upon sub2 stantial noncompliance with the requirement under 

3 subsection (c)(1). 

4 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

5 paragraph (1) may be construed to prohibit or affect 

6 the eligibility of any person for occupancy of housing 

7 assisted under this title or rental assistance under 

8 section 8 that is provided other than pursuant to a 

9 preference for housing assistance.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. PRIORITY FOR RURAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE. 

11 Section 521(a)(2) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 

12 U.S.C. 1490a(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(F)(i) In making occupancy in a project assisted 

15 under this paragraph, and rental assistance under this 

16 paragraph, available on behalf of eligible families, the 

17 project owner shall give preference to otherwise eligible 

18 children who— 

19 ‘‘(I) are in foster care; 

20 ‘‘(II) have attained an age such that the provi21 sion of foster care for the child will end by reason 

22 of the age of the child within 6 months; 

23 ‘‘(III) meet the requirements under clauses (i) 

24 and (ii) of paragraph (1) of the definition of the 

25 term ‘at risk of homelessness’ in section 91.5 of title 

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1 24, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 

2 September 1, 2016; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) have agreed to comply with the require4 ments under clause (iii). 

5 ‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding the period during which a pref6 erence pursuant to clause (i) for occupancy in a project 

7 assisted under this paragraph or for rental assistance 

8 under this paragraph is provided for a person, an other9 wise eligible person may apply for such occupancy or as10 sistance at any time after the person attains 16 years of 

11 age. 

12 ‘‘(iii)(I) Except as provided in subclause (III), each 

13 person occupying a dwelling unit pursuant to a preference 

14 under this subparagraph shall be, not later than 12 

15 months after the initial occupancy and for not less than 

16 9 months of each successive 12-month period thereafter— 

17 ‘‘(aa) employed on average at least 35 hours of 

18 service per week; 

19 ‘‘(bb) engaged in vocational, technical, or work20 force development training or in an apprenticeship, 

21 on a full-time basis, as classified by a vocational, 

22 technical, or workforce development training institu23 tion or entity; 

24 ‘‘(cc) enrolled in a secondary school, an institu25 tion of higher education, or other institution promstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

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1 viding post-secondary education, on a full-time basis, 

2 as classified by an educational institution; or 

3 ‘‘(dd) engaged in a combination of activities de4 scribed in items (aa), (bb), and (cc) to such an ex5 tent that, in the aggregate, such engagement is on 

6 a full-time basis. 

7 ‘‘(II) The Secretary shall require a project owner to 

8 verify compliance with the requirement under subclause 

9 (I) by each person occupying a dwelling unit pursuant to 

10 a preference under this subparagraph annually in conjunc11 tion with reviews of income for purposes of determining 

12 eligibility for assistance described in clause (i). 

13 ‘‘(III) The requirement under subclause (I) shall not 

14 apply to— 

15 ‘‘(aa) a person physically or mentally unfit for 

16 employment, as determined in accordance with such 

17 standards as the Secretary shall establish; 

18 ‘‘(bb) a parent or other household member re19 sponsible for the care of a dependent child under 6 

20 or an incapacitated person; and 

21 ‘‘(cc) a person who is regularly and actively 

22 participating in a drug addiction or alcoholic treat23 ment and rehabilitation program. 

24 ‘‘(iv) A dwelling unit that is occupied by a person 

25 pursuant to a preference under this subparagraph may 

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1 contain more than 1 bedroom only if the additional bed2 rooms are occupied only by other persons who occupy the 

3 dwelling unit pursuant to a preference under this subpara4 graph. 

5 ‘‘(v)(I) A project owner shall terminate any occu6 pancy of a person pursuant to the preference under clause 

7 (i) upon the person attaining 25 years of age or upon sub8 stantial noncompliance with the requirement under clause 

9 (ii). 

10 ‘‘(II) Nothing in this clause may be construed to pro11 hibit or affect the eligibility of any person for occupancy 

12 in a project assisted under this paragraph or for rental 

13 assistance under this paragraph, other than pursuant to 

14 a preference under this subparagraph.’’. 

15 SEC. 5. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

16 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 10 years after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently 

18 than every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of Housing 

19 and Urban Development and the Secretary of Agriculture 

20 shall jointly submit a report to Congress regarding the 

21 status and outcomes of persons provided a preference for 

22 housing assistance pursuant to the amendments made by 

23 this Act. 

24 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under sub25 section (a) shall include— 

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1 (1) such information as may be necessary to as2 sess and evaluate the long-term success of providing 

3 a preference for housing assistance pursuant to the 

4 amendments made by this Act and to identify any 

5 changes to facilitate improving that success; and 

6 (2) information regarding the outcomes for per7 sons provided that preference with respect to the pe8 riod beginning upon initial provision of the housing 

9 assistance on behalf of the person and ending 10 

10 years after termination of that assistance, which 

11 shall include— 

12 (A) employment and career status; 

13 (B) housing situation; 

14 (C) educational, training, or vocational at15 tainment; 

16 (D) physical, mental, and emotional well17 being (including any instances of substance 

18 abuse); 

19 (E) instances of arrests, incarcerations, 

20 and other interactions with the criminal justice 

21 system; 

22 (F) marital and familial status; and 

23 (G) any other relevant information as the 

24 Secretaries consider appropriate to facilitate 

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1 successful operation of the program under the 

2 amendments made by this Act. 

3 (c) PROTECTION OF PRIVACY.—Each report under 

4 this section shall— 

5 (1) contain aggregate information regarding the 

6 outcomes described in subsection (b); and 

7 (2) not contain any personally identifiable infor8 mation. 

Æ 

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