I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4300 

To provide Federal housing assistance on behalf of youths who are aging 

out of foster care, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 

Ms. DEAN (for herself, Mr. TURNER, Ms. BASS, and Mr. STIVERS) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To provide Federal housing assistance on behalf of 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 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF FAMILY. 

7 Subparagraph (A) of section 3(b)(3) of the United 

8 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(3)(A)) 

9 is amended— 

10 (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 youth described in section 

5 8(x)(2)(B)’’; and 

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

7 (vi)’’ after ‘‘clause (v)’’. 

8 SEC. 3. HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS FOR FOSTERING STA9 BLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES. 

10 (a) ASSISTANCE FOR YOUTH AGING OUT OF FOSTER

11 CARE.—Section 8(x) of the United States Housing Act of 

12 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(x)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘subject to 

14 paragraph (5),’’ before ‘‘(B)’’; 

15 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.—The’’ 

17 and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The’’; and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

21 subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE FOR YOUTH AGING OUT

23 OF FOSTER CARE.—Notwithstanding any other 

24 provision of law, the Secretary shall, subject 

25 only to the availability of funds, allocate such 


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1 assistance to any public housing agencies that 

2 (i) administer assistance pursuant to paragraph 

3 (2)(B), or seek to administer such assistance, 

4 consistent with procedures established by the 

5 Secretary, and (ii) have requested such assist6 ance so that they may provide timely assistance 

7 to eligible youth.’’; 

8 (3) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para9 graph (6); and 

10 (4) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol11 lowing new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS FOR ASSISTANCE FOR

13 YOUTH AGING OUT OF FOSTER CARE.—Assistance 

14 provided under this subsection for an eligible youth 

15 pursuant to paragraph (2)(B) shall be subject to the 

16 following requirements: 

17 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS TO EXTEND ASSIST18 ANCE.— 

19 ‘‘(i) PARTICIPATION IN FAMILY SELF20 SUFFICIENCY.—In the case of a public 

21 housing agency that is providing such as22 sistance under this subsection on behalf of 

23 an eligible youth and that is carrying out 

24 a family self-sufficiency program under 

25 section 23, the agency shall, subject only 


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1 to the availability of such assistance, ex2 tend the provision of such assistance for 

3 up to 24 months beyond the period re4 ferred to in paragraph (2)(B), but only 

5 during such period that the youth is in 

6 compliance with the terms and conditions 

7 applicable under section 23 and the regula8 tions implementing such section to a per9 son participating in a family self-suffi10 ciency program. 

11 ‘‘(ii) EDUCATION, WORKFORCE DE12 VELOPMENT, OR EMPLOYMENT.—In the 

13 case of a public housing agency that is 

14 providing such assistance under this sub15 section on behalf of an eligible youth and 

16 that is not carrying out a family self-suffi17 ciency program under section 23, the agen18 cy shall, subject only to the availability of 

19 such assistance, extend the provision of 

20 such assistance for two successive 12- 

21 month periods, after the period referred to 

22 in paragraph (2)(B), but only if during the 

23 entire 12-month period preceding each 

24 such extension the youth was— 


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1 ‘‘(I) engaged in obtaining a rec2 ognized postsecondary credential or a 

3 secondary school diploma or its recog4 nized equivalent; 

5 ‘‘(II) enrolled in an institution of 

6 higher education, as such term is de7 fined in section 101(a) of the Higher 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 1001(a)) and including the institu10 tions described in subparagraphs (A) 

11 and (B) of section 102(a)(1) of such 

12 Act (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)(1)); or 

13 ‘‘(III) participating in a career 

14 pathway, as such term is defined in 

15 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation 

16 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

17 3102). 

18 Notwithstanding any other provision of 

19 this clause, a public housing agency shall 

20 consider employment as satisfying the re21 quirements under this subparagraph. 

22 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding 

23 clauses (i) and (ii), a public housing agen24 cy that is providing such assistance under 

25 this subsection on behalf of an eligible 


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1 youth shall extend the provision of such as2 sistance for up to 24 months beyond the 

3 period referred to in paragraph (2)(B), 

4 and clauses (i) and (ii) of this subpara5 graph shall not apply, if the eligible youth 

6 is— 

7 ‘‘(I) a parent or other household 

8 member responsible for the care of a 

9 dependent child under the age of 6 or 

10 for the care of an incapacitated per11 son; 

12 ‘‘(II) a person who is regularly 

13 and actively participating in a drug 

14 addiction or alcohol treatment and re15 habilitation program; or 

16 ‘‘(III) a person who is incapable 

17 of complying with the requirement 

18 under clause (i) or (ii), as applicable, 

19 due to a documented medical condi20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(iv) VERIFICATION OF COMPLI22 ANCE.—The Secretary shall require the 

23 public housing agency to verify compliance 

24 with the requirements under this subpara25 graph by each eligible youth on whose beVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:13 Sep 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4300.IH H4300

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1 half the agency provides such assistance 

2 under this subsection on an annual basis 

3 in conjunction with reviews of income for 

4 purposes of determining income eligibility 

5 for such assistance. 

6 ‘‘(B) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.— 

7 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY.—Each eligible 

8 youth on whose behalf such assistance 

9 under this subsection is provided shall be 

10 eligible for any supportive services (as such 

11 term is defined in section 103 of the Work12 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

13 U.S.C. 3102)) made available, in connec14 tion with any housing assistance program 

15 of the agency, by or through the public 

16 housing agency providing such assistance. 

17 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION.—Upon the initial 

18 provision of such assistance under this 

19 subsection on behalf of any eligible youth, 

20 the public housing agency shall inform 

21 such eligible youth of the existence of any 

22 programs or services referred to in clause 

23 (i) and of their eligibility for such pro24 grams and services. 


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1 ‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY TO MOVING TO WORK

2 AGENCIES.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, the requirements of this paragraph 

4 shall apply to assistance under this subsection 

5 pursuant to paragraph (2)(B) made available 

6 by each public housing agency participating in 

7 the Moving to Work Program under section 204 

8 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and 

9 Housing and Urban Development, and Inde10 pendent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (42 

11 U.S.C. 1437f note), except that in lieu of com12 pliance with clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph 

13 (A) of this paragraph, such an agency may 

14 comply with the requirements under such 

15 clauses by complying with such terms, condi16 tions, and requirements as may be established 

17 by the agency for persons on whose behalf such 

18 rental assistance under this subsection is pro19 vided. 

20 ‘‘(D) TERMINATION OF VOUCHERS UPON

21 TURN-OVER.—A public housing agency shall not 

22 reissue any such assistance made available from 

23 appropriated funds when assistance for the 

24 youth initially assisted is terminated, unless 

25 specifically authorized by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(E) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall re2 quire each public housing agency that provides 

3 such assistance under this subsection in any fis4 cal year to submit a report to the Secretary for 

5 such fiscal year that— 

6 ‘‘(i) specifies the number of persons 

7 on whose behalf such assistance under this 

8 subsection was provided during such fiscal 

9 year; 

10 ‘‘(ii) specifies the number of persons 

11 who applied during such fiscal year for 

12 such assistance under this subsection, but 

13 were not provided such assistance, and 

14 provides a brief identification in each in15 stance of the reason why the public hous16 ing agency was unable to award such as17 sistance; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) describes how the public housing 

19 agency communicated or collaborated with 

20 public child welfare agencies to collect such 

21 data. 

22 ‘‘(F) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall 

23 consult with the Secretary of Health and 

24 Human Services to provide such information 

25 and guidance to the Secretary of Health and 


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1 Human Services as may be necessary to facili2 tate such Secretary in informing States and 

3 public child welfare agencies on how to correctly 

4 and efficiently implement and comply with the 

5 requirements of this subsection relating to as6 sistance provided pursuant to paragraph 

7 (2)(B).’’. 

8 (b) COORDINATION BETWEEN PHAS AND PUBLIC

9 CHILD WELFARE AGENCIES.— 

10 (1) APPLICABILITY TO FOSTERING STABLE

11 HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM.—Subparagraph 

12 (A) of section 8(x)(4) of the United States Housing 

13 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(x)(4)(A)) is amended 

14 by inserting before the semicolon at the end the fol15 lowing: ‘‘and establishing a point of contact at public 

16 housing agencies to ensure that public housing agen17 cies receive appropriate referrals regarding eligible 

18 recipients’’. 

19 (c) PHA ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.—Subsection (q) of 

20 section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

21 U.S.C. 1437f(q)) is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(4) SUPPLEMENTS FOR ADMINISTERING AS24 SISTANCE FOR YOUTH AGING OUT OF FOSTER

25 CARE.—If a public housing agency has established a 


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1 residency requirement pursuant to subsection 

2 (r)(1)(B)(i), the Secretary may provide supplemental 

3 fees under this subsection to the agency for the cost 

4 of administering any assistance for foster youth 

5 under subsection (x)(2)(B), in an amount deter6 mined by the Secretary, but only if the agency 

7 waives the residency requirement for such eligible 

8 youth receiving assistance.’’. 

9 (d) PHA PLANS.—Subsection (d) of section 5A of the 

10 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c– 

11 1(d)) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating paragraph (19) as para13 graph (20); and 

14 (2) by inserting after paragraph (18) the fol15 lowing new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(19) FOSTERING STABLE HOUSING OPPORTU17 NITIES.—For any public housing agency that will 

18 provide rental assistance pursuant section 

19 8(x)(2)(B) during such fiscal year— 

20 ‘‘(A) a statement describing how the agen21 cy will connect assisted youths with local com22 munity resources and self-sufficiency services 

23 and obtain referrals from public child welfare 

24 agencies regarding youths in foster care who 

25 become eligible for such assistance; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) if the agency is requesting supple2 mental administrative fees pursuant to section 

3 8(q)(4) and has established a residency require4 ment pursuant to subsection (r)(1)(B)(i), assur5 ances satisfactory to the Secretary that the 

6 agency will waive the residency requirement for 

7 eligible youth receiving such assistance as re8 quired by such section 8(q)(4).’’. 

9 SEC. 4. EXCEPTIONS TO LIMITATIONS FOR PROJECT-BASED 

10 VOUCHER ASSISTANCE. 

11 (a) PERCENTAGE LIMITATION.—The first sentence of 

12 clause (ii) of section 8(o)(13)(B) of the United States 

13 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)(B)(ii)) is 

14 amended by inserting before ‘‘or that’’ the following: ‘‘that 

15 house eligible youths receiving assistance pursuant to sec16 tion 8(x)(2)(B),’’. 

17 (b) INCOME-MIXING REQUIREMENT.—Subclause (I) 

18 of section 8(o)(13)(D)(ii) of the United States Housing 

19 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)(D)(ii)(I)) is amend20 ed by inserting after ‘‘elderly families’’ the following: ‘‘, 

21 to eligible youths receiving assistance pursuant to section 

22 8(x)(2)(B),’’. 

Æ 


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