110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5524 

AN ACT 

To amend the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to 

authorize appropriations, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reconnecting Home3 less Youth Act of 2008’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Section 302 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 5701) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and 

8 (5) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively, and 

9 (2) inserting after paragraph (2) the following: 

10 ‘‘(3) services to such young people should be de11 veloped and provided using a positive youth develop12 ment approach that ensures the young person a 

13 sense of— 

14 ‘‘(A) safety and structure; 

15 ‘‘(B) belonging and membership; 

16 ‘‘(C) self-worth and social contribution; 

17 ‘‘(D) independence and control over one’s 

18 life; and 

19 ‘‘(E) closeness in interpersonal relation20 ships;’’. 

21 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR CENTERS AND SERVICES. 

22 Section 311 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 5711) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(B)(i) by inserting be25 fore the semicolon the following: 
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1 ‘‘provided for a continuous period not to 

2 exceed 15 days, except that such shelter 

3 may be provided for a continuous period 

4 not to exceed 21 days if the State where 

5 the center is located has an applicable 

6 State or local law or regulation that per7 mits a length of stay in excess of such 15 

8 days in compliance with licensure require9 ments for child and youth serving facili10 ties’’, 

11 (2) in subsection (b)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘The’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘(A) Except as provided in subparagraph 

15 (B) and to the extent that sufficient funds 

16 are available, the’’, 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and in18 serting ‘‘$150,000’’, 

19 (iii) by striking ‘‘$45,000’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘$70,000’’, and 

21 (iv) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(B) For fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the 

24 amount allotted under paragraph (1) with respect to 

25 a State for a fiscal year shall be not less than the 
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1 amount alotted with respect to such State for fiscal 

2 year 2008.’’, 

3 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

4 paragraph (4), and 

5 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(3) Whenever the Secretary determines that 

8 any part of the amount allotted under paragraph (1) 

9 with respect to a State will not be obligated before 

10 the end of the fiscal year, the Secretary shall reallot 

11 such part under paragraph (1) with respect to the 

12 remaining States for obligation for such fiscal 

13 year.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. BASIC CENTER GRANT PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY. 

15 Section 312(b) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 5712(b)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (11) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

18 end, 

19 (2) in paragraph (12) by striking the period at 

20 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and 

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

22 ‘‘(13) shall develop an adequate emergency pre23 paredness and management plan.’’. 
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1 SEC. 5. TRANSITIONAL LIVING GRANT PROGRAM ELIGI2 BILITY. 

3 Section 322(a) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 2714-2(a)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘indirectly’’ the 1st place it 

7 appears and inserting ‘‘by contract’’, and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘and services’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘, and to provide, directly or indirectly, 

10 services’’, 

11 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘except that a youth’’ and 

13 inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘except that in the case of— 

15 ‘‘(i) a youth’’, 

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘such youth may’’ after 

17 ‘‘program,’’, and 

18 (C) by striking ‘‘period;’’ and inserting the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘period; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) a program that is located in a 

22 State that has an applicable State or local 

23 law or regulation that permits a length of 

24 stay in excess of such 540-day period in 

25 compliance with licensure requirements for 

26 child and youth serving facilities, a youth 
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1 may remain in such program throughout a 

2 continuous period not to exceed 635 

3 days;’’, 

4 (3) in paragraph (14) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

5 end, 

6 (4) in paragraph (15) by striking the period at 

7 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and 

8 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(16) to develop an adequate emergency pre10 paredness and management plan.’’. 

11 SEC. 6. RESEARCH, EVALUATION, DEMONSTRATION, AND 

12 SERVICE PROJECTS. 

13 Section 343 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 5714-23)) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

17 (1)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘special consideration’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘priority’’, and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘relating to’’ and in21 serting ‘‘focused on’’, 

22 (B) in paragraph (8)— 

23 (i) by inserting ‘‘quality’’ after ‘‘ac24 cess to’’, 
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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘mental’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘behavioral’’, and 

3 (iii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end, 

4 (C) in paragraph (9) by striking the period 

5 at the end and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘, including educational and workforce programs 

7 with outcomes such as decreasing the secondary 

8 school drop-out rate, increasing diploma or equiva9 lent attainment rates, or increasing placement and 

10 retention in postsecondary education or advanced 

11 workforce training; or’’, and 

12 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(10) programs, including innovative programs, 

14 that assist youth in obtaining and maintaining safe 

15 and stable housing, and may include programs with 

16 supportive services that continue after program com17 pletion.’’, and 

18 (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(c) In selecting among applicants for grants under 

21 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) give priority to applicants who have experi23 ence working with runaway youth or homeless youth; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(2) ensure that the applicants selected— 
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1 ‘‘(A) are geographically representative of 

2 different regions of the United States; and 

3 ‘‘(B) carry out projects that serve diverse 

4 populations of runaway or homeless youth.’’. 

5 SEC. 7. ESTIMATE OF INCIDENCE AND PREVALENCE OF 

6 YOUTH HOMELESSNESS. 

7 Part D of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 5714-21–5714-24) is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 345. PERIODIC ESTIMATE OF INCIDENCE AND PREVA11 LENCE OF YOUTH HOMELESSNESS. 

12 ‘‘(a) PERIODIC ESTIMATE.—Not later than 2 years 

13 after the effective date of this section, and at 5-year inter14 vals thereafter, the Secretary, in coordination with the 

15 United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, shall 

16 prepare and submit to the Committee on Education and 

17 Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

18 on Judiciary of the Senate, and make public, a report— 

19 ‘‘(1) by using the best quantitative and quali20 tative social science research method available, con21 taining an estimate of the incidence and prevalence 

22 of runaway and homeless individuals who are less 

23 than 26 years of age and not less than 13 years of 

24 age; and 
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1 ‘‘(2) that includes with such estimate an assess2 ment of the characteristics of such individuals. 

3 ‘‘(b) CONTENT.—The report required by subsection 

4 (a) shall include— 

5 ‘‘(1) the results of conducting a survey of, and 

6 direct interviews with, a representative sample of 

7 runaway and homeless individuals who are less than 

8 26 years of age and not less than 13 years of age, 

9 to determine past and current— 

10 ‘‘(A) socioeconomic characteristics of such 

11 individuals; 

12 ‘‘(B) barriers to such individuals obtain13 ing— 

14 ‘‘(i) safe, quality, and affordable hous15 ing; 

16 ‘‘(ii) comprehensive and affordable 

17 health insurance and health services; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) incomes, public benefits, sup19 portive services, and connections to caring 

20 adults; and 

21 ‘‘(C) such other information that the Sec22 retary determines, in consultation with States, 

23 units of local government, and national non24 governmental organizations concerned with 

25 homelessness, may be useful. 
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1 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—If the Secretary enters into 

2 any contract with a non-Federal entity for purposes of car3 rying out subsection (a), such entity shall be a nongovern4 mental organization, or an individual, determined by the 

5 Secretary to have appropriate expertise in quantitative 

6 and qualitative social science research.’’. 

7 SEC. 8. SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAM. 

8 Section 351(b) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth 

9 Act (42 U.S.C. 5714–41(b)) is amended by inserting 

10 ‘‘public and’’ after ‘‘priority to’’. 

11 SEC. 9. NATIONAL HOMELESS YOUTH AWARENESS CAM12 PAIGN. 

13 The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 5701 et seq.) is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating part F as part G, and 

16 (2) by inserting after part E the following: 

17 ‘‘PART F—NATIONAL HOMELESS YOUTH 

18 AWARENESS CAMPAIGN 

19 ‘‘SEC. 361. NATIONAL HOMELESS YOUTH AWARENESS CAM20 PAIGN. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, directly or 

22 through grants or contracts, conduct a national homeless 

23 youth awareness campaign (referred to in this section as 

24 the ‘national awareness campaign’) in accordance with 

25 this section for purposes of— 
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1 ‘‘(1) increasing awareness of individuals of all 

2 ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, and geographic lo3 cations, of the issues facing runway and homeless 

4 youth, the resources available for these youth, and 

5 the tools available for the prevention of youth run6 away and homeless situations; and 

7 ‘‘(2) encouraging parents, guardians, educators, 

8 health care professionals, social service professionals, 

9 law enforcement officials, and other community 

10 members to seek to prevent runaway youth and 

11 youth homelessness by assisting youth in averting or 

12 resolving runaway and homeless situations. 

13 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds made available to carry 

14 out this section for the national awareness campaign may 

15 be used only for the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) The dissemination of educational informa17 tion and materials through various media, including 

18 television, radio, the Internet and related tech19 nologies, and emerging technologies. 

20 ‘‘(2) Partnerships, including outreach activities, 

21 with national organizations concerned with youth 

22 homelessness, community-based youth service orga23 nizations (including faith-based organizations), and 

24 government organizations related to the national 

25 awareness campaign. 
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1 ‘‘(3) In accordance with applicable laws and 

2 regulations, the development and placement of public 

3 service announcements in telecommunications media, 

4 including the Internet and related technologies and 

5 emerging technologies, that educate the public on 

6 the issues facing runaway and homeless youth (or 

7 youth considering running away) and on the oppor8 tunities that adults have to assist such youth. 

9 ‘‘(4) Evaluation of the effectiveness of the na10 tional awareness campaign. 

11 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITIONS.—None of the funds made avail12 able under subsection (b) may be obligated or expended 

13 for any of the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) To supplant pro bono public service time 

15 donated by national or local broadcasting networks, 

16 advertising agencies, production companies, or other 

17 pro bono work for the national awareness campaign. 

18 ‘‘(2) For partisan political purposes, or express 

19 advocacy in support of or to defeat any clearly iden20 tified candidate, clearly identified ballot initiative, or 

21 clearly identified legislative or regulatory proposal. 

22 ‘‘(3) To fund advertising that features any 

23 elected officials, persons seeking elected office, cabi24 net level officials, or other Federal employees em25 ployed in positions in schedule C of part 213 of title 
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1 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations (January 1, 

2 2008), as amended from time to time. 

3 ‘‘(4) To fund advertising that does not contain 

4 a primary message intended to educate the public on 

5 the issues facing runaway and homeless youth (or 

6 youth considering running away) or on the opportu7 nities for adults to help such youth. 

8 ‘‘(5) To fund advertising that solicits contribu9 tions to support the national awareness campaign. 

10 ‘‘(d) FINANCIAL AND PERFORMANCE ACCOUNT11 ABILITY.—The Secretary shall perform— 

12 ‘‘(1) audits and reviews of costs of the national 

13 awareness campaign pursuant to section 304C of the 

14 Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 

15 1949 (41 U.S.C. 254d); and 

16 ‘‘(2) an audit to determine whether the costs of 

17 the national awareness campaign are allowable 

18 under section 306 of such Act (41 U.S.C. 256). 

19 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—The Secretary shall include in each 

20 report submitted under section 382 a summary of the na21 tional awareness campaign that describes— 

22 ‘‘(1) the activities undertaken by the national 

23 awareness campaign; 

24 ‘‘(2) steps taken to ensure that the national 

25 awareness campaign operates in an effective and ef-
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1 ficient manner consistent with the overall strategy 

2 and focus of the national awareness campaign; and 

3 ‘‘(3) each grant made to, or contract entered 

4 into with, a particular corporation, partnership, or 

5 individual working on the national awareness cam6 paign.’’. 

7 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 

8 Section 387 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 5732a) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

11 (A) in clause (i)— 

12 (i) by striking ‘‘not more than’’ each 

13 place it appears and inserting ‘‘less than’’, 

14 and 

15 (ii) by inserting after ‘‘age’’ the last 

16 place it appears the following: 

17 ‘‘, or until attaining a higher maximum 

18 age if the State where the center is located 

19 has an applicable State or local law or reg20 ulation that permits such higher maximum 

21 age in compliance with licensure require22 ments for child and youth serving facili23 ties’’, and 

24 (B) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘age;’’ and in25 serting the following: 
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1 ‘‘age and either— 

2 ‘‘(I) less than 22 years of age; or 

3 ‘‘(II) an age exceeding 22 years 

4 of age as of the expiration of the max5 imum period of stay permitted under 

6 section 322(a)(2)(ii) if such individual 

7 commences such stay before attaining 

8 22 years of age;’’, and 

9 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

10 (7) as paragraphs (5) through (8), respectively. 

11 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 Section 388(a) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth 

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 5751(a)) is amended— 

14 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol15 lows: 

16 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 

17 be appropriated to carry out this title (other than 

18 parts E and F, and section 345) $150,000,000 for 

19 fiscal year 2009 and such sums as may be necessary 

20 for fiscal years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.’’, 

21 (2) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(4) PART E.—There are authorized to be ap24 propriated to carry out part E $30,000,000 for fis-
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1 cal year 2009 and such sums as may be necessary 

2 for fiscal years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.’’, and 

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

4 ‘‘(5) PART F.—There is authorized to be appro5 priated to carry out part F $3,000,000 for each of 

6 the fiscal years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. 

7 ‘‘(6) SECTION 345.—There are authorized to be 

8 appropriated to carry out section 345 such sums as 

9 may be necessary for fiscal years 2009, 2010, 2011, 

10 2012, and 2013.’’. 

11 SEC. 12. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. 

12 The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 5701 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 390. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. 

16 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PERFORMANCE STAND17 ARDS.—Not later than 1 year after the effective date of 

18 this section, the Secretary shall establish by rule perform19 ance standards applicable to public and nonprofit private 

20 entities and agencies that receive grants under sections 

21 311, 321, and 351. 

22 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF PERFORMANCE STAND23 ARDS.—The Secretary shall integrate performance stand24 ards established under subsection (a) into the Secretary’s 
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1 processes for grant-making, monitoring, and evaluation 

2 for programs under sections 311, 321, and 351. 

3 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult 

4 with representatives of public and private entities and 

5 agencies that receive grants under this title, statewide and 

6 regional nonprofit organizations (and combinations of 

7 such organizations) that receive grants under this title, 

8 and national nonprofit organizations concerned with youth 

9 homelessness in developing the performance standards re10 quired by subsection (a). 

11 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary shall pro12 vide an opportunity for public comment concerning the es13 tablishment of the performance standards required by sub14 section (a) before issuing rules to establish such stand15 ards, and shall maintain an official record of such public 

16 comment.’’. 

17 SEC. 13. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 

18 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall conduct 

19 a study of, and make findings and recommendations relat20 ing to, the process for making grants under parts A, B, 

21 and E of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, with re22 spect to— 

23 (1) the written responses made by the Secretary 

24 of Health and Human Services to (and any other 

25 methods for communicating with) grant applicants 
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1 who are do not receive a grant under part A, B, or 

2 E of such Act, to determine if the information pro3 vided in such responses to such applicants is con4 veyed clearly, 

5 (2) the structure of the grant application and 

6 associated documents (including announcements that 

7 grants are available under such parts), to determine 

8 if such application is structured so that the appli9 cant has a clear understanding of what is required 

10 in each provision to successfully complete the appli11 cation, including a clear explanation of terminology 

12 required to be used by the applicant throughout the 

13 document, 

14 (3) the peer review process (if any) used to re15 view grant applications (including the selection of 

16 peer reviewers) and the oversight of the peer review 

17 process by employees of the Department of Health 

18 and Human Services, as well as the extent to which 

19 such employees make funding determinations based 

20 on the comments and scores of the individuals who 

21 perform peer reviews, 

22 (4) the typical time frame and the process used 

23 by such employees, including employee responsibil24 ities, for responding to applicants and the efforts 

25 taken to communicate with applicants when there is 
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1 a delay of decisions on applications or when funds 

2 to carry out this title are not appropriated before 

3 the beginning of the then current fiscal year, and 

4 (5) the plans for and implementation of, where 

5 practicable, the new training and technical assist6 ance programs and their effect on the grant applica7 tion process. 

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

10 submit a report to the Committee on Education and Labor 

11 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

12 Judiciary of the Senate, containing a summary of the re13 sults of the study conducted under subsection (a), together 

14 with the findings and recommendations made by the 

15 Comptroller General based on such results. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 9, 2008. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5524 

AN ACT 

To amend the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 

to authorize appropriations, and for other purposes.