I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5524 

To amend the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to authorize appropriations, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 4, 2008 

Mr. YARMUTH (for himself, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HINOJOSA, 

Mr. COHEN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. CHANDLER, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. 

HOLT, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. BORDALLO, and Mr. DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reconnecting Home5 less Youth Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Section 302 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 

8 (42 U.S.C. 5701) is amended— 


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

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

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(3) services to such young people should be de6 veloped and provided using a positive youth develop7 ment approach that ensures the young person a 

8 sense of— 

9 ‘‘(A) safety and structure; 

10 ‘‘(B) belonging and membership; 

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

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

13 life; and 

14 ‘‘(E) closeness in interpersonal relation15 ships.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. BASIC CENTER PROGRAM. 

17 (a) SERVICES PROVIDED.—Section 311(a) of the 

18 Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5711(a)) 

19 is amended— 

20 (1) by amending paragraph (2)(B)(i) to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(i) safe and appropriate shelter pro23 vided not to exceed 15 days, or not to ex24 ceed 21 days if the center is located in a 

25 State or locality with a child or youth-servVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:44 Mar 07, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5524.IH H5524

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1 ing-facility licensure law or regulation that 

2 permits a length of stay in excess of 15 

3 days; and’’, and 

4 (2) in subsection (b)(2)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘$150,000’’, 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘$45,000’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘$70,000’’, and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘Whenever the Secretary determines than any part of the 

11 amount allotted under paragraph (1) with respect to a 

12 State will not be obligated before the end of the fiscal year, 

13 the Secretary shall reallot such part with respect to the 

14 remaining States for obligation for such fiscal year.’’. 

15 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 312(b) of the Runaway 

16 and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5712(b)) is amend17 ed— 

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

19 end, 

20 (2) in paragraph (12) by striking the period 

21 and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and 

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

23 ‘‘(13) shall develop an adequate emergency pre24 paredness and management plan.’’. 


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1 (c) DEFINITION.—Section 387(3)(A) of the Runaway 

2 and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5732a(3)(A)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in clause (i)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘not more than 21’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘less than 22’’; 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘not more than 18’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘less than 18’’; and 

9 (C) by inserting ‘‘unless the center is lo10 cated in a State or locality with a child- or 

11 youth-serving facility licensure law or regulation 

12 that permits a higher age’’ before the semi13 colon; and 

14 (2) in clause (ii) by inserting ‘‘less than 22 

15 years of age and’’ after ‘‘part B,’’. 

16 SEC. 4. TRANSITIONAL LIVING GRANT PROGRAM. 

17 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 322(a) of the Runaway 

18 and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714–2(a)) is amend19 ed— 

20 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘, except’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘(except’’, and 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘period;’’ and inserting the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘period) or, if the program is located in a State or 

2 locality with a child- or youth-serving facility licen3 sure law or regulation that permits a length of stay 

4 in excess of such 540-day period, a continuous pe5 riod not to exceed 635 days;’’, 

6 (2) in paragraph (14) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

7 end, 

8 (3) in paragraph (15) by striking the period 

9 and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and 

10 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(16) to develop an adequate emergency pre12 paredness and management plan.’’. 

13 SEC. 5. COORDINATING, TRAINING, RESEARCH, AND OTHER 

14 ACTIVITIES. 

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

16 U.S.C. 5714–21 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 345. PERIODIC ESTIMATE OF INCIDENCE AND PREVA19 LENCE OF YOUTH HOMELESSNESS. 

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

21 after the effective date of this section and at 5-year inter22 vals thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare, and submit 

23 to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 

24 President pro tempore of the Senate, a written report— 


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1 ‘‘(1) by using the best quantitative and quali2 tative social science research method available, con3 taining an estimate of the incidence and prevalence 

4 of runaway and homeless individuals who are less 

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

6 age; and 

7 ‘‘(2) that includes with such estimate an assess8 ment of the characteristics of such individuals. 

9 ‘‘(b) CONTENT.—Each assessment required by sub10 section (a) shall include— 

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

12 direct interviews with, a representative sample of 

13 runaway and homeless individuals who are less than 

14 26 years of age and not less than 13 years of age 

15 to determine past and current— 

16 ‘‘(A) socioeconomic characteristics of such 

17 individuals; 

18 ‘‘(B) barriers to such individuals obtain19 ing— 

20 ‘‘(i) safe, quality, and affordable hous21 ing; 

22 ‘‘(ii) comprehensive and affordable 

23 health insurance and health services; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) incomes, public benefits, sup2 portive services, and connections to caring 

3 adults; and 

4 ‘‘(C) such other information that the Sec5 retary determines, in consultation with States, 

6 units of local government, and national non7 governmental organizations concerned with 

8 homelessness, may be useful. 

9 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—If the Secretary enters into 

10 any contract with a non-Federal entity for purposes of car11 rying out subsection (a), such entity shall be a nongovern12 mental organization, or an individual, determined by the 

13 Secretary to have appropriate expertise in quantitative 

14 and qualitative social science research.’’. 

15 SEC. 6. REPORT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 

18 and Human Services shall submit to the Speaker of the 

19 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

20 of the Senate, a report based on the best quantitative re21 search method available and containing an estimate of— 

22 (1) the public service costs, including law en23 forcement, emergent and urgent health services (in24 cluding crisis mental health and substance abuse 

25 services), child welfare services, juvenile and criminal 


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1 justice services, and public income benefits costs, at2 tributable to such services being provided to run3 away and homeless individuals who are less than 26 

4 years of age and not less than 13 years of age, and 

5 (2) the extent to which the public service cost 

6 reductions offset the costs of providing family reuni7 fication, emergency shelter, transitional housing, 

8 permanent housing, and supportive services to such 

9 individuals. 

10 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—If the Secretary carries out 

11 subsection (a) by contract with an non-Federal entity, 

12 such entity shall be a nongovernmental organization or an 

13 individual determined by the Secretary to have appro14 priate expertise in quantitative and qualitative social 

15 science research. 

16 SEC. 7. NATIONAL HOMELESS YOUTH AWARENESS CAM17 PAIGN. 

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

19 5601 et seq.) is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating part F as part G, 

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


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1 ‘‘PART F—NATIONAL HOMELESS YOUTH 

2 AWARENESS CAMPAIGN 

3 ‘‘SEC. 361. NATIONAL HOMELESS YOUTH AWARENESS CAM4 PAIGN. 

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

6 via contract, conduct a national homeless youth awareness 

7 campaign (referred to in this section as the ‘national 

8 awareness campaign’) in accordance with this section for 

9 purposes of— 

10 ‘‘(1) preventing runaway and homeless situa11 tions among youth in the United States; 

12 ‘‘(2) increasing awareness of individuals of all 

13 ages of the issues facing youth in runaway and 

14 homeless situations; 

15 ‘‘(3) assisting youth in crisis situations learn 

16 about resources and services available in their com17 munities to intervene in or resolve the crisis; and 

18 ‘‘(4) encouraging parents and guardians, edu19 cators, health care professionals, social service pro20 fessionals, law enforcement officials, and other inter21 ested adults to assist youth in averting or resolving 

22 runaway and homeless situations. 

23 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts made available to 

25 carry out this section for the national awareness 

26 campaign may only be used for the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The purchase of media time and 

2 space, including the strategic planning for, and 

3 accounting of, such purchases. 

4 ‘‘(B) Creative and talent costs. 

5 ‘‘(C) Advertising production costs. 

6 ‘‘(D) Testing and evaluation of advertising. 

7 ‘‘(E) Evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

8 national media campaign. 

9 ‘‘(F) The negotiated fees for the winning 

10 bidder on requests for proposals issued by the 

11 Secretary to enter into contracts to carry out 

12 activities authorized by this section. 

13 ‘‘(G) Partnerships with national organiza14 tions concerned with youth homelessness, com15 munity-based youth service organizations, in16 cluding faith-based organizations, and govern17 ment organizations related to the national 

18 awareness campaign. 

19 ‘‘(H) Outreach activities to stakeholders 

20 and potential stakeholders in the national 

21 awareness campaign. 

22 ‘‘(I) Operational and management ex23 penses. 

24 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) TESTING AND EVALUATION OF AD2 VERTISING.—In using amounts for testing and 

3 evaluation of advertising under paragraph 

4 (1)(D), the Secretary shall test all advertise5 ments prior to use in the national awareness 

6 campaign to ensure that the advertisements are 

7 effective and meet industry-accepted standards. 

8 ‘‘(B) EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF

9 AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.—In using amounts for 

10 the evaluation of the effectiveness of the na11 tional awareness campaign under paragraph 

12 (1)(E), the Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) designate an independent entity 

14 to evaluate the effectiveness of the national 

15 awareness campaign; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) ensure that the effectiveness of 

17 the national awareness campaign is evalu18 ated in a manner that enables consider19 ation of whether the national awareness 

20 has contributed to reducing runaway and 

21 homeless situations among youth, linking 

22 runaway and homeless youth to resources 

23 and services available in their communities, 

24 and such other measures of evaluation as 


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1 the Secretary determinates are appro2 priate. 

3 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITIONS.—None of the amounts made 

4 available under subsection (b) may be obligated or ex5 pended for any of the following: 

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

7 donated by national and local broadcasting networks 

8 for the national awareness campaign. 

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

10 advocacy in support of or to defeat any clearly iden11 tified candidate, clearly identified ballot initiative, or 

12 clearly identified legislative or regulatory proposal. 

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

14 elected officials, persons seeking elected office, cabi15 net level officials, or other Federal employees em16 ployed pursuant to section 213 of Schedule C of title 

17 5, Code of Federal Regulations. 

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

19 a primary message intended to reduce or prevent 

20 runaway and homeless situations among youth. 

21 ‘‘(5) To fund advertising that solicits contribu22 tions from both public and private sources to sup23 port the national awareness campaign. 

24 ‘‘(d) FINANCIAL AND PERFORMANCE ACCOUNT25 ABILITY.—The Secretary shall cause to be performed— 


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

2 awareness campaign pursuant to section 304C of the 

3 Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 

4 1949 (41 U.S.C. 254d); and 

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

6 the national awareness campaign are allowable 

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

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

9 report submitted under section 381(a) a summary of the 

10 national awareness campaign that describes— 

11 ‘‘(1) the strategy of the national awareness 

12 campaign and whether specific objectives of the 

13 media campaign were accomplished; 

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

15 awareness campaign operates in an effective and ef16 ficient manner consistent with the overall strategy 

17 and focus of the national awareness campaign; 

18 ‘‘(3) plans to purchase advertising time and 

19 space; 

20 ‘‘(4) policies and practices implemented to en21 sure that Federal funds are used responsibly to pur22 chase advertising time and space and eliminate the 

23 potential for waste, fraud, and abuse; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) all contracts entered into with a corpora2 tion, partnership, or individual working on behalf of 

3 the national awareness campaign.’’, and 

4 (3) in section 388(a)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘part E’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘parts E and F’’, and 

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

8 ‘‘(5) PART F.—There are authorized to be ap9 propriated to carry out part F $3,000,000 for fiscal 

10 years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.’’. 

11 SEC. 8. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH EVALUATION, DEM12 ONSTRATION, AND SERVICE PROJECTS. 

13 Section 343(b) Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 5714–23(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(b) PRIORITIES.—The Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(1) shall establish priorities for making grants 

17 for purposes of carrying out projects under sub18 section (a); and 

19 ‘‘(2) not later than 1 year after the effective 

20 date of this subsection and at 2-year intervals there21 after, shall provide an opportunity for public com22 ment concerning the priorities proposed under para23 graph (1) and maintain an official record of such 

24 public comment.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAM. 

2 Section 351(b) Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 5714–41(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘public 

4 and’’ after ‘‘priority to’’. 

5 SEC. 10. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. 

6 Part G, as so redesignated, of Runaway and Home7 less Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5714a et seq.) is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 390. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PERFORMANCE STAND11 ARDS.—Not later than 2 years after the effective date of 

12 this section, the Secretary shall issue rules that specify 

13 standards of performance for public and nonprofit private 

14 entities that receive grants under sections 311, 321 and 

15 351. 

16 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult 

17 with representatives of public and nonprofit entities that 

18 receive grants under this title, statewide and regional non19 profit organizations (and combinations of such organiza20 tions) that receive grants under this title, and national 

21 nonprofit organizations concerned with youth homeless22 ness in developing the performance standards required by 

23 subsection (a). 

24 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary shall provide 

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1 section (a) before issuing rules to establish such standards 

2 and shall maintain an official record of such public com3 ment.’’. 

4 SEC. 11. APPEALS. 

5 Part G, as so redesignated and as amended by section 

6 10, of Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 5714a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 391. APPEALS. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF APPEAL PROCEDURE.— 

11 Not later than 2 years after the effective date of this sec12 tion, the Secretary shall establish by rule a timely appeal 

13 procedure applicable to review the amounts of grants 

14 made, and the denial of grants requested, under this title. 

15 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult 

16 with representatives of public and nonprofit private enti17 ties that receive grants under this title, statewide and re18 gional nonprofit organizations (and combinations of such 

19 organizations) that receive grants under this title, and na20 tional nonprofit organizations concerned with youth home21 lessness in establishing the appeal procedure required by 

22 subsection (a). 

23 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary shall provide 

24 an opportunity for public comment concerning the estab25 lishment of the appeal procedure required by subsection 


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1 (a) before issuing rules to establish such procedure and 

2 shall maintain an official record of such public comment.’’. 

3 SEC. 12. DEFINITION. 

4 Section 387 Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 5732a) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (6), 

7 and (7) as paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and (8), respec8 tively, and 

9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(4) RUNAWAY YOUTH.—The term ‘runaway 

12 youth’ means an individual who is less than 18 years 

13 of age and who absents himself or herself from home 

14 or place of legal residence without the permission of 

15 parents or legal guardians.’’. 

16 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 Section 388(a) Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 

18 (42 U.S.C. 5751(a)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘$105,000,000 for fiscal 

21 year 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘$150,000,000 for 

22 fiscal year 2009’’, and 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘2005, 2006, 2007, and 

24 2008’’ and inserting ‘‘2010, 2011, 2012, and 

25 2013’’ , and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘such sums as 

2 may be necessary for fiscal years 2004, 2005, 2006, 

3 2007, and 2008’’ and inserting ‘‘$30,000,000 for 

4 fiscal year 2009 and such sums as may be necessary 

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

Æ 


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