I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5221 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 15, 2023 

Ms. SHERRILL (for herself, Mr. POSEY, Mr. BACON, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Mr. 

VEASEY, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mr. KIM of New 

Jersey, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. SCANLON, and Mr. CARSON) introduced the 

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

and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

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 2023’’. 


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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 is amended— 

5 (1) in section 103 (42 U.S.C. 11302)— 

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 such 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 any other Federal program who, without further ac23 tion by the Department of Housing and Urban De24 velopment, has been verified as homeless under any 

25 other Federal program by the director, designee of 

26 the director, or other person responsible for the imVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Aug 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5221.IH H5221

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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 any other Federal program’ has the 

7 meaning 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) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—If the Secretary of 

11 Housing and Urban Development promulgates rules, 

12 issues guidance, or sets forth conditions in any applica13 tion, notice of funding availability, or other publication or 

14 advisory regarding the provisions of this Act, the Sec15 retary shall ensure that— 

16 ‘‘(1) any individual defined as ‘homeless’ under 

17 section 103 is eligible for any program or program 

18 component under this Act; and 

19 ‘‘(2) all individuals defined as ‘homeless’ under 

20 subsection (a) proposed to be served by an applicant, 

21 and all proposed program components or housing or 

22 service models, are given the same priority, points, 

23 or weight.’’; 

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) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

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

9 lives’’ and all that follows through ‘‘shel10 ter’’ and inserting ‘‘under any provision of 

11 section 103’’; 

12 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and liv13 ing or residing in a place not meant for 

14 human habitation, a safe haven, or in an 

15 emergency shelter continuously’’ and in16 serting ‘‘under any provision of section 

17 103’’; and 

18 (iii) in clause (iii)— 

19 (I) by striking ‘‘(or a minor head 

20 of household if no adult is present in 

21 the household)’’ and inserting ‘‘or a 

22 minor head of household (if no adult 

23 is present in the household),’’; and 

24 (II) by inserting before the pe25 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, or 


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1 has a child with a disability, as such 

2 term is defined in section 602 of the 

3 Individuals with Disabilities Edu4 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1401), or an in5 fant or toddler with a disability, as 

6 such term is defined in section 632 of 

7 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1432)’’; 

8 (C) by striking paragraph (7); 

9 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

10 through (6) as paragraphs (3) through (7), re11 spectively; 

12 (E) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

13 following: 

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

15 UNDER ANY OTHER FEDERAL PROGRAM.—The term 

16 ‘child or youth defined as homeless under any other 

17 Federal program’ means— 

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

19 in section 725, including any parent or guard20 ian with whom the child or youth is living; and 

21 ‘‘(B) a youth who— 

22 ‘‘(i) is not more than 24 years of age; 

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

24 legal guardian, or relative; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) has no other safe alternative liv2 ing arrangement.’’; 

3 (F) in paragraph (10)(A), by inserting 

4 ‘‘any provision of’’ before ‘‘section 103’’; 

5 (G) by redesignating paragraphs (16) 

6 through (35) as paragraphs (17) through (36), 

7 respectively; 

8 (H) by inserting after paragraph (15) the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(16) OTHER FEDERAL STATUTE.—The term 

11 ‘other Federal statute’ includes— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Runaway and Homeless Youth 

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

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

15 et seq.); 

16 ‘‘(C) the Child Care and Development 

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

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

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

20 seq.); 

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

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

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

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


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

2 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); and 

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

4 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.).’’; 

5 (I) in paragraph (34), as so redesignated, 

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

7 youth and young adults between 14 and 24 

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

9 (J) in paragraph (35), as so redesignated, 

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

11 and 

12 (K) in paragraph (36), as so redesig13 nated— 

14 (i) by inserting ‘‘victims of traf15 ficking,’’ after ‘‘assist’’; 

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

17 inserting ‘‘stalking’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘concerning’’; 

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

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

22 ‘‘considering the prevalence and needs of home23 less individuals, as defined under any provision 

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

25 (B) in paragraph (3)(D)— 


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

2 the end; 

3 (ii) by redesignating clause (vi) as 

4 clause (vii); and 

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

6 following: 

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

8 the Secretary on at least an annual basis; 

9 and’’; 

10 (4) by inserting after section 408 (42 U.S.C. 

11 11364) the following: 

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

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

14 management information system (in this section referred 

15 to as ‘HMIS’) data provided to the Secretary under sec16 tion 402(f)(3)(D)(vi) shall be made publically available on 

17 the internet website of the Department of Housing and 

18 Urban Development. 

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

20 under subsection (a) shall be updated on at least an an21 nual basis and shall include— 

22 ‘‘(1) a cumulative count of the number of home23 less individuals and families, as defined under any 

24 provision of section 103; 


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

2 assistance provided under subtitles B and C for each 

3 geographic area involved; 

4 ‘‘(3) a count of the number of homeless individ5 uals and families, as defined under any provision of 

6 section 103, that are documented through the HMIS 

7 by each collaborative applicant; and 

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

9 as defined under any provision of section 103 and 

10 both unaccompanied and accompanied, including a 

11 breakout of the count by— 

12 ‘‘(A) age range; 

13 ‘‘(B) disability; and 

14 ‘‘(C) length of time experiencing homeless15 ness.’’; 

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

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

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

19 needs-based’’; and 

20 (B) by striking subsection (j) and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(j) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—In awarding grants 

23 under subsection (a) and releasing a notification of fund24 ing availability under subsection (b), the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) without further action by the Department, 

2 ensure that any individual defined as ‘homeless’ 

3 under any provision of section 103 is eligible for any 

4 program or program component under this Act; 

5 ‘‘(2) ensure that homeless populations proposed 

6 to be served by the applicant, and proposed program 

7 components or housing or service models, are not 

8 awarded different priority, points, or weight; and 

9 ‘‘(3) ensure that scoring is based primarily on 

10 the extent to which the applicant demonstrates that 

11 the project and program components— 

12 ‘‘(A) would meet the priorities identified in 

13 the plan submitted under section 427(b)(1)(B); 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(B) are cost-effective in meeting the over16 all goals and objectives identified in that plan.’’; 

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

18 striking paragraph (5); 

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

20 striking ‘‘and (G) providing’’ and inserting ‘‘(G) pro21 viding transportation to employment, early care and 

22 education programs, career and technical education 

23 programs, and health and mental health care serv24 ices, and (H) providing’’; 

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


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1 (A) in paragraph (4), by amending sub2 paragraph (D) to read as follows: 

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

4 housing or services to families or youth, they 

5 will designate a staff person to be responsible 

6 for ensuring that children and youth being 

7 served in the program are— 

8 ‘‘(i) enrolled in school and connected 

9 to appropriate services in the community, 

10 including Head Start, part C of the Indi11 viduals with Disabilities Act, programs au12 thorized under the Child Care and Devel13 opment Block Grant Act of 1990, career 

14 and technical education, and services pro15 vided by local educational agency liaisons 

16 designated under subtitle B of title VII of 

17 this Act; and 

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

19 youth, as defined in section 725, informed 

20 of their status as an independent student 

21 under section 480 of the Higher Education 

22 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv) and re23 ceive verification of such status for pur24 poses of the Free Application for Federal 


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1 Student Aid described in section 483 of 

2 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1090); and’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘the ac4 tual compliance with the certifications required 

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

6 and 

7 (C) in paragraph (7)— 

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

9 ‘‘needs of children’’; 

10 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or unaccompanied 

11 youth’’ after ‘‘when families’’; 

12 (iii) by inserting ‘‘and unaccompanied 

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

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

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

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

17 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

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

20 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

22 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

23 (III) by striking clause (viii); 

24 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (I) by amending clause (iii) to 

2 read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(iii) how the recipient will collaborate 

4 with local educational agencies, early care 

5 and education programs, and institutions 

6 of higher education to assist in the identi7 fication of and services to youth and fami8 lies who become or remain homeless, in9 cluding the steps the recipient will take to 

10 inform youth and families of their eligi11 bility for services under part B of subtitle 

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

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

14 Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 

15 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and the Higher Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 

17 seq.);’’; and 

18 (II) by striking clause (v) and in19 serting the following: 

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

21 full implementation of the certifications 

22 and agreements described in paragraphs 

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

24 (iii) in subparagraph (C)(i), by insert25 ing ‘‘and appropriate’’ after ‘‘rapid’’; and 


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1 (iv) by striking subparagraphs (F) 

2 and (G) and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(F) for communities that establish and 

4 operate a centralized or coordinated assessment 

5 system, the extent to which that system— 

6 ‘‘(i) ensures that individuals who are 

7 most in need of assistance receive it in a 

8 timely manner; 

9 ‘‘(ii) in assessing need under clause 

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

11 criteria for assessing the safety and needs 

12 of children under 5 years of age, school13 age children, unaccompanied youth and 

14 young adults between 14 and 24 years of 

15 age, and families that are unrelated to the 

16 criteria through which an individual quali17 fies as ‘homeless’ under section 103; 

18 ‘‘(iii) is accessible to unaccompanied 

19 youth and homeless families; 

20 ‘‘(iv) diverts individuals to safe, sta21 ble, age-appropriate accommodations; and 

22 ‘‘(v) includes affordable housing devel23 opers, youth service providers, early child24 hood programs, local educational agencies, 

25 and mental health organizations; and 


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

2 determines to be appropriate to carry out this 

3 subtitle in an effective and efficient manner, ex4 cept that such factors may not have the effect 

5 of prioritizing or weighting, unless justified by 

6 local data or information contained in a plan 

7 submitted under subparagraph (B)— 

8 ‘‘(i) any service with respect to a spe9 cific subpopulation of homeless individuals 

10 over another; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) any program component or hous12 ing or service model over another.’’; and 

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

14 follows: 

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

16 shall require that communities that conduct an an17 nual count of homeless people shall count all home18 less individuals identified and reported by any pro19 gram funded under any provision of this Act or any 

20 other Federal statute (as such term is defined in 

21 section 401 (42 U.S.C. 11360)).’’; 

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

23 (A) in subsection (a)(1)— 

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

25 inserting ‘‘disabilities,’’; and 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and homeless fami2 lies where a child has a disability’’ before 

3 the period at the end; 

4 (B) in subsection (d)— 

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

6 ‘‘promoting’’ before ‘‘independent’’; and 

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

8 and inserting the following: 

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

10 provide bonuses or other incentives under paragraph 

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

12 unless justified by local data or information con13 tained in a plan submitted under section 

14 427(b)(1)(B)— 

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

16 subpopulation of homeless individuals over an17 other; or 

18 ‘‘(B) any program component or housing 

19 or service model over another. 

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

21 of this subsection, activities that have been proven to 

22 be effective at reducing homelessness generally or re23 ducing homelessness for a specific subpopulation in24 clude any activity determined by the Secretary, after 


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1 providing notice and an opportunity for public com2 ment, to have been proven effective at— 

3 ‘‘(A) reducing homelessness generally; 

4 ‘‘(B) reducing homelessness for a specific 

5 subpopulation; 

6 ‘‘(C) reducing homelessness in a commu7 nity for populations overrepresented in any 

8 counts conducted in that community under sec9 tion 427(b)(3); or 

10 ‘‘(D) achieving homeless prevention, reduc11 ing recidivism, and promoting self-sufficiency 

12 and independent living. 

13 ‘‘(4) ENCOURAGING LOCAL SUCCESS AND INNO14 VATION.—In providing bonuses or incentives under 

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

16 the implementation of proven strategies and innova17 tion in reducing homelessness among the local pri18 ority populations identified in the plan submitted by 

19 an applicant under section 427(b)(1)(B). The Sec20 retary shall not implement bonuses or incentives 

21 that promote a national priority established by the 

22 Secretary.’’; and 

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

24 (11) by amending section 434 (42 U.S.C. 

25 11388) to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 434. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

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

3 Congress an annual report, which shall— 

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

5 this subtitle and set forth the findings, conclusions, 

6 and recommendations of the Secretary as a result of 

7 the activities; 

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

9 which the report is submitted— 

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

11 available in the report under section 409; 

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

13 other Federal statute; and 

14 ‘‘(3) provide information on— 

15 ‘‘(A) the extent to which the data collected 

16 under section 427(b)(3) may be duplicative; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the policies and practices employed to 

18 account for such duplication, where applicable, 

19 to ensure an accurate point-in-time count. 

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

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

22 fiscal year.’’. 

23 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

24 The table of contents in section 101(b) of the McKinney25 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 note) 


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1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

2 408 the following: 

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

Æ 


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