I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3856 
To reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 10, 2025 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. BACON, Mr. MCGARVEY, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. COSTA, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. 
LIEU, and Mr. NUNN of Iowa) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce 
A BILL 
To reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Runaway and Home-
less Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Section 302 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 
(34 U.S.C. 11201) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 302. FINDINGS. 
‘‘Congress finds that— 
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‘‘(1) youth who have become homeless or who 
leave and remain away from home without parental 
permission are at risk of developing, and have a dis-
proportionate share of, trauma, substance use dis-
orders, and serious health, behavioral, social, and 
emotional challenges because they lack sufficient re-
sources to obtain care and may live on the street for 
extended periods of time, thereby endangering them-
selves; 
‘‘(2) many such young people, because of their 
age and situation, are urgently in need of temporary 
shelter and services, including services that consider 
their age, gender, and social and developmental 
needs, are culturally and linguistically appropriate, 
and acknowledge the environment of youth seeking 
these services; 
‘‘(3) research has documented the fluid experi-
ences of homelessness of youth, where many youth 
experience 2 or more different types of homeless-
ness, including couch surfing, living in motels, and 
staying on the streets; 
‘‘(4) research has documented that persons who 
are members of historically marginalized and under-
served communities of color, LGBTQ youth, youth 
who do not complete high school or achieve a high 
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school equivalency, youth involved in the child wel-
fare system, youth who have been involved with the 
criminal justice system, and pregnant and parenting 
youth are most likely to experience homelessness in 
the United States while unaccompanied by a parent 
or adult; 
‘‘(5) services to such young people should be de-
veloped and provided using a positive youth develop-
ment approach that ensures a young person a sense 
of— 
‘‘(A) safety and structure; 
‘‘(B) belonging and membership; 
‘‘(C) self-worth, empowerment, voice, and 
choice; 
‘‘(D) independence and control over one’s 
life; and 
‘‘(E) closeness in interpersonal relation-
ships; 
‘‘(6) in view of the interstate nature of the 
problem, it is the responsibility of the Federal Gov-
ernment to develop an accurate national reporting 
system to report the prevalence of youth homeless-
ness, and to assist in the development of an effective 
system of care (including prevention services and 
aftercare services, short-term housing with services, 
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extended housing with supportive services, and street 
outreach services) outside the welfare system and 
the law enforcement system, in collaboration with 
public assistance systems, the education system, and 
the child welfare system; 
‘‘(7) to make a successful transition to adult-
hood, youth who run away, youth experiencing 
homelessness, and youth living in the street need a 
safe and stable place to live, connections to caring 
adults, and opportunities to complete high school or 
earn a general equivalency degree, learn job skills, 
and obtain employment; 
‘‘(8) improved coordination and collaboration at 
the Federal level between programs that serve run-
away and homeless youth are necessary for the de-
velopment of a long-term strategy for responding to 
the needs of this population; 
‘‘(9) runaway and homeless youth are at a high 
risk of substance use disorders and becoming victims 
of sexual exploitation and trafficking; 
‘‘(10) since research has shown that the preva-
lence of homelessness among youth is similar in 
rural and urban communities, runaway and homeless 
youth programs, such as those funded under this 
title, are integral services that every community 
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