I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2001 
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 
APRIL 1, 2019 
Mr. STIVERS (for himself and Mr. LOEBSACK) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subse-
quently 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 commu-
nities. 
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 ‘‘Homeless Children and 
Youth Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE MCKINNEY-VENTO HOME-
LESS ASSISTANCE ACT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The McKinney-Vento Homeless 
Assistance Act is amended— 
(1) in section 103 (42 U.S.C. 11302)— 
(A) in subsection (a)— 
(i) in paragraph (5)(A)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘are sharing’’ and 
all that follows through ‘‘charitable 
organizations,’’; 
(II) by striking ‘‘14 days’’ each 
place such term appears and inserting 
‘‘30 days’’; 
(III) in clause (i), by inserting 
‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 
(IV) by striking clause (ii); and 
(V) by redesignating clause (iii) 
as clause (ii); and 
(ii) by amending paragraph (6) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(6) a child or youth defined as homeless under 
any other Federal program who, without further ac-
tion by the Department of Housing and Urban De-
velopment, has been verified as homeless under any 
other Federal program by the director, designee of 
the director, or other person responsible for the im-
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plementation of a program established under this 
Act or any other Federal statute.’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘child or youth defined as home-
less under any other Federal program’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 401; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘other Federal statute’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 401. 
‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—If the Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development promulgates rules, 
issues guidance, or sets forth conditions in any applica-
tion, notice of funding availability, or other publication or 
advisory regarding the provisions of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall ensure that— 
‘‘(1) any individual defined as ‘homeless’ under 
section 103 is eligible for any program or program 
component under this Act; and 
‘‘(2) all individuals defined as ‘homeless’ under 
subsection (a) proposed to be served by an applicant, 
and all proposed program components or housing or 
service models, are given the same priority, points, 
or weight.’’; 
(2) in section 401 (42 U.S.C. 11360)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)(C)— 
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(i) by striking clauses (ii) and (iv); 
(ii) by redesignating clauses (iii), (v), 
(vi), and (vii) as clauses (ii), (iii), (iv), and 
(v), respectively; and 
(iii) by striking the flush text fol-
lowing clause (v), as so redesignated; 
(B) in paragraph (2)(A)— 
(i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and 
lives’’ and all that follows through ‘‘shel-
ter’’ and inserting ‘‘under any provision of 
section 103’’; 
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and liv-
ing or residing in a place not meant for 
human habitation, a safe haven, or in an 
emergency shelter continuously’’ and in-
serting ‘‘under any provision of section 
103’’; and 
(iii) in clause (iii)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘(or a minor head 
of household if no adult is present in 
the household)’’ and inserting ‘‘or a 
minor head of household (if no adult 
is present in the household),’’; 
(II) by inserting before the pe-
riod at the end the following: ‘‘, or 
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has child with a disability, as such 
term is defined in section 602 of the 
Individuals with Disabilities Edu-
cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1401), or an in-
fant or toddler with a disability, as 
such term is as defined in section 632 
of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1432)’’; 
(C) by striking paragraph (7); 
(D) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 
through (6) as paragraphs (3) through (7), re-
spectively; 
(E) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
following: 
‘‘(2) CHILD OR YOUTH DEFINED AS HOMELESS 
UNDER ANY OTHER FEDERAL PROGRAM.—The term 
‘child or youth defined as homeless under any other 
Federal program’ means— 
‘‘(A) a homeless child or youth, as defined 
in section 725, including any parent or guard-
ian with whom the child or youth is living; and 
‘‘(B) a youth who— 
‘‘(i) is not more than 24 years of age; 
‘‘(ii) cannot live safely with a parent, 
legal guardian, or relative; and 
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‘‘(iii) has no other safe alternative liv-
ing arrangement.’’; 
(F) in paragraph (9)(A), by inserting ‘‘any 
provision of’’ before ‘‘section 103’’; 
(G) by redesignating paragraphs (14) 
through (33) as paragraphs (15) through (34), 
respectively; 
(H) by inserting after paragraph (13) the 
following: 
‘‘(14) OTHER FEDERAL STATUTE.—The term 
‘other Federal statute’ includes— 
‘‘(A) the Runaway and Homeless Youth 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.); 
‘‘(B) the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 
et seq.); 
‘‘(C) the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.); 
‘‘(D) subtitle N of the Violence Against 
Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043e et 
seq.); 
‘‘(E) section 330(h) of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(h)); 
‘‘(F) section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act 
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 
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‘‘(G) the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); and 
‘‘(H) the United States Housing Act of 
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.).’’; 
(I) in paragraph (32), as so redesignated, 
by inserting ‘‘children under 5 years of age, 
youth and young adults between 14 and 24 
years of age,’’ after ‘‘status, or age),’’; 
(J) in paragraph (33), as so redesignated, 
by inserting ‘‘trafficking,’’ after ‘‘victims of’’; 
and 
(K) in paragraph (34), as so redesig-
nated— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘victims of traf-
ficking,’’ after ‘‘assist’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘stalking victims’’ and 
inserting ‘‘stalking’’; and 
(iii) by inserting ‘‘trafficking,’’ after 
‘‘concerning’’; 
(3) in section 402(f) (42 U.S.C. 11360a(f))— 
(A) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting 
‘‘considering the prevalence and needs of home-
less individuals, as defined under any provision 
of section 103’’ after ‘‘involved’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (3)(D)— 
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(i) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(ii) by redesignating clause (vi) as 
clause (vii); and 
(iii) by inserting after clause (v) the 
following: 
‘‘(vi) the submission of HMIS data to 
the Secretary on at least an annual basis; 
and’’; 
(4) by inserting after section 408 (42 U.S.C. 
11364) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 409. AVAILABILITY OF HMIS DATA. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The community-wide homeless 
management information system (in this section referred 
to as ‘HMIS’) data provided to the Secretary under sec-
tion 402(f)(3)(D)(vi) shall be made publically available on 
the Internet website of the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development. 
‘‘(b) REQUIRED DATA.—The data publically available 
under subsection (a) shall be updated on at least an an-
nual basis and shall include— 
‘‘(1) a cumulative count of the number of home-
less individuals and families, as defined under any 
provision of section 103; 
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‘‘(2) a cumulative assessment of the patterns of 
assistance provided under subtitles B and C for each 
geographic area involved; 
‘‘(3) a count of the number of homeless individ-
uals and families, as defined under any provision of 
section 103, that are documented through the HMIS 
by each collaborative applicant; and 
‘‘(4) a count of the number of homeless women, 
as defined under any provision of section 103 and 
both unaccompanied and accompanied, including a 
breakout of the count by— 
‘‘(A) age range; 
‘‘(B) disability; and 
‘‘(C) length of time experiencing homeless-
ness.’’; 
(5) in section 422 (42 U.S.C. 11382)— 
(A) in subsection (c)(1)(B), by striking 
‘‘establish’’ and inserting ‘‘demonstrate local, 
needs-based’’; and 
(B) by striking subsection (j) and inserting 
the following:; 
‘‘(j) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—In awarding grants 
under subsection (a) and releasing a notification of fund-
ing availability under subsection (b), the Secretary shall— 
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‘‘(1) without further action by the Department, 
ensure that any individual defined as ‘homeless’ 
under any provision of section 103 is eligible for any 
program or program component under this Act; 
‘‘(2) ensure that homeless populations proposed 
to be served by the applicant, and proposed program 
components or housing or service models, are not 
awarded different priority, points, or weight; and 
‘‘(3) ensure that scoring is based primarily on 
the extent to which the applicant demonstrates that 
the project and program components— 
‘‘(A) would meet the priorities identified in 
the plan submitted under section 427(b)(1)(B); 
and 
‘‘(B) are cost-effective in meeting the over-
all goals and objectives identified in that plan.’’; 
(6) in section 424(d) (42 U.S.C. 11384(d)), by 
striking paragraph (5); 
(7) in section 425(c) (42 U.S.C. 11385(c)), by 
striking ‘‘and (G) providing’’ and inserting ‘‘(G) pro-
viding transportation to employment, early care and 
education programs, career and technical education 
programs, and health and mental health care serv-
ices, and (H) providing’’; 
(8) in section 426(b) (42 U.S.C. 11386(b))— 
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(A) in paragraph (4), by amending sub-
paragraph (D) to read as follows: 
‘‘(D) in the case of programs providing 
housing or services to families or youth, they 
will designate a staff person to be responsible 
for ensuring that children and youth being 
served in the program are— 
‘‘(i) enrolled in school and connected 
to appropriate services in the community, 
including Head Start, part C of the Indi-
viduals with Disabilities Act, programs au-
thorized under the Child Care and Devel-
opment Block Grant Act of 1990, career 
and technical education, and services pro-
vided by local educational agency liaisons 
designated under subtitle B of title VII of 
this Act; and 
‘‘(ii) in the case of an unaccompanied 
youth, as defined in section 725, informed 
of their status as an independent student 
under section 480 of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv) and re-
ceive verification of such status for pur-
poses of the Free Application for Federal 
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Student Aid described in section 483 of 
such Act (20 U.S.C. 1090); and’’; 
(B) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘the ac-
tual compliance with the certifications required 
under paragraph (4) and’’ after ‘‘Secretary’’; 
and 
(C) in paragraph (7)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘and youth’’ after 
‘‘needs of children’’; 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘or unaccompanied 
youth’’ after ‘‘when families’’; 
(iii) by inserting ‘‘and unaccompanied 
youth’’ after ‘‘with children’’; and 
(iv) by striking ‘‘such children’s’’ and 
inserting ‘‘such children and youth’s’’; 
(9) in section 427(b) (42 U.S.C. 11386a(b))— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A)— 
(I) in clause (vi), by adding 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(II) in clause (vii), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(III) by striking clause (viii); 
(ii) in subparagraph (B)— 
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(I) by amending clause (iii) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(iii) how the recipient will collaborate 
with local educational agencies, early care 
and education programs, and institutions 
of higher education to assist in the identi-
fication of and services to youth and fami-
lies who become or remain homeless, in-
cluding the steps the recipient will take to 
inform youth and families of their eligi-
bility for services under part B of subtitle 
VII of this Act, the Head Start Act (42 
U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 
U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 
seq.);’’; and 
(II) by striking clause (v) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(v) how the recipient will ensure the 
full implementation of the certifications 
and agreements described in paragraphs 
(4)(D) and (7) of section 426(b);’’; 
(iii) in subparagraph (C)(i), by insert-
ing ‘‘and appropriate’’ after ‘‘rapid’’; and 
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(iv) by striking subparagraphs (F) 
and (G) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(F) for communities that establish and 
operate a centralized or coordinated assessment 
system, the extent to which that system— 
‘‘(i) ensures that individuals who are 
most in need of assistance receive it in a 
timely manner; 
‘‘(ii) in assessing need under clause 
(i), uses separate, specific, age-appropriate 
criteria for assessing the safety and needs 
of children under 5 years of age, school- 
age children, unaccompanied youth and 
young adults between 14 and 24 years of 
age, and families that are unrelated to the 
criteria through which an individual quali-
fies as ‘homeless’ under section 103; 
‘‘(iii) is accessible to unaccompanied 
youth and homeless families; 
‘‘(iv) diverts individuals to safe, sta-
ble, age-appropriate accommodations; and 
‘‘(v) includes affordable housing devel-
opers, youth service providers, early child-
hood programs, local educational agencies, 
and mental health organizations; and 
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‘‘(G) such other factors as the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate to carry out this 
subtitle in an effective and efficient manner, ex-
cept that such factors may not have the effect 
of prioritizing or weighting, unless justified by 
local data or information contained in a plan 
submitted under subparagraph (B)— 
‘‘(i) any service with respect to a spe-
cific subpopulation of homeless individuals 
over another; or 
‘‘(ii) any program component or hous-
ing or service model over another.’’; and 
(B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(3) HOMELESSNESS COUNTS.—The Secretary 
shall require that communities that conduct an an-
nual count of homeless people shall count all home-
less individuals identified and reported by any pro-
gram funded under any provision of this Act or any 
other Federal statute (as such term is defined in 
section 401 (42 U.S.C. 11360)).’’; 
(10) in section 428 (42 U.S.C. 11386b)— 
(A) in subsection (a)(1)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘disabilities and’’ and 
inserting ‘‘disabilities,’’; and 
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(ii) by inserting ‘‘, and homeless fami-
lies where a child has a disability’’ before 
the period at the end; 
(B) in subsection (d)— 
(i) in paragraph (1), by inserting 
‘‘promoting’’ before ‘‘independent’’; and 
(ii) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary shall not 
provide bonuses or other incentives under paragraph 
(1) that have the effect of prioritizing or weighting, 
unless justified by local data or information con-
tained 
in 
a 
plan 
submitted 
under 
section 
427(b)(1)(B)— 
‘‘(A) any service with respect to a specific 
subpopulation of homeless individuals over an-
other; or 
‘‘(B) any program component or housing 
or service model over another. 
‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes 
of this subsection, activities that have been proven to 
be effective at reducing homelessness generally or re-
ducing homelessness for a specific subpopulation in-
clude any activity determined by the Secretary, after 
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providing notice and an opportunity for public com-
ment, to have been proven effective at— 
‘‘(A) reducing homelessness generally; 
‘‘(B) reducing homelessness for a specific 
subpopulation; 
‘‘(C) reducing homelessness in a commu-
nity for populations overrepresented in any 
counts conducted in that community under sec-
tion 427(b)(3); or 
‘‘(D) achieving homeless prevention, reduc-
ing recidivism, and promoting self-sufficiency 
and independent living. 
‘‘(4) ENCOURAGING LOCAL SUCCESS AND INNO-
VATION.—In providing bonuses or incentives under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall seek to encourage 
the implementation of proven strategies and innova-
tion in reducing homelessness among the local pri-
ority populations identified in the plan submitted by 
an applicant under section 427(b)(1)(B). The Sec-
retary shall not implement bonuses or incentives 
that promote a national priority established by the 
Secretary.’’; and 
(C) by striking subsection (e); and 
(11) by amending section 434 (42 U.S.C. 
11388) to read as follows: 
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‘‘SEC. 434. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit to 
Congress an annual report, which shall— 
‘‘(1) summarize the activities carried out under 
this subtitle and set forth the findings, conclusions, 
and recommendations of the Secretary as a result of 
the activities; 
‘‘(2) include, for the year preceding the date on 
which the report is submitted— 
‘‘(A) data required to be made publically 
available in the report under section 409; 
‘‘(B) data on programs funded under any 
other Federal statute; and 
‘‘(3) provide information on— 
‘‘(A) the extent to which the data collected 
under section 427(b)(3) may be duplicative; and 
‘‘(B) the policies and practices employed to 
account for such duplication, where applicable, 
to ensure an accurate point-in-time count. 
‘‘(b) TIMING.—A report under subsection (a) shall be 
submitted not later than 4 months after the end of each 
fiscal year.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of contents in section 101(b) of the McKinney- 
Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 note) 
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is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
408 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 409. Availability of HMIS data.’’. 
Æ 
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