IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 582 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that children have 
a right to adequate housing. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 25, 2009 
Ms. WATERS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
children have a right to adequate housing. 
Whereas the House of Representatives is concerned about the 
depth of the economic recession and the growing number 
of homeless families and youth; 
Whereas children who are without adequate housing may be 
placed in unsafe and hazardous environments; 
Whereas the Department of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment (HUD) has estimated that 28 percent of homeless 
families are unsheltered due to the lack of affordable 
housing and emergency shelter for families in commu-
nities throughout the United States; 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:39 Jun 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR582.IH
HR582
tjames on PRODPC61 with BILLS
•HRES 582 IH 
Whereas the gap between the availability of affordable hous-
ing and emergency shelter and family need jeopardizes 
the safety and well-being of homeless children; 
Whereas in the most recent one-night count of homelessness 
by the Urban Institute, nearly 200,000 children in fami-
lies were homeless, with hundreds of thousands more 
children experiencing at least one night of homelessness 
over the course of a year, and millions more children liv-
ing in substandard, overcrowded, or other precarious sit-
uations, placing such children at heightened risk of ill-
ness, serious injury, hunger, and educational delay; 
Whereas approximately 2,000,000 unaccompanied youth ex-
perience at least one night of homelessness over the 
course of a year; 
Whereas providing stable housing to homeless families dra-
matically improves family reunification as, according to 
the Family Unification Program of the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, 94 percent of homeless 
families that were provided stable housing for 12 months 
were reunified, compared to 70 percent of homeless fami-
lies who were not provided such stable housing; 
Whereas providing stable housing to homeless families im-
proves family preservation as, according to the Family 
Unification Program of the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, 90 percent of homeless families that 
were provided stable housing for 12 months remained in-
tact, compared to 65 percent of homeless families who 
were not provided such stable housing; 
Whereas Congress has asserted a commitment to protecting 
children from neglect and abuse by authorizing and ap-
propriating funds for the Child Abuse Prevention and 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:39 Jun 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR582.IH
HR582
tjames on PRODPC61 with BILLS
•HRES 582 IH 
Treatment Act, the Adoption Assistance and Child Wel-
fare Act of 1980, and the Adoption and Safe Families 
Act of 1997; 
Whereas children are not only homeless within a family unit, 
but also as unaccompanied youth; 
Whereas many homeless unaccompanied youth experience 
child abuse, neglect, or both; 
Whereas many homeless unaccompanied youth avoid shelters 
and other services because they fear being taken into the 
foster care system; 
Whereas each year approximately 24,000 youth turn 18 or 21 
and consequently ‘‘age out’’ of foster care, often lacking 
the financial, social, and personal resources to live inde-
pendently; 
Whereas in 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt declared that 
the United States had adopted a ‘‘second Bill of Rights,’’ 
including the right to a decent home; 
Whereas the United States signed the Universal Declaration 
of Human Rights in 1948, recognizing housing as a 
human right; 
Whereas the United States signed the International Covenant 
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1977 and the 
Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995 and, al-
though the United States has not yet ratified such trea-
ties, it is committed to uphold the object and purpose of 
such treaties, including the right of children to adequate 
housing; and 
Whereas the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements, 
signed by the United States in 1996, recognizes the right 
to adequate housing and the particular needs of children 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:39 Jun 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR582.IH
HR582
tjames on PRODPC61 with BILLS
•HRES 582 IH 
and youth for safe, healthy, and secure living conditions: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) children and youth have a right to adequate 
housing; 
(2) homelessness poses significant harm and 
costs to children and youth in the United States; 
(3) there are an unacceptably large number of 
children and youth in the United States who experi-
ence homelessness every year, often due to the lack 
of affordable housing for their families; 
(4) projects that provide services to parents and 
other caretakers to prevent possible homelessness of 
youth in crisis should be created and maintained; 
(5) programs at the Federal, State, and local 
levels that address the housing needs of low-income 
families should be developed and implemented; and 
(6) whenever it is in their best interests, chil-
dren have a right to be housed with their families. 
Æ 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
04:39 Jun 27, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR582.IH
HR582
tjames on PRODPC61 with BILLS