SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition 
to Housing Act of 2008’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 
Sec. 3. Definition of homelessness. 
Sec. 4. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. 
TITLE I—HOUSING ASSISTANCE GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Sec. 101. Definitions. 
Sec. 102. Community homeless assistance planning boards. 
Sec. 103. General provisions. 
Sec. 104. Protection of personally identifying information by victim service pro-
viders. 
Sec. 105. Authorization of appropriations. 
TITLE II—EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANTS PROGRAM 
Sec. 201. Grant assistance. 
Sec. 202. Eligible activities. 
Sec. 203. Participation in Homeless Management Information System. 
TITLE III—CONTINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM 
Sec. 301. Continuum of care. 
Sec. 302. Eligible activities. 
Sec. 303. High performing communities. 
Sec. 304. Program requirements. 
Sec. 305. Selection criteria, allocation amounts, and funding. 
Sec. 306. Research. 
TITLE IV—RURAL HOUSING STABILITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 
Sec. 401. Rural housing stability assistance. 
Sec. 402. GAO study of homelessness and homeless assistance in rural areas. 
TITLE V—REPEALS AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS 
Sec. 501. Repeals. 
Sec. 502. Conforming amendments. 
Sec. 503. Effective date. 
Sec. 504. Regulations. 
Sec. 505. Amendment to table of contents.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 
(1) a lack of affordable housing and limited 
scale of housing assistance programs are the pri-
mary causes of homelessness; and 
(2) homelessness affects all types of commu-
nities in the United States, including rural, urban, 
and suburban areas. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to consolidate the separate homeless assist-
ance programs carried out under title IV of the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (con-
sisting of the supportive housing program and re-
lated innovative programs, the safe havens program, 
the section 8 assistance program for single-room oc-
cupancy dwellings, and the shelter plus care pro-
gram) into a single program with specific eligible ac-
tivities; 
(2) to codify in Federal law the continuum of 
care planning process as a required and integral 
local function necessary to generate the local strate-
gies for ending homelessness; and 
(3) to establish a Federal goal of ensuring that 
individuals and families who become homeless return 
to permanent housing within 30 days.
SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF HOMELESSNESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 103 of the McKinney- 
Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 
subsections (c) and (d); and 
(2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act, the 
terms ‘homeless’, ‘homeless individual’, and ‘homeless per-
son’ means— 
‘‘(1) an individual or family who lacks a fixed, 
regular, and adequate nighttime residence; 
‘‘(2) an individual or family with a primary 
nighttime residence that is a public or private place 
not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular 
sleeping accommodation for human beings, including 
a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train sta-
tion, airport, or camping ground; 
‘‘(3) an individual or family living in a super-
vised publicly or privately operated shelter des-
ignated to provide temporary living arrangements 
(including hotels and motels paid for by Federal, 
State, or local government programs for low-income 
individuals or by charitable organizations, con-
gregate shelters, and transitional housing);
‘‘(4) an individual who resided in a shelter or 
place not meant for human habitation and who is 
exiting an institution where he or she temporarily 
resided; 
‘‘(5) an individual or family who— 
‘‘(A) will imminently lose their housing, in-
cluding housing they own, rent, or live in with-
out paying rent, are sharing with others, and 
rooms in hotels or motels not paid for by Fed-
eral, State, or local government programs for 
low-income individuals or by charitable organi-
zations, as evidenced by— 
‘‘(i) a court order resulting from an 
eviction action that notifies the individual 
or family that they must leave within 14 
days; 
‘‘(ii) the individual or family having a 
primary nighttime residence that is a room 
in a hotel or motel and where they lack the 
resources necessary to reside there for 
more than 14 days; or 
‘‘(iii) credible evidence indicating that 
the owner or renter of the housing will not 
allow the individual or family to stay for 
more than 14 days, and any oral statement
from an individual or family seeking home-
less assistance that is found to be credible 
shall be considered credible evidence for 
purposes of this clause; 
‘‘(B) has no subsequent residence identi-
fied; and 
‘‘(C) lacks the resources or support net-
works needed to obtain other permanent hous-
ing; and 
‘‘(6) unaccompanied youth and homeless fami-
lies with children and youth defined as homeless 
under other Federal statutes who— 
‘‘(A) have experienced a long-term period 
without living independently in permanent 
housing; 
‘‘(B) have experienced persistent instability 
as measured by frequent moves over such pe-
riod; and 
‘‘(C) can be expected to continue in such 
status for an extended period of time because of 
chronic disabilities, chronic physical health or 
mental health conditions, substance addiction, 
histories of domestic violence or childhood 
abuse, the presence of a child or youth with a 
disability, or multiple barriers to employment.
‘‘(b) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND OTHER DANGEROUS 
OR LIFE-THREATENING CONDITIONS.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of this section, the Secretary shall con-
sider to be homeless any individual or family who is flee-
ing, or is attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating vio-
lence, sexual assault, stalking, or other dangerous or life- 
threatening conditions in the individual’s or family’s cur-
rent housing situation, including where the health and 
safety of children are jeopardized, and who have no other 
residence and lack the resources or support networks to 
obtain other permanent housing.’’. 
(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than the expiration of 
the 6-month period beginning upon the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development shall issue regulations that provide sufficient 
guidance to recipients of funds under title IV of the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to allow uni-
form and consistent implementation of the requirements 
of section 103 of such Act, as amended by subsection (a) 
of this section. This subsection shall take effect on the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) CLARIFICATION OF EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.— 
This section and the amendments made by this section 
to section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302) may not be construed to af-
fect, alter, limit, annul, or supersede any other provision 
of Federal law providing a definition of ‘‘homeless’’, 
‘‘homeless individual’’, or ‘‘homeless person’’ for purposes 
other than such Act, except to the extent that such provi-
sion refers to such section 103 or the definition provided 
in such section 103. 
SEC. 4. UNITED STATES INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOME-
LESSNESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the McKinney-Vento 
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11311 et seq.) is 
amended— 
(1) in section 201 (42 U.S.C. 11311), by insert-
ing before the period at the end the following 
‘‘whose mission shall be to coordinate the Federal 
response to homelessness and to create a national 
partnership at every level of government and with 
the private sector to reduce and end homelessness in 
the Nation while maximizing the effectiveness of the 
Federal Government in contributing to the end of 
homelessness’’; 
(2) in section 202 (42 U.S.C. 11312)— 
(A) in subsection (a)— 
(i) by redesignating paragraph (16) as 
paragraph (22); and
(ii) by inserting after paragraph (15) 
the following: 
‘‘(16) The Commissioner of Social Security, or 
the designee of the Commissioner. 
‘‘(17) The Attorney General of the United 
States, or the designee of the Attorney General. 
‘‘(18) The Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget, or the designee of the Director. 
‘‘(19) The Director of the Office of Faith-Based 
and Community Initiatives, or the designee of the 
Director. 
‘‘(20) The Director of USA FreedomCorps, or 
the designee of the Director.’’; 
(B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘annu-
ally’’ and inserting ‘‘four times each year, and 
the rotation of the positions of Chairperson and 
Vice Chairperson required under subsection (b) 
shall occur at the first meeting of each year’’; 
and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Executive Director of 
the Council shall report to the Chairman of the Council.’’; 
(3) in section 203(a) (42 U.S.C. 11313(a))—
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 
(3), (4), (5), (6), and (7) as paragraphs (2), 
(3), (4), (5), (9), (10), and (11), respectively; 
(B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 
so redesignated by subparagraph (A), the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) not later than 12 months after the date of 
the enactment of the Homeless Emergency Assist-
ance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2008, 
develop, make available for public comment, and 
submit to the President and to Congress a National 
Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, and shall up-
date such plan annually;’’; 
(C) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by 
subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘at least 2, but 
in no case more than 5’’ and inserting ‘‘not less 
than 5, but in no case more than 10’’; 
(D) by inserting after paragraph (5), as so 
redesignated by subparagraph (A), the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(6) encourage the creation of State Inter-
agency Councils on Homelessness and the formula-
tion of jurisdictional 10-year plans to end homeless-
ness at State, city, and county levels;
‘‘(7) annually obtain from Federal agencies 
their identification of consumer-oriented entitlement 
and other resources for which persons experiencing 
homelessness may be eligible and the agencies’ iden-
tification of improvements to ensure access; develop 
mechanisms to ensure access by persons experi-
encing homelessness to all Federal, State, and local 
programs for which the persons are eligible, and to 
verify collaboration among entities within a commu-
nity that receive Federal funding under programs 
targeted for persons experiencing homelessness, and 
other programs for which persons experiencing 
homelessness are eligible, including mainstream pro-
grams identified by the Government Accountability 
Office in the reports entitled ‘Homelessness: Coordi-
nation and Evaluation of Programs Are Essential’, 
issued February 26, 1999, and ‘Homelessness: Bar-
riers to Using Mainstream Programs’, issued July 6, 
2000; 
‘‘(8) conduct research and evaluation related to 
its functions as defined in this section; 
‘‘(9) develop joint Federal agency and other ini-
tiatives to fulfill the goals of the agency;’’;
(E) in paragraph (10), as so redesignated 
by subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(F) in paragraph (11), as so redesignated 
by subparagraph (A), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting a semicolon; 
(G) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(12) develop constructive alternatives to crim-
inalizing homelessness and eliminate laws and poli-
cies that prohibit sleeping, feeding, sitting, resting, 
or lying in public spaces when there are no suitable 
alternatives, result in the destruction of a homeless 
person’s property without due process, or are selec-
tively enforced against homeless persons; and 
‘‘(13) not later than the expiration of the 6- 
month period beginning upon completion of the 
study requested in a letter to the Acting Comptroller 
General from the Chair and ranking member of the 
House Financial Services Committee and several 
other members regarding various definitions of 
homelessness in Federal statutes, convene a meeting 
of representatives of all Federal agencies and com-
mittees of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate having jurisdiction over any Federal program
to assist homeless individuals or families, local and 
State governments, academic researchers who spe-
cialize in homelessness, nonprofit housing and serv-
ice providers that receive funding under any Federal 
program to assist homeless individuals or families, 
organizations advocating on behalf of such nonprofit 
providers and homeless persons receiving housing or 
services under any such Federal program, and home-
less persons receiving housing or services under any 
such Federal program, at which meeting such rep-
resentatives shall discuss all issues relevant to 
whether the definitions of ‘homeless’ under para-
graphs (1) through (4) of section 103(a) of the 
McKinney-Vento 
Homeless 
Assistance 
Act, 
as 
amended by section 3 of the Homeless Emergency 
Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 
2008, should be modified by the Congress, including 
whether there is a compelling need for a uniform 
definition of homelessness under Federal law, the ex-
tent to which the differences in such definitions cre-
ate barriers for individuals to accessing services and 
to collaboration between agencies, and the relative 
availability, and barriers to access by persons de-
fined as homeless, of mainstream programs identi-
fied by the Government Accountability Office in the
two reports identified in paragraph (7) of this sub-
section; and shall submit transcripts of such meet-
ing, and any majority and dissenting recommenda-
tions from such meetings, to each committee of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate having ju-
risdiction over any Federal program to assist home-
less individuals or families not later than the expira-
tion of the 60-day period beginning upon conclusion 
of such meeting.’’. 
(4) 
in 
section 
203(b)(1) 
(42 
U.S.C. 
11313(b))— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Federal’’ and inserting 
‘‘national’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting ‘‘and 
pay for expenses of attendance at meetings 
which are concerned with the functions or ac-
tivities for which the appropriation is made;’’; 
(5) in section 205(d) (42 U.S.C. 11315(d)), by 
striking ‘‘property.’’ and inserting ‘‘property, both 
real and personal, public and private, without fiscal 
year limitation, for the purpose of aiding or facili-
tating the work of the Council.’’; and 
(6) by striking section 208 (42 U.S.C. 11318) 
and inserting the following:
‘‘SEC. 208. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this title $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 and such sums 
as may be necessary for fiscal years 2010. Any amounts 
appropriated to carry out this title shall remain available 
until expended.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on, and shall apply begin-
ning on, the date of the enactment of this Act . 
TITLE I—HOUSING ASSISTANCE 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 
Subtitle A of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Home-
less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking the subtitle heading and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions’’; 
(2) by redesignating sections 401 and 402 (42 
U.S.C. 11361, 11362) as sections 403 and 406, re-
spectively; and 
(3) by inserting before section 403 (as so redes-
ignated by paragraph (2) of this section) the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘For purposes of this title:
‘‘(1) AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS.—The term 
‘at risk of homelessness’ means, with respect to an 
individual or family, that the individual or family— 
‘‘(A) has income below 30 percent of me-
dian income for the geographic area; 
‘‘(B) has insufficient resources immediately 
available to attain housing stability; and 
‘‘(C)(i) has moved frequently because of 
economic reasons; 
‘‘(ii) is living in the home of another be-
cause of economic hardship; 
‘‘(iii) has been notified that their right to 
occupy their current housing or living situation 
will be terminated; 
‘‘(iv) lives in a hotel or motel; 
‘‘(v) lives in severely overcrowded housing; 
‘‘(vi) is exiting an institution; or 
‘‘(vii) otherwise lives in housing that has 
characteristics associated with instability and 
an increased risk of homelessness. 
Such term includes all families with children 
and youth defined as homeless under other 
Federal statutes. 
‘‘(2) CHRONICALLY HOMELESS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘chronically 
homeless’ means, with respect to an individual 
or family, that the individual or family— 
‘‘(i) is homeless and lives or resides in 
a place not meant for human habitation, a 
safe haven, or in an emergency shelter; 
‘‘(ii) has been homeless and living or 
residing in a place not meant for human 
habitation, a safe haven, or in an emer-
gency shelter continuously for at least 1 
year or on at least four separate occasions 
in the last 3 years; and 
‘‘(iii) has an adult head of household 
(or a minor head of household if no adult 
is present in the household) with a 
diagnosable substance use disorder, serious 
mental illness, developmental disability (as 
defined in section 102 of the Develop-
mental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of 
Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002)), 
post traumatic stress disorder, cognitive 
impairments resulting from a brain injury, 
or chronic physical illness or disability, in-
cluding the co-occurrence of two or more of 
those conditions.
‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A person 
who currently lives or resides in an institutional 
care facility, including a jail, substance abuse or 
mental health treatment facility, hospital or 
other similar facility, and has resided there for 
fewer than 90 days shall be considered chron-
ically homeless if such person met all of the re-
quirements described in subparagraph (A) prior 
to entering that facility. 
‘‘(3) COLLABORATIVE
APPLICANT.—The term 
‘collaborative applicant’ means an entity that— 
‘‘(A) carries out the duties specified in sec-
tion 402; 
‘‘(B) serves as the applicant for project 
sponsors who jointly submit a single application 
for a grant under subtitle C in accordance with 
a collaborative process; and 
‘‘(C) if the entity is a legal entity and is 
awarded such grant, receives such grant di-
rectly from the Secretary. 
‘‘(4) COLLABORATIVE APPLICATION.—The term 
‘collaborative application’ means an application for a 
grant under subtitle C that— 
‘‘(A) satisfies section 422; and
‘‘(B) is submitted to the Secretary by a 
collaborative applicant. 
‘‘(5) CONSOLIDATED
PLAN.—The term ‘Con-
solidated Plan’ means a comprehensive housing af-
fordability strategy and community development 
plan required in part 91 of title 24, Code of Federal 
Regulations. 
‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means, with respect to a subtitle, a public enti-
ty, a private entity, or an entity that is a combina-
tion of public and private entities, that is eligible to 
directly receive grant amounts under such subtitle. 
‘‘(7) FAMILIES
WITH
CHILDREN
AND
YOUTH 
DEFINED
AS
HOMELESS
UNDER
OTHER
FEDERAL 
STATUTES.—The term ‘families with children and 
youth defined as homeless under other Federal stat-
utes’ means any children or youth that are defined 
as ‘homeless’ under any Federal statute other than 
this subtitle, but are not defined as homeless under 
section 103, and shall also include the parent, par-
ents, or guardian of such children or youth under 
subtitle B of title VII this Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et 
seq.). 
‘‘(8) GEOGRAPHIC
AREA.—The term ‘geo-
graphic area’ means a State, metropolitan city,
urban county, town, village, or other nonentitlement 
area, or a combination or consortia of such, in the 
United States, as described in section 106 of the 
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 
(42 U.S.C. 5306). 
‘‘(9) HOMELESS
INDIVIDUAL
WITH
A
DIS-
ABILITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘homeless 
individual with a disability’ means an individual 
who is homeless, as defined in section 103, and 
has a disability that— 
‘‘(i)(I) is expected to be long-con-
tinuing or of indefinite duration; 
‘‘(II) substantially impedes the indi-
vidual’s ability to live independently; 
‘‘(III) could be improved by the provi-
sion of more suitable housing conditions; 
and 
‘‘(IV) is a physical, mental, or emo-
tional impairment, including an impair-
ment caused by alcohol or drug abuse, post 
traumatic stress disorder, or brain injury; 
‘‘(ii) is a developmental disability, as 
defined in section 102 of the Develop-
mental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of 
Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002); or 
‘‘(iii) is the disease of acquired im-
munodeficiency syndrome or any condition 
arising from the etiologic agency for ac-
quired immunodeficiency syndrome. 
‘‘(B) RULE.—Nothing in clause (iii) of 
subparagraph (A) shall be construed to limit 
eligibility under clause (i) or (ii) of subpara-
graph (A). 
‘‘(10) LEGAL ENTITY.—The term ‘legal entity’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) 
an 
entity 
described 
in 
section 
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
(26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) and exempt from tax 
under section 501(a) of such Code; 
‘‘(B) an instrumentality of State or local 
government; or 
‘‘(C) a consortium of instrumentalities of 
State or local governments that has constituted 
itself as an entity. 
‘‘(11) METROPOLITAN
CITY; URBAN
COUNTY; 
NONENTITLEMENT AREA.—The terms ‘metropolitan 
city’, ‘urban county’, and ‘nonentitlement area’ have 
the meanings given such terms in section 102(a) of
the Housing and Community Development Act of 
1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)). 
‘‘(12) NEW.—The term ‘new’ means, with re-
spect to housing, that no assistance has been pro-
vided under this title for the housing. 
‘‘(13) OPERATING COSTS.—The term ‘operating 
costs’ means expenses incurred by a project sponsor 
operating transitional housing or permanent housing 
under this title with respect to— 
‘‘(A) the administration, maintenance, re-
pair, and security of such housing; 
‘‘(B) utilities, fuel, furnishings, and equip-
ment for such housing; or 
‘‘(C) coordination of services as needed to 
ensure long-term housing stability. 
‘‘(14) OUTPATIENT
HEALTH
SERVICES.—The 
term ‘outpatient health services’ means outpatient 
health care services, mental health services, and out-
patient substance abuse services. 
‘‘(15) PERMANENT HOUSING.—The term ‘per-
manent housing’ means community-based housing 
without a designated length of stay, and includes 
both permanent supportive housing and permanent 
housing without supportive services.
‘‘(16) PERSONALLY
IDENTIFYING
INFORMA-
TION.—The term ‘personally identifying information’ 
means individually identifying information for or 
about an individual, including information likely to 
disclose the location of a victim of domestic violence, 
dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(A) a first and last name; 
‘‘(B) a home or other physical address; 
‘‘(C) contact information (including a post-
al, e-mail or Internet protocol address, or tele-
phone or facsimile number); 
‘‘(D) a social security number; and 
‘‘(E) any other information, including date 
of birth, racial or ethnic background, or reli-
gious affiliation, that, in combination with any 
other non-personally identifying information, 
would serve to identify any individual. 
‘‘(17) PRIVATE
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION.— 
The term ‘private nonprofit organization’ means an 
organization— 
‘‘(A) no part of the net earnings of which 
inures to the benefit of any member, founder, 
contributor, or individual; 
‘‘(B) that has a voluntary board;
‘‘(C) that has an accounting system, or has 
designated a fiscal agent in accordance with re-
quirements established by the Secretary; and 
‘‘(D) that practices nondiscrimination in 
the provision of assistance. 
‘‘(18) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ means, 
with respect to activities carried out under subtitle 
C, eligible activities described in section 423(a), un-
dertaken pursuant to a specific endeavor, such as 
serving a particular population or providing a par-
ticular resource. 
‘‘(19) PROJECT-BASED.—The term ‘project- 
based’ means, with respect to rental assistance, that 
the assistance is provided pursuant to a contract 
that— 
‘‘(A) is between— 
‘‘(i) the recipient or a project sponsor; 
and 
‘‘(ii) an owner of a structure that ex-
ists as of the date the contract is entered 
into; and 
‘‘(B) provides that rental assistance pay-
ments shall be made to the owner and that the 
units in the structure shall be occupied by eligi-
ble persons for not less than the term of the 
contract. 
‘‘(20) PROJECT SPONSOR.—The term ‘project 
sponsor’ means, with respect to proposed eligible ac-
tivities, the organization directly responsible for car-
rying out the proposed eligible activities. 
‘‘(21) RECIPIENT.—Except as used in subtitle 
B, the term ‘recipient’ means an eligible entity 
who— 
‘‘(A) submits an application for a grant 
under section 422 that is approved by the Sec-
retary; 
‘‘(B) receives the grant directly from the 
Secretary to support approved projects de-
scribed in the application; and 
‘‘(C)(i) serves as a project sponsor for the 
projects; or 
‘‘(ii) awards the funds to project sponsors 
to carry out the projects. 
‘‘(22) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘Secretary’ 
means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment. 
‘‘(23) SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS.—The term 
‘serious mental illness’ means a severe and per-
sistent mental illness or emotional impairment that
seriously limits a person’s ability to live independ-
ently. 
‘‘(24) SOLO APPLICANT.—The term ‘solo appli-
cant’ means an entity that is an eligible entity, di-
rectly submits an application for a grant under sub-
title C to the Secretary, and, if awarded such grant, 
receives such grant directly from the Secretary. 
‘‘(25) SPONSOR-BASED.—The term ‘sponsor- 
based’ means, with respect to rental assistance, that 
the assistance is provided pursuant to a contract 
that— 
‘‘(A) is between— 
‘‘(i) the recipient or a project sponsor; 
and 
‘‘(ii) an independent entity that— 
‘‘(I) is a private organization; 
and 
‘‘(II) owns or leases dwelling 
units; and 
‘‘(B) provides that rental assistance pay-
ments shall be made to the independent entity 
and that eligible persons shall occupy such as-
sisted units. 
‘‘(26) STATE.—Except as used in subtitle B, 
the term ‘State’ means each of the several States,
C, except that if necessary to assure that the 
provision of supportive services to a person par-
ticipating in a program is feasible, a recipient 
or project sponsor may require that the person 
live— 
‘‘(i) in a particular structure or unit 
for not more than the first year of the par-
ticipation; 
‘‘(ii) within a particular geographic 
area for the full period of the participation, 
or the period remaining after the period 
referred to in subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(B) provides that a person may receive 
such assistance and move to another structure, 
unit, or geographic area if the person has com-
plied with all other obligations of the program 
and has moved out of the assisted dwelling unit 
in order to protect the health or safety of an in-
dividual who is or has been the victim of domes-
tic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
stalking, and who reasonably believed he or she 
was imminently threatened by harm from fur-
ther violence if he or she remained in the as-
sisted dwelling unit.
‘‘(29) TRANSITIONAL
HOUSING.—The term 
‘transitional housing’ means housing the purpose of 
which is to facilitate the movement of individuals 
and families experiencing homelessness to permanent 
housing within 24 months or such longer period as 
the Secretary determines necessary. 
‘‘(30) UNIFIED FUNDING AGENCY.—The term 
‘unified funding agency’ means a collaborative appli-
cant that performs the duties described in section 
402(g). 
‘‘(31) 
UNDERSERVED
POPULATIONS.—The 
term ‘underserved populations’ includes populations 
underserved because of geographic location, under-
served racial and ethnic populations, populations un-
derserved because of special needs (such as language 
barriers, disabilities, alienage status, or age), and 
any other population determined to be underserved 
by the Secretary, as appropriate. 
‘‘(32) VICTIM SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 
‘victim service provider’ means a private nonprofit 
organization whose primary mission is to provide 
services to victims of domestic violence, dating vio-
lence, sexual assault, or stalking. Such term includes 
rape crisis centers, battered women’s shelters, do-
mestic violence transitional housing programs, and 
other programs. 
‘‘(33) VICTIM
SERVICES.—The term ‘victim 
services’ means services that assist domestic vio-
lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking vic-
tims, including services offered by rape crisis centers 
and domestic violence shelters, and other organiza-
tions, with a documented history of effective work 
concerning domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
assault, or stalking.’’. 
SEC. 102. COMMUNITY HOMELESS ASSISTANCE PLANNING 
BOARDS. 
Subtitle A of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Home-
less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.) is amended 
by inserting after section 401 (as added by section 101(3) 
of this Act) the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 402. COLLABORATIVE APPLICANTS. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND DESIGNATION.—A col-
laborative applicant shall be established for a geographic 
area by the relevant parties in that geographic area to— 
‘‘(1) submit an application for amounts under 
this subtitle; and 
‘‘(2) perform the duties specified in subsection 
(f) and, if applicable, subsection (g).
‘‘(b) NO REQUIREMENT TO BE A LEGAL ENTITY.— 
An entity may be established to serve as a collaborative 
applicant under this section without being a legal entity. 
‘‘(c) REMEDIAL ACTION.—If the Secretary finds that 
a collaborative applicant for a geographic area does not 
meet the requirements of this section, or if there is no 
collaborative applicant for a geographic area, the Sec-
retary may take remedial action to ensure fair distribution 
of grant amounts under subtitle C to eligible entities with-
in that area. Such measures may include designating an-
other body as a collaborative applicant, or permitting 
other eligible entities to apply directly for grants. 
‘‘(d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 
be construed to displace conflict of interest or government 
fair practices laws, or their equivalent, that govern appli-
cants for grant amounts under subtitles B and C. 
‘‘(e) APPOINTMENT OF AGENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 
collaborative applicant may designate an agent to— 
‘‘(A) apply for a grant under section 
422(c); 
‘‘(B) receive and distribute grant funds 
awarded under subtitle C; and 
‘‘(C) perform other administrative duties.
‘‘(2) RETENTION
OF
DUTIES.—Any collabo-
rative applicant that designates an agent pursuant 
to paragraph (1) shall regardless of such designation 
retain all of its duties and responsibilities under this 
title. 
‘‘(f) DUTIES.—A collaborative applicant shall— 
‘‘(1) design a collaborative process for the de-
velopment of an application under subtitle C, and 
for evaluating the outcomes of projects for which 
funds are awarded under subtitle B, in such a man-
ner as to provide information necessary for the Sec-
retary— 
‘‘(A) to determine compliance with— 
‘‘(i) the program requirements under 
section 426; and 
‘‘(ii) the selection criteria described 
under section 427; and 
‘‘(B) to establish priorities for funding 
projects in the geographic area involved; 
‘‘(2) participate in the Consolidated Plan for 
the geographic area served by the collaborative ap-
plicant; and 
‘‘(3) ensure operation of, and consistent partici-
pation by, project sponsors in a community-wide
homeless management information system (in this 
subsection referred to as ‘HMIS’) that— 
‘‘(A) collects unduplicated counts of indi-
viduals and families experiencing homelessness; 
‘‘(B) analyzes patterns of use of assistance 
provided under subtitles B and C for the geo-
graphic area involved; 
‘‘(C) provides information to project spon-
sors and applicants for needs analyses and 
funding priorities; and 
‘‘(D) is developed in accordance with 
standards established by the Secretary, includ-
ing standards that provide for— 
‘‘(i) encryption of data collected for 
purposes of HMIS; 
‘‘(ii) documentation, including keeping 
an accurate accounting, proper usage, and 
disclosure, of HMIS data; 
‘‘(iii) access to HMIS data by staff, 
contractors, law enforcement, and aca-
demic researchers; 
‘‘(iv) rights of persons receiving serv-
ices under this title; 
‘‘(v) criminal and civil penalties for 
unlawful disclosure of data; and
‘‘(vi) such other standards as may be 
determined necessary by the Secretary. 
‘‘(g) UNIFIED FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the duties 
described in subsection (f), a collaborative applicant 
shall receive from the Secretary and distribute to 
other project sponsors in the applicable geographic 
area funds for projects to be carried out by such 
other project sponsors, if— 
‘‘(A) the collaborative applicant— 
‘‘(i) applies to undertake such collec-
tion and distribution responsibilities in an 
application submitted under this subtitle; 
and 
‘‘(ii) is selected to perform such re-
sponsibilities by the Secretary; or 
‘‘(B) the Secretary designates the collabo-
rative applicant as the unified funding agency 
in the geographic area, after— 
‘‘(i) a finding by the Secretary that 
the applicant— 
‘‘(I) has the capacity to perform 
such responsibilities; and
‘‘(II) would serve the purposes of 
this Act as they apply to the geo-
graphic area; and 
‘‘(ii) the Secretary provides the col-
laborative applicant with the technical as-
sistance necessary to perform such respon-
sibilities as such assistance is agreed to by 
the collaborative applicant. 
‘‘(2) REQUIRED ACTIONS BY A UNIFIED FUND-
ING AGENCY.—A collaborative applicant that is ei-
ther selected or designated as a unified funding 
agency for a geographic area under paragraph (1) 
shall— 
‘‘(A) require each project sponsor who is 
funded by a grant received under subtitle C to 
establish such fiscal control and fund account-
ing procedures as may be necessary to assure 
the proper disbursal of, and accounting for, 
Federal funds awarded to the project sponsor 
under subtitle C in order to ensure that all fi-
nancial transactions carried out under subtitle 
C are conducted, and records maintained, in ac-
cordance with generally accepted accounting 
principles; and
‘‘(B) arrange for an annual survey, audit, 
or evaluation of the financial records of each 
project carried out by a project sponsor funded 
by a grant received under subtitle C. 
‘‘(h) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—No board member of 
a collaborative applicant may participate in decisions of 
the collaborative applicant concerning the award of a 
grant, or provision of other financial benefits, to such 
member or the organization that such member rep-
resents.’’. 
SEC. 103. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 
Subtitle A of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.) is amended by insert-
ing after section 403 (as so redesignated by section 101(2) 
of this Act) the following new sections: 
‘‘SEC. 404. PREVENTING INVOLUNTARY FAMILY SEPARA-
TION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—After the expiration of the 2- 
year period that begins upon the date of the enactment 
of the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transi-
tion to Housing Act of 2008, and except as provided in 
subsection (b), any project sponsor receiving funds under 
this title to provide emergency shelter, transitional hous-
ing, or permanent housing to families with children under
age 18 shall not deny admission to any family based on 
the age of any child under age 18. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the requirement 
under subsection (a), project sponsors of transitional 
housing receiving funds under this title may target transi-
tional housing resources to families with children of a spe-
cific age only if the project sponsor— 
‘‘(1) operates a transitional housing program 
that has a primary purpose of implementing an evi-
dence-based practice that requires that housing units 
be targeted to families with children in a specific age 
group; and 
‘‘(2) provides such assurances, as the Secretary 
shall require, that an equivalent appropriate alter-
native living arrangement for the whole family or 
household unit has been secured. 
‘‘SEC. 405. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make avail-
able technical assistance to private nonprofit organizations 
and other nongovernmental entities, States, metropolitan 
cities, urban counties, and counties that are not urban 
counties, to implement effective planning processes for 
preventing and ending homelessness, to improve their ca-
pacity to prepare collaborative applications, to prevent the 
separation of families in emergency shelter or other hous-
ing programs, and to adopt and provide best practices in 
housing and services for persons experiencing homeless. 
‘‘(b) RESERVATION.—The Secretary shall reserve not 
more than 1 percent of the funds made available for any 
fiscal year for carrying out subtitles B and C, to provide 
technical assistance under subsection (a).’’. 
SEC. 104. PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING IN-
FORMATION BY VICTIM SERVICE PROVIDERS. 
Subtitle A of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.), as amended by the 
preceding provisions of this title, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 407. PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING IN-
FORMATION BY VICTIM SERVICE PROVIDERS. 
‘‘In the course of awarding grants or implementing 
programs under this title, the Secretary shall instruct any 
victim service provider that is a recipient or subgrantee 
not to disclose for purposes of the Homeless Management 
Information System any personally identifying informa-
tion about any client. The Secretary may, after public no-
tice and comment, require or ask such recipients and sub-
grantees to disclose for purposes of the Homeless Manage-
ment Information System non-personally identifying infor-
mation that has been de-identified, encrypted, or otherwise 
encoded. Nothing in this section shall be construed to su-
persede any provision of any Federal, State, or local law 
that provides greater protection than this subsection for 
victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as-
sault, or stalking.’’. 
SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
Subtitle A of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.), as amended by the 
preceding provisions of this title, is further amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 408. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this title $2,200,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 and such 
sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2010.’’. 
TITLE II—EMERGENCY 
SOLUTIONS GRANTS PROGRAM 
SEC. 201. GRANT ASSISTANCE. 
Subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Home-
less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking the subtitle heading and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘Subtitle B—Emergency Solutions 
Grants Program’’; 
(2) by striking section 417 (42 U.S.C. 11377);
(3) by redesignating sections 413 through 416 
(42 U.S.C. 11373–6) as sections 414 through 417, 
respectively; and 
(4) by striking section 412 (42 U.S.C. 11372) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘SEC. 412. GRANT ASSISTANCE. 
‘‘The Secretary shall make grants to States and local 
governments (and to private nonprofit organizations pro-
viding assistance to persons experiencing homelessness or 
at risk of homelessness, in the case of grants made with 
reallocated amounts) for the purpose of carrying out ac-
tivities described in section 415. 
‘‘SEC. 413. AMOUNT AND ALLOCATION OF ASSISTANCE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount made available 
to carry out this subtitle and subtitle C for a fiscal year, 
the Secretary shall allocate nationally 20 percent of such 
amount for activities described in section 415. The Sec-
retary shall be required to certify that such allocation will 
not adversely affect the renewal of existing projects under 
this subtitle and subtitle C for those individuals or families 
who are homeless. 
‘‘(b) ALLOCATION.—An entity that receives a grant 
under section 412, and serves an area that includes 1 or 
more geographic areas (or portions of such areas) served 
by collaborative applicants that submit applications under
subtitle C, shall allocate the funds made available through 
the grant to carry out activities described in section 415, 
in consultation with the collaborative applicants.’’; and 
(5) in section 414(b) (42 U.S.C. 11373(b)), as 
so redesignated by paragraph (3) of this section, by 
striking ‘‘amounts appropriated’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘for any’’ and inserting ‘‘amounts appro-
priated under section 408 and made available to 
carry out this subtitle for any’’. 
SEC. 202. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is 
amended by striking section 415 (42 U.S.C. 11374), as 
so redesignated by section 201(3) of this Act, and insert-
ing the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 415. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Assistance provided under sec-
tion 412 may be used for the following activities: 
‘‘(1) The renovation, major rehabilitation, or 
conversion of buildings to be used as emergency 
shelters. 
‘‘(2) The provision of essential services related 
to emergency shelter or street outreach, including 
services concerned with employment, health, edu-
cation, family support services for homeless youth,
substance abuse services, victim services, or mental 
health services, if— 
‘‘(A) such essential services have not been 
provided by the local government during any 
part of the immediately preceding 12-month pe-
riod or the Secretary determines that the local 
government is in a severe financial deficit; or 
‘‘(B) the use of assistance under this sub-
title would complement the provision of those 
essential services. 
‘‘(3) Maintenance, operation, insurance, provi-
sion of utilities, and provision of furnishings related 
to emergency shelter. 
‘‘(4) Provision of rental assistance to provide 
short-term or medium-term housing to homeless in-
dividuals or families or individuals or families at risk 
of homelessness. Such rental assistance may include 
tenant-based or project-based rental assistance. 
‘‘(5) Housing relocation or stabilization services 
for homeless individuals or families or individuals or 
families at risk of homelessness, including housing 
search, mediation or outreach to property owners, 
legal services, credit repair, providing security or 
utility deposits, utility payments, rental assistance
for a final month at a location, assistance with mov-
ing costs, or other activities that are effective at— 
‘‘(A) stabilizing individuals and families in 
their current housing; or 
‘‘(B) quickly moving such individuals and 
families to other permanent housing. 
‘‘(b) MAXIMUM
ALLOCATION
FOR
EMERGENCY 
SHELTER ACTIVITIES.—A grantee of assistance provided 
under section 412 for any fiscal year may not use an 
amount of such assistance for activities described in para-
graphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a) that exceeds the 
greater of— 
‘‘(1) 60 percent of the aggregate amount of 
such assistance provided for the grantee for such fis-
cal year; or 
‘‘(2) the amount expended by such grantee for 
such activities during fiscal year most recently com-
pleted before the effective date under section 503 of 
the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid 
Transition to Housing Act of 2008.’’. 
SEC. 203. PARTICIPATION IN HOMELESS MANAGEMENT IN-
FORMATION SYSTEM. 
Section 416 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11375), as so redesignated by section
201(3) of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(f) PARTICIPATION IN HMIS.—The Secretary shall 
ensure that recipients of funds under this subtitle ensure 
the consistent participation by emergency shelters and 
homelessness prevention and rehousing programs in any 
applicable community-wide homeless management infor-
mation system.’’. 
TITLE III—CONTINUUM OF CARE 
PROGRAM 
SEC. 301. CONTINUUM OF CARE. 
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is 
amended— 
(1) by striking the subtitle heading for subtitle 
C of title IV (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘Subtitle C—Continuum of Care 
Program’’; and 
(2) by striking sections 421 and 422 (42 U.S.C. 
11381 and 11382) and inserting the following new 
sections: 
‘‘SEC. 421. PURPOSES. 
‘‘The purposes of this subtitle are— 
‘‘(1) to promote community-wide commitment 
to the goal of ending homelessness;
‘‘(2) to provide funding for efforts by nonprofit 
providers and State and local governments to quickly 
rehouse homeless individuals and families while 
minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to in-
dividuals, families, and communities by homeless-
ness; 
‘‘(3) to promote access to, and effective utiliza-
tion of, mainstream programs described in section 
203(a)(7) and programs funded with State or local 
resources; and 
‘‘(4) to optimize self-sufficiency among individ-
uals and families experiencing homelessness. 
‘‘SEC. 422. CONTINUUM OF CARE APPLICATIONS AND 
GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall award grants, 
on a competitive basis, and using the selection criteria de-
scribed in section 427, to carry out eligible activities under 
this subtitle for projects that meet the program require-
ments under section 426, either by directly awarding 
funds to project sponsors or by awarding funds to unified 
funding agencies. 
‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY.— 
The Secretary shall release a notification of funding avail-
ability for grants awarded under this subtitle for a fiscal 
year not later than 3 months after the date of the enact-
that is based upon factors that are appro-
priate to allocate funds to meet the goals 
and objectives of this subtitle. 
‘‘(ii) 
COMBINATIONS
OR
CON-
SORTIA.—For a collaborative applicant 
that represents a combination or consor-
tium of cities or counties, the estimated 
need amount shall be the sum of the esti-
mated need amounts for the cities or coun-
ties represented by the collaborative appli-
cant. 
‘‘(iii) AUTHORITY
OF
SECRETARY.— 
Subject to the availability of appropria-
tions, the Secretary shall increase the esti-
mated need amount for a geographic area 
if necessary to provide 1 year of renewal 
funding for all expiring contracts entered 
into under this subtitle for the geographic 
area. 
‘‘(3) HOMELESSNESS COUNTS.—The Secretary 
shall not require that communities conduct an actual 
count of homeless people other than those described 
in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 103(a) of 
this Act (42 U.S.C. 11302(a)).