I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6041 
To reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 25, 2023 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. BACON, Mr. NUNN of Iowa, and Mr. 
MCGARVEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the 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 2023’’. 
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. 
‘‘The 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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