Title: Expanding Housing Opportunities for Foster Youth Act of 2018
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Expanding Housing Opportunities for Foster Youth Act of 2018
This bill increases the budget authority for the Family Unification Vouchers program, which provides housing assistance to foster youth.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5833 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5833

To authorize appropriations for family unification vouchers for rental 
              housing assistance, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 2018

 Ms. Maxine Waters of California introduced the following bill; which 
          was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize appropriations for family unification vouchers for rental 
              housing assistance, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Housing Opportunities for 
Foster Youth Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) approximately 21,000 foster youth age out of foster 
        care each year according to the Administration for Children and 
        Families (ACF) of the Department of Health and Human Services;
            (2) more than 1 out of every 4 foster youth who age out of 
        foster care will experience homelessness by age 21, according 
        to survey data from the National Youth in Transition Database 
        compiled by the ACF;
            (3) access to safe, decent, and affordable housing is 
        essential to helping foster youth successfully transition to 
        adulthood;
            (4) foster youth deserve a place to call home without being 
        singled out for harmful requirements like work requirements as 
        a condition of receiving housing assistance;
            (5) the Family Unification Vouchers program of the 
        Department of Housing and Urban Development provides housing 
        assistance for foster youth along with case management, without 
        work requirements; and
            (6) there is insufficient funding for Family Unification 
        Vouchers to serve all foster youth in need.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING FOR FAMILY UNIFICATION VOUCHERS 
              PROGRAM.

    Paragraph (1) of section 8(x) of the United States Housing Act of 
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(x)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) Increase in budget authority.--The budget authority 
        available under section 5(c) for voucher assistance under 
        section 8(o) is authorized to be increased by $200,000,000 on 
        or after October 1, 2018, and any such sums made available 
        shall remain available until expended.''.
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