Broad Coalition Applauds Bipartisan Reintroduction of Homeless Children and Youth Act

May 08, 2025 at 16:51 PM EDT

--News Direct--

SchoolHouse Connection, National Network for Youth, Family Promise, and Covenant House International applaud the reintroduction of the bipartisan Homeless Children and Youth Act (S.1667) by Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) and Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).

All children, youth, and families deserve a safe place to call home. And yet, public schools identified nearly 1.4 million children and youth experiencing homelessness in the 2022-2023 school year. National estimates show that 4.2 million youth, young adults, and young parents experience homelessness on their own each year. An alarming number of these young people—especially young women—are pregnant or parenting. Nationally, an estimated 29 percent of young men and 43 percent of young women ages 18 to 25 who experience homelessness are parents to an estimated 1.1 million children. A recent study found that 447,000 infants and toddlers from birth through age three experienced homelessness.

Despite this urgent crisis, many of these children, youth, and families are excluded from federal homeless assistance administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) due to restrictive definitions and funding priorities. The vast majority of children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness stay temporarily with others or in motels because they have no safe or stable alternatives—living situations that are often unsafe and highly unstable.

Even when children, youth, and families in these situations are recognized by other federal agencies as experiencing homelessness and having high levels of vulnerability, they are still not eligible to be assessed for and subsequently receive HUD homeless assistance.

The bipartisan Homeless Children and Youth Act addresses these problems by:

Increasing Access to Housing and Services: HCYA aligns HUD’s definition of homelessness with other federal programs, allowing for children, youth, and families verified as homeless by specific federal programs can be assessed for HUD housing and services based on that person or family’s vulnerability.

Supporting Local Priorities: HCYA requires HUD to base funding decisions on local needs, plans, and outcomes—not rigid national priorities—allowing communities the flexibility to tailor resources to their most urgent needs, including youth and family homelessness.

Improving Visibility and Accountability: HCYA requires local counts to include children and youth who meet the broader federal definition of homelessness, ensuring a fuller picture of the crisis and more effective local and national responses.

In addition to SchoolHouse Connection, National Network for Youth, Family Promise, and Covenant House, more than 50 national organizations and hundreds of state and local organizations support this legislation.

SchoolHouse Connection, Barbara Duffield, Executive Director

“Now more than ever, HUD homeless assistance must be reformed to reflect how children and youth experience homelessness. Their homelessness is more hidden, but not less harmful. Bringing HUD in line with federal early care and education programs will not only remove barriers to assistance, it also will help communities leverage all available resources to stabilize some of our nation’s most vulnerable children, youth, and families.”

National Network for Youth, Darla Bardine, Executive Director

“Far too many youth experiencing homelessness—like those who are couch surfing—are invisible under HUD’s current definition. Because of this, they are not even assessed for services, let alone given access to the housing help they urgently need. The Homeless Children and Youth Act would fix this by aligning HUD’s definition with other federal programs, ensuring all youth experiencing homelessness are seen, counted, and supported. It’s time to remove bureaucratic barriers and meet youth where they are, so they can access the housing and stability every young person deserves.”

Family Promise, Cheryl Schuch, Chief Executive Officer

“At Family Promise, we believe that every child deserves a safe and stable place to call home. We work in over 40 states to prevent and end homelessness for the millions of families in a housing crisis in the United States, and we are witnesses to the negative consequences of homelessness for children’s healthy development. We applaud the bipartisan introduction of the Homeless Children and Youth Act, which will help the most vulnerable children experiencing homelessness in our communities get the assistance they need to achieve stability. This common-sense bill recognizes that intervening to help homeless children before they reach adulthood is critical for their future success and for ultimately breaking the cycle of intergenerational homelessness.”

Covenant House, Bill Bedrossian, President & CEO

“No young person should be denied access to critical, timely services designed to prevent longer-term homelessness. With a unified approach, stronger data systems, and greater flexibility to meet the unique needs of each young person, we can make meaningful progress toward ending youth homelessness as we know it today. We are deeply grateful to Senators Alsobrook and Britt for their leadership in introducing the Homeless Children and Youth Act, a critical step toward addressing family, child, and youth homelessness. And we look forward to collaborating with our national partners, and many others to ensure that all youth and young families in need are accounted for and supported.”

For more information:

Fact Sheet: https://nn4youth.org/wp-content/uploads/HCYA-Fact-Sheet.pdf
Bill Text: https://www.alsobrooks.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/MIR25534-1.pdf
Endorsing Organizations: https://nn4youth.org/wp-content/uploads/HCYA-Organizational-Endorsers.pdf
Senator Alsobrooks Press Release: https://www.alsobrooks.senate.gov/press-releases/alsobrooks-and-britt-introduce-bipartisan-homeless-children-and-youth-act/
NN4Y Take Action Page: nn4youth.org/take-action-center/hcya/
SHC HCYA Page: https://schoolhouseconnection.org/article/bipartisan-legislation-to-help-homeless-children-and-youth-reintroduced

SchoolHouse Connection works to overcome homelessness, from prenatal to postsecondary, through strategic advocacy and practical assistance in partnership with youth, families, schools, early childhood programs, institutions of higher education, and service providers. To learn more, please visit schoolhouseconnection.org.