Published On: April 30, 20245.8 min read1169 words

**Please forward this alert to colleagues and community partners and ask them to act.**

In the Senate, Senators Padilla (D-CA) and Murkowski (R-AK) invite Senators to co-sign a bipartisan “Dear Colleague” appropriations letter to the Labor-HHS-Ed Appropriations Subcommittee requesting robust funding for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) programs and the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program. RHYA and EHCY are the main federal programs addressing children and youth homelessness.

The deadline for U.S. Senators to sign this Dear Colleague Letter is May 10, 2024. The more Senators sign on, the greater the show of support for enacting these critical funding levels in the FY 2025 budget.

Please take three actions to contact your Senators today and ask them to sign on to this letter in support of FY2025 funding for children and youth experiencing homelessness.

ACTION #1: Personalize and send the email below to all of your U.S. House Representative contacts

DRAFT SUBJECT: Sign the Dear Colleague: FY25 Runaway & Homeless Youth/McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children

DRAFT EMAIL:

Dear INSERT NAME,

I am writing as a constituent to ask you to sign the bipartisan Dear Colleague Letter in support of the Runaway & Homeless Youth/McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children programs. This letter requests robust funding for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) program and McKinney Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Program, the only two federal programs focused specifically on child and youth homelessness.

In every American community — rural, suburban, and urban — children and youth experience homelessness. Public schools reported nearly 1.2 million children and youth experiencing homelessness in the 2021-2022 academic year, with an additional 1.2 million children under age six experiencing homelessness. At least one in thirty adolescents ages 13-17, and nearly one in ten young adults ages 18-24, are estimated to experience homelessness on their own each year.

RHYA programs prevent trafficking, identify survivors, and provide services to runaway, homeless, and disconnected youth.

  • RHYA was most recently funded at $146.3 million, which equals an investment of a mere $34 per year per young person experiencing homelessness.
  • Only 25% of applicants receive funding due to the severe underfunding.

The EHCY program is the only federal education program that removes barriers to school enrollment, attendance, and success caused by homelessness.

  • Nationally, only 20% percent of local educational agencies receive EHCY subgrants due to lack of funding.
  • While EHCY was most recently funded at $129 million, a bipartisan amendment to the American Rescue Plan provided $800 million to support children and youth experiencing homelessness because research shows that not completing high school is the greatest single risk factor for experiencing homelessness.

RHYA and EHCY are uniquely able to help solve child and youth homelessness. We hope you will join us in this request. If you would like to sign on, please sign the letter via this Quill link. If you have any questions or issues signing via Quill, please email Adrienne Epstein (Adrienne_Epstein@padilla.senate.gov) and Julian Garcia (Julian_Garcia@padilla.senate.gov).

Sincerely,

INSERT NAME

ACTION #2: Call your U.S. House Representatives

You can be connected directly to your U.S. Representative’s office by using the Congressional Switchboard at 202.224.3121, or find their contact information with the NN4Y Legislature Lookup.

The message:

“Please sign the FY25 Dear Colleague Letter led by Padilla-Murkowski in support of robust funding for the Runaway & Homeless Youth program and McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth program. Our community needs your help to ensure that children and youth experiencing homelessness get support to avoid homelessness as adults.”

Offer to provide a copy of the letter text and more information on the numbers and needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness in your community or state.

  • Experiences of homelessness too often prevent youth and young families from joining America’s workforce, transitioning safely and successfully to adulthood, and becoming a civically engaged community member. RHYA programs change that by preventing trafficking, identifying survivors, and providing lifesaving services to runaway, homeless, and disconnected youth
  • The RHYA program is chronically underfunded, with most youth in crisis unable to access the housing and services they need. Also, only 25% of community based applicants currently receive funding indicating a great need and desire to serve our young people, but a lack of funding to meet this need.
  • RHYA programs fund community-based organizations to provide housing and services to minors and young adults. Grants fund the excellent work of communities to provide local street outreach, shelter, transitional living programs, and maternity group homes.
  • RHYA programs are vital for youth and young parents in crisis. They save lives and connect young people to education, employment, and mental health care while building life skills and reconnecting families when safe and appropriate.
  • RHYA helps young people in crisis survive and become empowered to thrive as they transition to adulthood.
  • $300 million will support approximately 1,400 RHYA projects in communities across the US to help approximately 49,034 young people access housing and connect with 70,000 youth via street outreach and drop-in centers.
  • $4 million should be appropriated in addition to current RHYA funds to update incidence and prevalence estimates of youth and young adults experiencing homelessness. The last study was funded in FY16 and the results were released in 2018. We need more current data to ensure that federal programs supporting youth experiencing homelessness are well-targeted and grounded in evidence-based practices.
  • For basic information about RHYA, see NN4Y’s FY2025 Appropriations Fact Sheet.

  • The McKinney-Vento Act’s EHCY program is the only federal education program that removes barriers to school identification, enrollment, attendance, and success caused by homelessness. No other federal program has the responsibility for and expertise in finding, engaging, and serving these students. Local liaisons help identify homeless children and youth, ensure school access and stability, provide direct services, and coordinate with community agencies to meet basic needs.
  • At the current funding level, only one in five school districts receives direct support through EHCY. Without EHCY support, students experiencing homelessness struggle to enroll in and attend school and face barriers to accessing other local, state, and federal educational programs.
  • An $800 million appropriation is less than 2% of the federal K12 education budget, yet is proportional to the more than 2% of PreK12 students who experience homelessness. $800 million would maintain the level of funding provided by a bipartisan amendment to the American Rescue Plan Act. The ARP Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) funds have been instrumental in meeting the growing needs of students experiencing homelessness, more than doubling the number of school districts that receive dedicated support to identify and support homeless students with wrap-around services.
  • Lack of a high school degree is the single greatest risk factor for homelessness as a young adult, so an investment in EHCY is also homelessness prevention.For local information to share with your U.S. Representatives, use our Child and Youth Homelessness Data Profiles to download data for your Congressional district.

ACTION #3: Use our Take Action form

Fill out this form to easily communicate with your Senators to urge them to sign-on to the FY25 Dear Colleague Letter led by Padilla-Murkowski.