On Tuesday, February 3, Congress passed $1.2 trillion in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 funding for federal agencies and programs, including those that impact youth and young parents experiencing homelessness.
Current Status of Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations
The funding package includes some of the last funding bills Congress needed to pass to finish the FY 2026 appropriations process:
- Defense Funds the Department of War (FKA Department of Defense).
- Labor, Health and Human Services, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Funds the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education.
- Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Funds the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Transportation.
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was part of Congress’ original proposal. However, Congress removed DHS funding from this final package. That way, the other federal agencies listed above could receive their FY 2026 funding while Congress works to negotiate new funding levels and restrictions for ICE. The new deadline for Congress to pass DHS/ICE funding is February 13.
See this table to compare previous years’ funding levels for all the programs that impact youth, young adults, and young parent families experiencing homelessness.
Funding Under the LHHS Bill
The LHHS bill funds the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education. See the bill text here.
Children and Families Services is an account within the LHHS bill that funds many different programs, including Head Start and the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) program. The funding for the account as a whole is $14.92 billion (page 252), which is a $94 million increase from the previous year’s funding. Head Start will receive $12.35 billion (page 252)—an $85 million increase.
The exact funding level for RHYA is specified in the accompanying bill report (also known as an explanatory statement), which contains more details such as justifications for funding levels, breakdowns of how much should be spent on particular programs, and other directives to federal agencies. The bill report dictates:
- $125.28 million for Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs (page 194). This is funding for Basic Center Programs, Transitional Living Programs, and Maternity Group Homes. It is the same as last year’s funding.
- $21 million for Prevention Grants to Reduce Abuse of Runaway Youth (page 194). This is also the same funding level as last year and has historically funded the Street Outreach Program.
Huge Win for Runaway and Homeless Youth Act Program
Notably, the additional bill report includes language that NN4Y advocated for.
- Directs the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to restore the Street Outreach Program as a standalone Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (page 216), appropriating $21 million to this program.
- Directs ACF to release the RHYA NOFOs in a timely manner (page 216) to avoid another 19-day solicitation period.
NN4Y advocated to bipartisan Senate Appropriators to include this language following last year’s disastrous RHYA NOFO cycle. Many of you helped us with that advocacy by reaching out to your lawmakers, sharing your street outreach stories with the media (here, here, here, and here!), and providing us with detailed information about your work to inform our conversations with Congressional staff.
Thank you so much for standing with us. Your advocacy had an impact and made this possible!
The bill awards $5 million for Prevention Demonstration Program grants (page 61). This will fund new communities to implement measures to prevent youth homelessness.
The funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is $7.39 billion (pages 236-242), a $6.8 million decrease from the previous year’s funding. The decrease comes from a cut to activities under Health Surveillance and Program Support.
Despite the Administration’s priority to eliminate the Department of Education, Congress has increased funding for the programs that serve low-income students and students experiencing homelessness. This includes:
$19.13 billion for Title I education programs (page 294), a $20 million increase. Title I programs include those that support low-income students and migrant students.
- $5.78 billion for School Improvement Programs (page 296), a $5 million increase. This includes $129 million for the McKinney-Vento education program (page 298).
Funding Under the THUD Bill
The THUD bill funds the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Transportation. See the bill text here.
Homeless Assistance Grants will receive $4.4 billion (page 556). Of the Homeless Assistance Grants funding, there is:
- $4.01 billion for the Continuum of Care program (page 556). This is a $47 million increase from the previous fiscal year’s funding.
- $107 million for new Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) grants (page 559), of which up to $25 million can be used for new Youth Homelessness System Improvement grants and $10 million can be used for technical assistance.
- $290 million for Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) (page 556). This maintains the current funding level for ESGs.
Notably, the bill addresses the delayed FY 2025 CoC Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) process that is currently underway. The bill directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to automatically renew CoCs grants expiring in quarter one of 2026 for 12 months, including YHDP grants (page 616-617). If HUD has not issued awards by April 1, 2026, then it must automatically renew CoCs expiring in quarter two. And finally, if HUD has not issued awards by July 1, 2026, then it must automatically renew CoCs expiring in quarters three and four.
An additional win is that the bill specifies that the next CoC NOFO must be issued no later than June 1, 2026, and that awards from the NOFO must be made no later than December 1, 2026 (page 559). This would prevent a repeat of the delayed-NOFO drama that is currently playing out.
New Provision About CoC Youth Funding
There is a new provision pertaining to YDHP funding (pages 558-559): If a CoC has consulted with their youth action board (YAB) and agreed that they do not want to renew their community’s YHDP, then that funding will be taken from the CoC and competitively awarded to another CoC as a new YHDP grant.
The bill may reinstate USICH, which was dissolved by the Administration last January. It funds USICH at $3 million—the last funding level for USICH was $4 million (page 621).
What’s Next?
The only outstanding item left under FY 2026 funding is for Congress to negotiate new spending levels and restrictions for DHS/ICE.
Congress will soon begin the FY 2027 appropriations process. FY 2027 begins on October 1, 2026.
Earmarks are one-time federal funds for state, local, and tribal government entities and eligible nonprofits to carry out a specific project. U.S. Members of Congress (lawmakers) request these funds on behalf of projects in their state or district.
Members of Congress will open their earmarks application portals soon. Join our upcoming webinar to hear from youth homelessness providers who have received an earmark to learn about the process and what makes a strong application.
