Appropriations are laws passed by Congress that provide an agency with budget authority. There are five key programs directed towards addressing youth homelessness across three agencies: Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education (ED), and Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
When Congress releases their appropriations bills, they typically release an accompanying bill report. The report contains additional information about the appropriations bills, such as justifications for funding levels. It may also include specific directives to federal agencies.
The appropriations bills passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate are often different. However, to become law, both chambers have to pass identical legislation, which means further negotiations often need to take place by both the Senate and House appropriations committees.
Advocating for increased funding in appropriations can and should be taken throughout this long process. To learn more about how to advocate, visit our Become an Advocate page.
Our Priority FY25 Policy Requests
Detailed Appropriations Requests
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act Program (HHS)
For FY25, appropriate $300 million for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) program.
The federal government provides targeted support for youth experiencing homelessness primarily through RHYA, a program administered by the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) at HHS. The services RHYA provides to young people experiencing homelessness are highly effective at setting young people up for long-term success, and are more cost-effective than other systems young people experiencing homelessness may come into contact with (child welfare, juvenile, and adult court systems).
RHYA programs have been chronically underfunded since their inception. Nationally, only about 25 percent of qualified applicants receive RHYA funding due to a lack of funding.
Increased funding would:
- Support approximately 1,400 RHYA programs in communities across the United States that meet our young people where they are.
- Allow approximately 49,034 young people to access housing, and connect with 70,000 youth via street outreach and drop-in centers. While the current actual need exceeds these numbers, this target would significantly increase our ability to end youth homelessness.
- Target $4 million toward a regular and reliable youth count in FY25. This count will help update the incidence and prevalence estimate of homeless youth and ensure that federal programs that support homeless youth are well-targeted and grounded in evidence-based practices. Given the heightened need for services, the $4 million should be directed from the Secretary’s budget to ensure robust RHYA funding and no reduction from program grants.
McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Program (ED)
For FY25, appropriate $800 million for the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program.
The EHCY program is the only federal education program that removes barriers to school enrollment, attendance, and success caused by homelessness. Without this specific, targeted assistance, homeless children and youth are unlikely to benefit from any investment in education and are at much higher risk of experiencing homelessness as adults. Not having a high school degree is the greatest risk factor associated with homelessness as a young adult.
Increased funding would:
- Increase the number of schools that receive EHCY grants. Nationally, only 24 percent of school districts receive EHCY grants. This insufficient funding restricts schools from properly identifying homeless students, ensuring their access to schooling, and connecting them to community support.
Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) (HUD)
For FY25, appropriate $100 million for the YHDP with a maximum of $2 million for Technical Assistance.
YHDP is administered as a competitive two-year grant program through HUD that provides funding for local Continuums of Care (CoCs) to reduce the number of youth experiencing homelessness, including unaccompanied, pregnant, and parenting youth. YHDP requires communities to convene Youth Action Boards comprised of young people with lived expertise of homelessness to guide local responses to preventing and ending youth homelessness.
NN4Y strongly urges HUD to require every CoC to implement lessons learned by YHDP communities and implement YHDP project outcomes to all CoC youth-focused projects. Until this happens, we urge Congress to continue to fund YHDP.
Increased funding would:
- Ensure that every CoC receives funding to serve youth experiencing homelessness. Only 97 out of 387 total CoCs have received YHDP funding.
Youth Homelessness System Improvement (YHSI) (HUD)
For FY25, appropriate $25 million for the YHSI program.
YHSI grants create a more seamless and coordinated system of care for youth experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. These grants aim to improve the identification of youth in need and make it easier for them to navigate available services. Recognizing that systemic change often extends beyond a single community, HUD has incentivized statewide or cross-community project proposals to emphasize the importance of coordination across communities.
Increased funding would:
- Improve the identification of youth in need and make it easier for them to navigate available services.
- Allow more communities and states to benefit from this funding to improve community systems ending youth homelessness.