H.R. 3856 — Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2025

This section revises the congressional findings in sec. 302 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (34 U.S.C. 11201) by replacing the existing 6 findings with 11 updated findings that incorporate current research on (1) risks including trauma, substance use disorders, sexual exploitation, and trafficking; (2) fluid homelessness experiences such as couch surfing, motels, and streets; (3) disproportionate impacts on historically marginalized communities of color, LGBTQ youth, those not completing high school, child welfare or justice system-involved youth, and pregnant/parenting youth; (4) expanded positive youth development elements such as empowerment, voice, and choice; (5) needs for safe housing, adult connections, education, and employment to transition to adulthood; (6) federal responsibilities for national reporting and collaborative care systems; (7) federal coordination needs; and (8) the integral role of funded programs in all communities, including as partners to child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

This section revises the Basic Center grant program under part A of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (i.e., grants to communities for shelters and services for runaway, homeless, street youth, and youth at risk of family separation). Specifically, it (1) replaces section 311(a) to require the Secretary to award 5-year grants not later than 90 days before the start date to eligible entities to establish, operate, maintain (including renovate), and staff local centers providing safe shelter for up to 30 days (or the state maximum), trauma-informed services, counseling, suicide prevention, and—if appropriate—services for families including individuals identified by youth as family, and to establish a grantee appeal process; and (2) in section 312(b), revises grantee eligibility and reporting requirements to (A) limit center or host family home capacity to a minimum of 4 youth and a maximum of 20 youth (with exceptions for state/local licensure laws), (B) include individuals identified by youth as family in counseling and consent provisions, (C) require outreach plans (potentially using online resources) targeting underserved populations, (D) mandate statistical records and reporting on demographics and numbers of served youth who are trafficking victims, pregnant or parenting, involved in child welfare or juvenile justice systems, or not referred to shelter, with privacy protections, (E) require detailed annual progress reports on such youth and services provided, and (F) expand allowable crisis response activities to include natural disasters, inclement weather, and public health emergencies.

This section revises the Transitional Living Grant Program under Part B of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (34 U.S.C. 11221 et seq.). (As background, the program provides grants to public and private entities for shelter and services to assist homeless youth ages 16-22 in transitioning to independent living.) It (1) amends section 321 to authorize 5-year grants for transitional living projects serving homeless and runaway youth, requires the Secretary to award grants no later than 90 days before the start date, and establishes a grantee appeal process; and (2) revises section 322(a) grantee requirements to (A) specify shelter capacity of at least 4 youth and no more than 20 individuals (excluding staff), with exceptions for state or local licensure requirements and segregated programming in mixed-use projects; (B) require individualized transitional living plans, counseling (including family involvement), aftercare services, and referrals to services such as those under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, welfare programs, mental health care, and substance use disorder treatment; (C) mandate outreach (including via online and social media), annual reports on participants' demographics and trafficking prevalence, and emergency preparedness plans; and (D) require programs to inform youth of their status as independent students under section 480 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv) and provide verification for Free Application for Federal Student Aid purposes. (Thus, such youth may qualify for federal student aid without parental income data.)

This section amends part D of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, which supports coordination, training, evaluation, and reporting to improve services for runaway and homeless youth, as follows: (1) in section 341, inserting “safety, well-being,” after “health,” and specifying coordination with the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Education, Labor, and Justice (replacing “other Federal entities”); (2) in section 342, requiring 5-year plans for trauma-informed training (including onsite and web-based techniques such as on-demand and online learning); (3) in section 343(b), expanding research priorities in paragraph (5) to explicitly cover abuse, sexual assault, and trafficking (previously abuse and related terms); adding best practices for age-, gender-, culturally, and linguistically appropriate services to vulnerable, underserved, and trafficking victim youth; requiring service providers to inform eligible youth of their independent student status under section 480 of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1087vv), verify it for Free Application for Federal Student Aid purposes (20 U.S.C. 1090), and assist in completing the application upon request (thus enabling access to federal student aid without parental income data); and adding a new paragraph (11) on intersections between runaway and homeless youth, trafficking, child welfare, and juvenile justice; (4) in section 344(a)(2)(A), increasing the amount to $200,000 (from $100,000); and (5) in section 345, revising reporting in subsection (a) to begin 2 years after enactment of the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2025 and at 3-year intervals thereafter (specifying the Secretary acting through the Associate Commissioner of the Family and Youth Services Bureau), changing the age threshold from 13 to 12, and adding requirements for demographic data on trafficking victims without disclosing identities; and in subsection (b)(1), similarly changing the age threshold to 12, adding data on trafficking and sexual exploitation victims, child welfare involvement, demographics (including race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability), and pregnant or parenting youth, and expanding outcomes to include mental health services, connections to caring adults, and access to secondary education, higher education, and job training.

This section revises the grant authority under the Street Outreach Program (i.e., sexual abuse and trafficking prevention program) in Part E of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (34 U.S.C. 11261 et seq.) by directing the Secretary to make 5-year grants to public and nonprofit private entities (and combinations thereof) for street-based services to runaway, homeless, and street youth subjected to, or at risk of, sexual abuse or trafficking. The revision further (1) requires grants to be awarded not later than 90 days before the start date and establishes an appeal process for grantees; (2) directs priority for entities with experience serving such youth; and (3) requires applicants to certify expertise in serving them and systems to provide age-, gender-, social-, and developmental background-appropriate services that are culturally and linguistically appropriate.

This section redesignates Part F of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (34 U.S.C. 11271 et seq.) as Part G and makes conforming terminology changes throughout by replacing references to "facility" with "center or project." It further (1) updates a reference date to 2026 (from 2000) and requires coordination with the Department of Workforce in section 382(a); (2) requires projects to identify youth who are victims of trafficking, as a new purpose under section 382(a)(1); (3) expands annual reporting under section 382(a)(2) to include the number and characteristics of youth served who are victims of trafficking, pregnant or parenting, or involved in the child welfare, juvenile or adult criminal justice, incarceration, or related legal systems, and revises reporting on family problem resolution; (4) encourages grantees to share de-identified data with other programs to improve coordination; (5) adds new section 384A authorizing the Secretary of HHS, acting through the Associate Commissioner of the Family and Youth Services Bureau, to waive specified provisions for up to three years (extendable by one year) if they hinder service delivery due to extraordinary circumstances (e.g., natural disasters, public health emergencies), subject to written requests, health/safety certifications, 30-day notifications to grantees and specified congressional committees, and termination for inadequate performance; and (6) in section 386(a), increases from three to five consecutive years the period for potential funding withholding due to noncompliance, specifies the Secretary's delegated authority, and authorizes virtual compliance options when appropriate.

This section establishes a new Prevention Services grant program (Part F) under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act by authorizing the Secretary to award optional 5-year grants to successful basic center programs (i.e., short-term shelter and services for runaway and homeless youth) or transitional living programs (i.e., housing and support for youth ages 16-22, including maternity group homes) to establish, strengthen, or provide prevention services for youth at risk of homelessness or running away. Grants are in addition to other funds under the act; priority goes to experienced entities requesting no more than $75,000 per year; and grantees must submit a plan and certify culturally and linguistically appropriate services considering youth's age, gender, and social and developmental background.

This section revises authorizations of appropriations for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA)—which funds grants for shelter, transitional housing, outreach, and related services for at-risk youth aged 12-21—as follows: (1) $200 million for FY2026 and such sums as necessary for FY2027 through 2030 to carry out the title other than parts E and F (previously $127.421 million for each of FY2019 through 2020 for the subchapter other than part E); (2) $2 million for section 345 (periodic training and technical assistance estimates) for each of FY2025, 2028, and 2030 (previously such sums as necessary for each of FY2019 through 2020); (3) $50 million for FY2026 and such sums as necessary for FY2027 through 2030 for part E (previously $25 million for each of FY2019 through 2020); and (4) $67.5 million for FY2026 and such sums as necessary for FY2027 through 2030 for part F. It retains prior allocation requirements reserving not less than 90% of the main authorization for parts A (basic center grants) and B (transitional living program), with 45-55% of that for part B and the remainder for parts C (street outreach) and D.

This section establishes minimum and maximum grant amounts for public or private nonprofit entities under sections 311 (Basic Center Program), 321 (Transitional Living Program), and 351 (Maternity Group Homes Program) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act as follows: (1) $225,000 to $275,000 if appropriations for the title (excluding parts E and F) are $200 million or more; or (2) $200,000 to $250,000 if less than $200 million. The section further directs the Secretary, in selecting grantees, to prioritize those with demonstrated experience serving runaway and homeless youth.