S. 2012 — Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2025

This section revises the congressional findings in the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act from six to 11 findings. The revisions update risk factors to include trauma and substance use disorders (in addition to serious health, behavioral, social, and emotional challenges); add findings on the fluid nature of youth homelessness (e.g., couch surfing, motels, streets), disproportionate impacts on historically marginalized populations (e.g., communities of color, LGBTQ youth, those involved in child welfare or justice systems, pregnant and parenting youth, and high school non-completers), elevated risks of sexual exploitation and trafficking, similar prevalence in rural and urban areas, and the role of runaway and homeless youth programs as expert service providers and partners to child welfare and juvenile justice systems; expand descriptions of needed services to address age, gender, cultural, and linguistic needs and to include prevention, short-term and extended housing with supportive services, and collaboration with public assistance, education, and child welfare systems; and enhance positive youth development elements to incorporate empowerment, voice, and choice alongside self-worth.

This section revises the Basic Center grant program under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (34 U.S.C. 11211 et seq.). Specifically, it (1) replaces section 311(a) to require the Secretary to award 5-year grants not later than 90 days before the grant start date to eligible entities for local centers providing safe shelter (up to 30 days or the state maximum, whichever is greater), trauma-informed services, counseling, and suicide prevention to runaway, homeless, street, and at-risk youth (and, if appropriate, their families, including individuals identified by youth as family), with additional optional services such as street- and home-based services, substance use disorder prevention, sexually transmitted infection testing, and family reunification assessments, and to establish a grantee appeal process; and (2) amends section 312(b) to (A) set center capacity requirements at a minimum of 4 youth (unless a higher established minimum applies) and a maximum of 20 youth (or higher if required by state/local licensure), with sufficient staff-to-youth ratios; (B) expand family involvement provisions to include individuals identified by youth as family, if appropriate; (C) require outreach plans (including online resources) targeting underserved populations; (D) mandate statistical records on youth demographics and characteristics (e.g., vulnerable/underserved, trafficking victims, pregnant/parenting, child welfare or juvenile justice involvement), with nondisclosure protections; (E) require annual reports with statistical summaries on youth characteristics and services; and (F) authorize grant funds for natural disasters, inclement weather, and public health emergencies. (As background, the Basic Center Program supports community-based centers offering temporary shelter—typically up to 21 days—and outreach, counseling, and family reunification services to youth ages 12-17 who have run away or are homeless.)

This section revises the Transitional Living Grant Program under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to authorize 5-year grants for shelter and services to homeless and runaway youth, requires the Secretary to award such grants not later than 90 days before the start date and to establish an appeal process for grantees, and specifies project requirements in section 322(a), including the following: (1) shelter such as group homes, maternity group homes, host family homes, and supervised apartments, with a minimum capacity of 4 youth and maximum of 20 individuals (excluding staff) per project, subject to state or local licensure exceptions; (2) counseling for youth and families, aftercare services, transitional living plans, coordination and referral plans to specified services (e.g., social services, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs, substance use disorder treatment), outreach (including online and social media), emergency preparedness plans, and culturally and linguistically appropriate services addressing age, gender, and developmental needs; (3) annual reports to the Secretary on project activities, achievements, participant demographics, trafficking prevalence, and services provided; and (4) information for youth on their status as independent students under the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1087vv) with verification for Free Application for Federal Student Aid purposes. (As background, the program serves youth ages 16-22 with transitional shelter and support toward self-sufficiency; independent student status exempts such youth from parental income requirements in federal need analysis.)

This section revises coordination, training, research, and reporting requirements under Part D of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act as follows: (1) in section 341, inserts "safety, well-being" after "health"; and specifies coordination with the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Education, Labor, and Justice (replacing "other Federal entities"); (2) in section 342, requires development of 5-year plans; expands training to include onsite and web-based techniques (e.g., on-demand and online learning); and requires trauma-informed implementation (replacing general "carrying out"); (3) in section 343(b), revises research grant priorities in paragraph (5) to explicitly cover sexual assault and trafficking (in addition to abuse), adds best practices for age-, gender-, culturally, and linguistically appropriate services for vulnerable, underserved, and trafficking victim youth, and requires grantees to inform eligible youth of their status as independent students under the Higher Education Act (i.e., excluding parental income from federal student aid need analysis), provide FAFSA verification of such status, and assist with application completion at youth request; and adds a new paragraph (11) requiring examination of intersections between runaway/homeless youth and trafficking, including prior child welfare or juvenile justice involvement; (4) in section 344(a)(2)(A), increases the maximum grant amount to $200,000 (from $100,000); and (5) in section 345, revises reporting in subsection (a) to require the Secretary (through the Family and Youth Services Bureau Associate Commissioner) to report not later than two years after enactment of the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2025 and every three years thereafter, changes the age threshold to 12 (from 13), and requires demographic data on trafficking victims without disclosing identities; and in subsection (b)(1), similarly changes the age threshold to 12 (from 13), expands data on services to include mental health services, connections to caring adults, and access to secondary/higher education and job training, and requires additional data on trafficking/sexual exploitation victims, prior child welfare/foster care involvement, demographics (including race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability), and pregnant/parenting youth.

This section revises the grant authority under the Street Outreach Program (Part E of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act; i.e., grants for street-based services to runaway, homeless, and street youth to prevent sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking) by (1) authorizing 5-year grants (from 3 years) to public and nonprofit private entities (including combinations thereof); (2) requiring grants to be awarded not later than 90 days before the start date and establishing an appeal process for grantees; (3) giving priority to entities with experience serving such youth; and (4) requiring applicants to certify expertise in serving such youth and systems to provide services that are age-, gender-, social and developmental background-, culturally-, and linguistically-appropriate.

This section redesignates Part F of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA; 34 U.S.C. 11271 et seq.)—which authorizes training and technical assistance for providers serving runaway and homeless youth (generally ages 12-24)—as Part G and makes further changes, including (1) replacing references to "facility" with "center or project"; (2) in section 382(a), extending a reference date to 2026 (from 2000), requiring grantees to report on identifying youth victims of trafficking, and expanding demographic reporting in paragraph (2)(A) to cover youth who are pregnant or parenting, involved in the child welfare system, or involved in the juvenile or adult criminal justice system, incarceration, or related legal proceedings; (3) encouraging grantees under section 384 to share de-identified data with other programs for better coordination; (4) adding section 384A to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Associate Commissioner of the Family and Youth Services Bureau, to waive specified RHYA provisions for up to 3 years (extendable by 1 year) if they hinder service delivery due to conflicts, disasters, emergencies, or crises, subject to written requests, 30-day approval decisions, congressional notifications, performance reviews, and restrictions barring changes to youth eligibility; and (5) in section 386(a), increasing the consecutive-year threshold for grant ineligibility due to noncompliance to 5 years (from 3 years) both places it appears, specifying administration through the Associate Commissioner, and authorizing virtual participation when appropriate.

This section establishes a new Prevention Services grant program (Part F) in the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act by authorizing the Secretary to award 5-year grants to eligible entities for optional, additional prevention services for youth at risk of homelessness or running away. (As background, the act supports programs such as basic center programs, which provide short-term shelter and counseling to runaway and homeless youth and their families, and transitional living programs, which offer longer-term housing and skills training to older homeless youth.) Grants give priority to public and nonprofit private entities (1) with experience serving runaway, homeless, street youth, and youth at risk of family separation and (2) requesting not more than $75,000 per year; eligible entities must be successful basic center or transitional living programs (including maternity group homes), submit a plan to provide prevention services, and certify delivery of age-, gender-, social-, developmental-, culturally, and linguistically appropriate services.

This section revises the authorization of appropriations for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, which provides grants for services including shelter, outreach, and transitional housing for runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth. (1) It authorizes $200 million for FY2026, and such sums as necessary for FY2027 through FY2030, to carry out the title excluding parts E and F (previously $127.421 million annually for FY2019 through FY2020 for the subchapter excluding part E), with allocations retaining the prior structure reserving at least 90% for parts A and B (45-55% of which for part B) and the remainder for parts C and D excluding section 345. (2) It authorizes $50 million for FY2026, and such sums as necessary for FY2027 through FY2030, for part E (previously $25 million annually for FY2019 through FY2020). (3) It authorizes $67.5 million for FY2026, and such sums as necessary for FY2027 through FY2030, for part F (previously unauthorized). (4) It provides $2 million for section 345 (periodic estimates, formerly section 11245) for FY2025, FY2028, and FY2030 (previously such sums as necessary annually for FY2019 through FY2020).

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