Public Policy Update - October 07, 2008

1. Legislation to Reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act Signed into Law
2. Both House and Senate Proclaimed November as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month
3. Landmark Law to Improve Foster Care and Increase Adoptions Enacted by Congress
4. New Law Organizes Federal Effort to Combat Internet-Based Child Exploitation
5. Pilot Program to Make Affordable Criminal History Background Checks for Nonprofit Volunteers and Staff Extended for One Year by Congress
6. Juvenile Justice Reauthorization Awaits Renewed Action, Probably in Next Congress
7. Basic Legislation on Homelessness (H.R. 7221, S. 1518) May Get Action in Possible Lame-Duck Session of Congress
8. Other Key Legislation Affecting Youth – Including Vulnerable Youth – Awaits New Congress

1.    LEGISLATION TO REAUTHORIZE THE RUNAWAY AND HOMELESS YOUTH ACT (S. 2982) IS NOW PUBLIC LAW 110-378

Enacting the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act of 2008 (S. 2982) was a huge legislative victory for advocates and service providers for runaway and homeless youth. Thanks to the efforts of Senators Leahy (VT) and Specter (PA) and Representatives Yarmuth (KY), Biggert (IL), and Hinojosa (TX) in moving this legislation, the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act programs were reauthorized for five years (Fiscal Years 2009 through 2013), authorizing $140 million for the centers and transitional living account and $25 million for street outreach in FY2009 and “such sums as may be necessary” for the succeeding years. The authorization level for 2009 is significantly higher than appropriations for FY 2008 ($105 million and $17 million), but authorized amounts are ceilings. The exact levels of spending will be set in FY 2009 and subsequent appropriations measures. Currently, based on the Continuing Resolution approved by Congress in late September, FY 2009 programs would be funded at FY 2008 levels, though the 2009 Congress could change that amount.

Many other aspects of the legislation bring great news. The RHYA Basic Center Program (BCP) allotment is doubled from $100,000 to $200,000, and the maximum BCP allotment for U.S. territories from $45,000 to $70,000. The legislation also allows extensions in the length of stay in basic centers from 15 days to up to 21 days and in transitional living projects from 18 months to 21 months, due to exceptional circumstances. The new law also allows Transitional Living Programs to serve youth until their 22nd birthdays.

The reauthorization also provides for “services to young people …developed and provided using a positive youth development approach,” a prevalence study of runaway and homeless individuals between 13 and 26 years of age, program performance standards, and a Government Accountability Office study of the grant-making process. Applicants’ experiences in providing services are to be recognized in the grant-making process.

YOUR NATIONAL NETWORK TOOK THE LEAD IN ADVOCATING FOR THIS LEGISLATION, BUT NONE OF THE RESULTS WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE ADVOCACY OF THE FIELD TO THE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO WERE ENCOURAGED AND INSPIRED BY WHAT YOU DO.

2.    BOTH HOUSE AND SENATE HAVE PROCLAIMED NOVEMBER AS NATIONAL HOMELESS YOUTH AWARENESS MONTH (H. RES. 1375 AND S. RES. 693)

November is now officially proclaimed National Homeless Youth Awareness Month by the U.S. House and Senate. Citing the vulnerability of youth to mental trauma, inadequate medical care, inadequate financial and housing resources in exiting juvenile corrections and foster care, and physical abuse by family members that most often cause and exacerbate homelessness, the House and Senate have each proclaimed the observance and commended and exhorted volunteers and supporters to intensify their efforts in November. The House Resolution, as reported previously in Public Policy Update, was introduced by Representative Judy Biggert (IL) and 52 cosponsors on July 24. It specifically mentions the National Network for Youth: “Whereas the National Network for Youth and its members advocate on behalf of runaway and homeless youth, and provide an array of community-based support to address their critical needs” and “Whereas the National Network for Youth and National Runaway Switchboard are cosponsoring National Runaway Prevention Month in November to increase public awareness of the life circumstances of youth in high-risk situations, and the need for safe, healthy, and productive alternatives, resources, and support for youth, families, and communities:”. The Senate Resolution, sponsored by our Network partner Virgin Mobile and introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg and nine co-sponsors, was passed by the Senate on September 27. It followed a similar resolution introduced by Senators Shelby (AL) and Lincoln (AR) on August 1. The National Network’s partnership with Virgin Mobile will build on these Congressional proclamations to increase awareness of issues facing runaway and homeless youths and sensitize the public to services and solutions.

3.    LANDMARK LAW (PUBLIC LAW 110-351) WILL IMPROVE FOSTER CARE AND INCREASE ADOPTIONS

National Network Members will want to be aware of several pieces of legislation that became public law with the bevy of activity in Congress last month and that will have an effect, hopefully a very positive one, on the work of Basic Centers, transitional living, and street outreach. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 is designed to help hundreds of thousands of youth in foster care by promoting permanent care for them through relative guardianship and adoption and improving education and health care. A number of the provisions in the bill would take as much as two years to become effective because they require counterpart state legislation and/or appropriations.

The legislation that emerged was a bipartisan compromise that is, to quote Generations United, the most significant recognition to date of the contribution that grandparents and other relatives can make in raising children. The new law provides support to grandfamilies by authorizing subsidized guardianship to enable children in the care of grandparents and other relatives to exit foster care into permanent homes, and establishing kinship navigator programs to help link relative caregivers both within and outside the formal child welfare system to a broad range of services and supports that will help them to meet the needs of the children in their care. The Fostering Connections legislation also provides more incentives to states to find adoptive families for children in foster care, especially those with disabilities or other special needs and older youth. The new law also helps youth who turn 18 in foster care without permanent families to remain in care, at state option, to age 19, 20, and 21 with continued federal support to increase their opportunities for success as they transition to adulthood.

4.    NEW LAW (PUBLIC LAW 110-401) (S. 1738) ORGANIZES FEDERAL EFFORT TO COMBAT INTERNET-BASED CHILD EXPLOITATION

The Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2008 directs the Attorney General to create a nation-wide strategy for the prevention of child exploitation, to establish long-term goals and a budget to tackle the problem of internet-based child exploitation, to review the work of the Department of Justice in this area, and to gather critical data. The Act also establishes additional state and local task forces within the framework of the Department of Justice on National Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC). These task forces increase investigative capabilities for state and local law enforcement, enhance the nationwide response to ICAC offenses, and develop awareness and prevention programs. The task forces will also result in the establishment of an ICAC Data System Steering Committee, as well as awarding grant money to help fund these task forces. The Act authorizes appropriations for FY 2009-2016 for FBI agents, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Postal Service to investigate these exploitation issues.

5.    CONGRESSIONAL EFFORT (S. 3605) TO EXTEND PILOT PROGRAM TO FACILITATE CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR NONPROFITS, BECOMES PUBLIC LAW 110-408

This Act amended the PROTECT Act to extend the Child Safety Pilot Program by twelve months and allows volunteer organizations to obtain less expensively national and state criminal background checks on their volunteers. The PROTECT ACT (The Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act) is a multipurpose law aimed at dealing with aggravated child abuse and murders, sexual exploitation, and kidnapping. It included a provision to lower the cost of criminal history background checks so they are more accessible to non-profit volunteer organizations that rely on funding.

6.    JUVENILE JUSTICE REAUTHORIZATION (S. 3155) AWAITS RENEWED ACTION, PROBABLY IN NEXT CONGRESS

The Public Policy Update of August 6 reported on the Senate Judiciary Committee markup of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2008 and the significant legislative victory represented by the amendment by Senator Cardin (MD) to phase out use of the valid court order exception to the deinstitutionalization of status offenders core requirement, with a 1-2 year hardship extension for those states that need additional time to make policy and practice changes. This legislation involves other major issues; it had not been approved by the Senate prior to adjournment for elections. For your National Network, this is one of the most significant pieces of legislation that will await the new Congress in 2009.

7.    BASIC LEGISLATION ON HOMELESSNESS (H.R. 7221, S. 1518) MAY GET ACTION IN POSSIBLE LAME-DUCK SESSION

In this 110th Congress, the Senate Banking Committee reported and the House passed legislation to reauthorize the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the federal law governing homeless programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). An important aspect of this legislation was to make more congruent the definitions of homelessness under HUD and the Department of Education. The HUD definition is more restrictive, leading to denial of benefits for youth in very difficult circumstances. The Senate bill, S. 1518, was reported in November, 2007 and broadened HUD's definition to include homeless children, youth, and families who are "double-up" or in motels, but only if they moved twice in 21 days or 3 times in one year. The House bill (H.R. 7221) was passed by a vote of 355 to 61, and allows up to ten percent of the Continuum of Care funds to be used to serve families defined as homeless under other federal laws, including the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and the Department of Education. However, such homeless children, youth, and families must: have experienced a long-term period without living independently in permanent housing; have experienced persistent instability as measured by frequent moves over such period; and can be expected to continue in such status for an extended period of time because of chronic disabilities, hronic physical health or mental health conditions, substance addiction, histories of domestic violence or childhood abuse, the presence of a child or youth with a disability, or multiple barriers to employment.

After the House passed this legislation, the Senate moved to pass the House version of the legislation but was unable to do so. It is possible that the Senate may act on the legislation during the upcoming "lame duck" session of Congress. Your National Network will continue to be involved in this issue, working to broaden HUD's definition of homelessness in order to better serve homeless youth.

8.    OTHER KEY LEGISLATION AFFECTING YOUTH – AND VULNERABLE YOUTH IN PARTICULAR -- AWAITS THE NEW CONGRESS

Other key legislation also is dependent on the new Congress, including the Federal Youth Coordination Act, introduced recently by Representative John Yarmuth (KY) (H.R. 7004), the Serve America Act (S.3487) introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy and 18 others on September 12, 2008 following the unified commitment to service made in New York on September 11, and the Medicaid Amendment (H.R. 6621) introduced by Representative Hilda Solis and reviewed in an earlier Update, among others.