Public Policy Update - February 1, 2010

President Obama submitted to Congress today his budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2011, kicking off the annual federal budget and appropriations cycle.

The budget request includes $115.7 million for Runaway and Homeless Youth Act programs, the same level as appropriated in FY 2010.  The National Network for Youth recommends $165 million in FY 2011 for RHYA programs, a $50 million increase over current spending, and the same level recommended by Congress in the 2008 RHYA reauthorization law.

The Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program would receive $65.4 million in FY 2011, the same level as FY 2010.  NN4Y recommends $210 million in FY 2011 for the EHCY program.

The Adolescent Family Life (AFL) program, which funds projects providing care to expectant and parenting adolescents as well as research in care projects, is slated for level funding in FY 2011 at $16.658 million.  NN4Y recommends $35 million in FY 2011 for the AFL program.

The budget request includes $129.22 million in discretionary funds for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Initiative, a $19.22 million increase over the FY 2010 appropriations level. The President’s budget also requests $50 million in mandatory funds to states for TPP activities.

With regard to youth employment, $1.025 billion is recommended for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) youth activities, a $100.93 million increase over FY 2010.  If approved by Congress, YouthBuild would see an increase of $17.5 million over the FY 2010 level to $120 million. Job Corps operations would decrease by $1.762 million from its FY 2010 level to $1.572 billion in FY 2011.  NN4Y recommends $3 billion in FY 2011 for WIA youth activities.

Juvenile justice programs take a major hit with a proposed loss of $134 million, a decrease from $423 million in FY 2010 to $289 million in FY 2011.  That decrease includes a proposed cut of $55 million in juvenile mentoring and $91 million in Congressional earmarks.  However, new investments are proposed for community-based violence prevention and intervention initiatives ($15 million increase) and a gang and youth violence prevention and intervention initiative ($12 million in new funds).

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants programs within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development would grow from $1.865 billion in FY 2010 to $2.055 billion in FY 2011, a $190 million increase.

Stayed tuned to alerts from the National Network for Youth to support or strengthen the President’s budget request for programs of importance to runaway, homeless, and other disconnected youth.

In addition, the National Network for Youth is revising its set of 2010 Public Policy Recommendations documents, distributed last week at the Network’s Symposium, to reflect the President’s budget requests for NN4Y priority programs.  The recommendations documents will be posted on the National Network web site for download later this week.