Bipartisan legislation recently introduced by Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) would expand how the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) identifies homeless children.
The Homeless Children and Youth Act would provide approximately 900,000 homeless children and families across the country access to federal assistance programs, according to a press release.
HUD counted 247,178 families with at least one homeless child in 2012 – while the Department of Education counted 1.1 million homeless children nationwide during that same time.
“This commonsense reform opens up access to federal assistance programs to thousands of homeless children and youth, including those who have aged out of the foster care system here (in) the United States,” Portman, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said. “Persistent poverty takes children who have nothing but their future ahead of them and drains away their hope and their faith. Washington has to ensure that it is playing the right role in helping these vulnerable children, and I believe this bipartisan bill is an example of just that.”
The expanded definition of homelessness would make vulnerable children eligible for federal homeless assistance programs, including children who reside in motels or doubled up households.
Reps. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) and George Miller (D-Calif.) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.