Congressional findings

The Congress finds that— (1) each year an estimated 4.2 million youth and young adults experience homelessness in the United States; (2) homelessness amongst youth and young adults is disproportionately represented among Black, Indigenous, other youth of color, and LGBTQ+ communities; (3) while there are effective programs that assist homeless youth and young adults, access to current resources are restricted due to a variety of systemic obstacles for homeless youth and young adults, forcing this population into congregate shelters, further perpetuating cycles of poverty and instability; (4) adequately removing barriers to housing assistance can— (A) reduce crowding, housing instability, and homelessness; (B) reduce poverty; (C) improve outcomes for children; (D) improve overall adult well-being, reducing healthcare costs; and (E) contribute to the prevention of homelessness; (5) the housing choice voucher (HCV) program only reaches about a quarter of eligible households due to limited funding, yet extensive and inhibitive eligibility requirements presently make HCVs inaccessible to youth and young adults; (6) the average wait time for youth and young adults from a coordinated entry assessment to being housed is between 132 and 140 days, depending on the program; and (7) Federal agencies, particularly the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services, should cooperate more fully to address the prevention and end of youth homelessness.