Federal Resources

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2007, an estimated 1.7 million children under the age of 18 had a parent in prison, an increase of almost 80 percent since 1991. The negative consequences for children with an incarcerated parent can be substantial, including financial instability, changes in family structure, shame, and social stigma. However, research also shows that supporting healthy and positive relationships between these vulnerable children, who are the innocent bystanders of adult decisions, and their families has the potential to mitigate negative outcomes.

An interagency group, that includes the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Education, and Agriculture as well as the Social Security Administration, has partnered with stakeholders both inside and outside of government to identify opportunities to support these children and their caregivers.  This fact sheet describes the efforts of the interagency group. 

The Center works with HUD field and program offices to offer over 40 organizational capacity building workshops annually around the country. These one- and two-day trainings are designed for smaller grassroots non-profits seeking to strengthen their effectiveness by covering topics like organizational development, strategic planning, financial management, logic models, and the science of finding and applying for grants.

The Choice Neighborhoods initiative will transform distressed neighborhoods and public and assisted projects into viable and sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods by linking housing improvements with appropriate services, schools, public assets, transportation, and access to jobs. A strong emphasis will be placed on local community planning for access to high-quality educational opportunities, including early childhood education. In addition to public housing authorities, the initiative will involve local governments, non-profits, and for-profit developers in undertaking comprehensive local planning with residents and the community.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has partnered with GreatSchools, a national nonprofit educational resource for parents, to provide an online database that can assist parents in choosing a school for their child. The database contains more than 200,000 public, charter, magnet, and private schools, serving grades K-12 across the country.

This HUD website maintains a list of states that enumerate sexual orientation and gender identity in their state fair housing laws. It also provides information and resources to report housing discrimination.

Eligibility: Youth aged 18-21 who have aged out of foster care
Focus: Housing

The Family Unification Program provides Housing Choice Vouchers to communities to help assist in the transition of youth out of foster care. The Public Housing Authority administers the vouchers and the child welfare agency provides supportive services to youth. Vouchers are used to provide rental assistance to youth aged 18 to 21 who transition from foster care or who leave foster care at age 16 or older. The voucher subsidizes the rent of eligible youth for up to eighteen months.

The Healthy Homes program provides homeowners and rental property owners with practical information about how to prevent health and safety hazards. Specific problems such as asthma, allergies and mold are discussed.

The Healthy Homes program provides homeowners and rental property owners with practical information about how to prevent health and safety hazards. Specific problems such as asthma, allergies and mold are discussed.

This document lays out the strategic goals and implementation plan for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HUD created Neighborhood Networks in 1995 to encourage property owners to establish multiservice community learning centers in HUD insured and assisted properties. Neighborhood Networks was one of the first federal initiatives to promote self-sufficiency and help provide computer access to low-income housing communities. Neighborhood Networks centers are alike. With support from innovative public-private partnerships, Neighborhood Networks centers sponsor a range of services and programs. Nearly all centers offer job training and educational opportunities, and many also provide programs that include access to healthcare information and microenterprise development.

This resource provides technical assistance to public and Indian housing authorities.

In 1991, Congress established HUD's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control to eliminate lead-based paint hazards in America's privately-owned and low-income housing. The OHHLHC provides funds to state and local governments to develop cost-effective ways to reduce lead-based paint hazards. In addition, the office enforces HUD’s lead-based paint regulations, provides public outreach and technical assistance, and conducts technical studies to help protect children and their families from health and safety hazards in the home

The role of the Office of Public and Indian Housing is to ensure safe, decent, and affordable housing; create opportunities for residents' self-sufficiency and economic independence; and assure fiscal integrity by all program participants.

ROSS links public housing residents with supportive services, resident empowerment activities, and assistance in becoming economically self-sufficient

The Healthy Homes program offers seven steps to having a healthy home, providing homeowners and rental property owners with practical information about how to prevent health and safety hazards. These steps include the importance of keeping your home pest- and contaminant-free, as well as dry, clean, well-ventilated and well-maintained.

Developed by Enterprise Green Communities, in partnership with HUD and other supporters, this toolkit can help affordable housing organizations develop comprehensive disaster staffing plans to protect buildings, residents, and business operations. 

The Every Student, Every Day: A Community Toolkit to Address and Eliminate Chronic Absenteeism (PDF, 69 pages) toolkit provides information, suggested action steps, and lists of existing tools and resources for individuals, leaders, and systems to begin, or enhance the work of, effective, coordinated community action to address and eliminate chronic absenteeism.

This archived webinar presents details of the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for the second round (FY 2015) of Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3), including application requirements and selection criteria for potential applicants. 

This toolkit (PDF, 66 pages) includes tips and resources to help current and former foster youth as they transition to adulthood and pursue college and career opportunities. It provides information on important topics like finding a job, managing money, and securing housing.

This website provides resources and information related to HUD programs, including newly added partnership-building resources for communities in their efforts to end youth homelessness. This blog post from the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth highlights some of the resources that are useful for advocates and service providers. 

This guidebook series helps Continuum of Care stakeholders and practitioners engage partners in efforts to prevent and end youth homelessness. The series includes three guidebooks, including System Planning, Mainstream System Collaboration, and Promising Program Models.

This report (PDF, 98 pages) provides point-in time estimates of both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness on a single night, as well as estimates of the number of people experiencing homelessness within particular populations and demographics. The report shows that 549,928 people experienced homelessness on a single night in 2016, a decline of 14% since 2010.

This annual report (PDF, 96 pages) provides a snapshot of homelessness, both sheltered and unsheltered, on a single night in late January in the U.S., including estimates for particular populations such as youth. The data show 35,686 unaccompanied homeless youth were counted. Eighty nine percent were between the ages of 18 and 24, and 11% were under the age of 18. There were 9,800 parenting young adults between 18 and 24 years of age, and 92 parents under the age of 18. 

This resource provides specific criteria and benchmarks for ending unaccompanied youth homelessness. Communities can use this resource to reduce the number of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness and build lasting solutions to respond to future needs. 

These resources provide information and tools on topics related to ending youth homelessness:

1. Coordinated Entry for Youth Brief — Provides an overview of the four core elements of coordinated entry for youth: access, assessment, prioritization, and referral.
2. Engaging Youth in Decision Making — Provides guidance on how to engage youth in project development and governance.
3. Using a Housing First Philosophy When Serving Youth — Provides an overview of housing first philosophy and how it applies to youth-serving projects.
4. Rapid Re-Housing for Youth — Provides a suite of tools and products on rapid re-housing for youth, including a Jump Start Tool, set of frequently asked questions, and a checklist.