Federal Resources

Having a GED instead of a high school diploma, difficulty getting parental permission, lack of a GPA, and incomplete transcripts can all be obstacles that homeless students can face when seeking scholarship funding. In this blog post, Cyekeia Lee, director of higher education initiatives at the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, shares strategies for youth-serving professionals who are helping students navigate the scholarship application process. 

This article highlighs a series of tip sheets, developed by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, which is divided into five sections which each address a different aspect of attempting to help keep homeless youth in school, including information on McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program, easing homeless youths’ paths to college, and helping homeless youth access basic services

This website developed by FYSB illustrates how the programs operated through the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act help to meet the needs of homeless youth and young adults and contribute to the goal of ending youth homelessness by 2020. It also provides information on the issue of youth homelessness and ways users can contribute to the efforts to end homelessness among youth. 

The Employment and Training Administration site provides information about summer youth jobs, the Workforce Investment Act, and other employment and training programs related to youth .

In this article, Graham Bowman, an Equal Justice Works fellow at The Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, offers advice on encouraging and helping runaway and homeless youth to apply for Medicaid. 

This article features a Q&A with professor and researcher Natasha Slesnick about the work she and her colleagues are doing to understand what evidence-based treatments might be effective in working with homeless youth.  

FYSB supports the organizations and communities that work every day to reduce the risk of youth homelessness, adolescent pregnancy and domestic violence. Learn more about FYSB programs.

Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) provides news and resources related to issues such as homelessness, adolescent pregnancy, and domestic violence. Watch FYSB's new video “The Family and Youth Services Bureau — Join Us” to learn more about FYSB work and programs.

The National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth recently profiled The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) Funding and Programs List, which outlines which federal departments have programs that help prevent and end homelessness and includes programs specifically designed to assist homeless youth.

This blog post from the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth links to multiple resources that can help youth-serving programs understand how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affects youth, including homeless and runaway youth. The post also provides some of the highlights from a recent webinar that discussed what youth and youth workers need to know about the ACA. 

The Department of Health and Human Services’ National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth is featuring information on its website for individuals who work in youth shelters who want to help other staff get used to a “low-barrier” approach, meaning young people are not turned away because they have been drinking or using drugs.

This article aims to help youth-serving professionals prepare for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's annual point-in-time count, during which estimates are made about the number of homeless youth in the community.

The Home Free program from the National Runaway Safeline is intended for youth who are ready to go home. Youth can contact the Safeline to discuss how to approach their families and return home for free. Youth must be between the ages of 12 and 20 and generally must return home to a parent or legal guardian. 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929). 

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) interviewed staff from three model programs using harm reduction to help youth experiencing homelessness.

The Homelessness Resource Center is an interactive community of providers, consumers, policymakers, researchers, and public agencies at federal, state, and local levels.

The National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth (NCFY) published this short list of hotline numbers that every youth should have, especially youth dealing with homelessness.

This Information Memorandum provides guidance on services for youth under age 18 who run away from foster care and come in contact with runaway and homeless youth programs. 

The Interagency Council on Homelessness works to coordinate the Federal response to homelessness and to create a national partnership at every level of government and with the private sector to reduce and end homelessness in the nation while maximizing the effectiveness of the Federal Government in contributing to the end of homelessness.

Young people offer advice on staying connected and living independently

Four youth workers share what they plan to do in their communities over the next five years in order to meet the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness’s goal of ending youth homelessness by 2020.

SAMHSA, through its Homelessness Resource Center (HRC), convened an Expert Panel on February 4, 2010 to better understand the needs of youth who are experiencing homelessness and identify as LGBTQI2-S.

NCHE is the U.S. Department of Education's technical assistance and information center in the area of homeless education.

The National Runaway Switchboard is a national communications system that assists youth who have run away or are considering running away and their families. With its database of more than 17,000 resources, NRS links youth and families across the country to shelters, counseling, medical assistance, and other vital services. In addition, NRS works to prevent youth from running away. By helping youth and adults resolve problems constructively, staff and volunteers diffuse escalating tensions, promote dialogue and reduce youths' desire to run away.

After the death of his mother when he was a teenager, Syncere started living on the streets. He then got involved with the Night Ministry, a Chicago youth program, went back to school, and now works for the organization. In this podcast from the FYSB event "Ending Youth Homelessness: A Call to Action,” Syncere shares his experiences and discusses his dream to open a 24-hour youth resource center. 

In this podcast, a street outreach worker in Washington, DC, discusses his experience joining 350 volunteers for the city’s annual count of people experiencing homelessness. He shares what outreach professionals who work with young people bring to this important event.