HUD Makes $30 Million in Funding Available for Public Housing Agencies to Help Youth Aging out of Foster Care

HUD Makes $30 Million in Funding Available for Public Housing Agencies to Help Youth Aging out of Foster Care

Agencies are encouraged to apply for funding

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it will make available $30 million to public housing authorities (PHAs) on a non-competitive basis through HUD's Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Initiative to provide housing assistance to young adults who are transitioning out of foster care or have already left foster care. Unfortunately transitions out of foster care can be an unstable time and can result in experiences of homelessness.   FYI makes Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) assistance available to Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) in partnership with Public Child Welfare Agencies (PCWAs). This funding will help connect youth in foster care with stable housing and strengthen the community response of homelessness.

"HUD invites public housing authorities to apply for this funding so that they can continue to assist youth who are aging out of foster care and ease connections to housing," said U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. "We want every young person to have a safe place to call home. This funding is available to help prevent young people from having to start their young adult lives living on the streets."

All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness outlines the Biden-Harris Administration's vision of an America where no one experiences the tragedy and indignity of homelessness-and everyone has a safe, stable, accessible, and affordable home. It sets a near-term goal of reducing homelessness 25% by 2025. As a demonstration of the Biden-Harris Administration's continued commitment to expanding rental assistance for all households in need, the President's Fiscal Year 2024 Budget request includes $9 billion in new mandatory funding to establish a housing voucher program for all youth aging out of foster care to living independently.

These FYI vouchers will be used to provide housing assistance to young adults in between the ages of 18 years and not more than 24 years old who left foster care or will leave foster care in the next 90 days and are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. PHAs can request non-competitive FYI vouchers under this new Notice on a rolling basis, once they receive a referral of an eligible youth from a partnering PCWA.

The process and eligibility requirements to apply for the Foster to Youth to Independence (FYI) non-competitive vouchers can be found in PIH Notice 2023-04: online.