On October 4, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity held a hearing on the reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (P.L. 100-77).
Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA) said, “I intend to make prevention and ending homelessness a priority focus of the housing subcommittee. There is certainly no more stinging indictment of recent federal housing policy than its failure to end literal homelessness…Since enactment in 1987, the McKinney-Vento Act programs have helped thousands of homeless men, women and children return to stable housing and lives in which they could reach their full potential. I hope that we can move forward in reauthorizing this critical legislation in the same bipartisan spirit that animated Representatives McKinney and Vento. But the sad fact is that the McKinney-Vento Act programs should not be so desperately needed two decades after they were established…Notably, the legislative history of this bill in the congressional record makes clear that nobody involved at the time believed that the McKinney-Vento Act alone would end homelessness despite its ambitious creation of 15 separate programs and authorization of over $400 million in funding…Simply put, the McKinney-Vento programs were only meant as a first step, the first step towards a social safety net in which no person is forced to live on the street or shelters because of poverty.”
Ranking Member Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) said, “My hope is that this hearing today and the recent action by our Senate colleagues on S. 1518 [the Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act of 2007] will represent an important step forward in determining how best to go about fixing this country’s serious homeless problem. There are many areas of agreement when you compare the various homeless legislative proposals. For example, there is general consensus among the legislative proposals that consolidation of the three competitive grant programs into one program under the Continuum of Care process would be beneficial. In fact, the Senate and the HEARTH [H.R. 840, the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act] bills, as well as the administration’s proposal, call for this consolidation. This consolidation would alleviate the need for HUD [the Department of Housing and Urban Development] to review each project individually, which could cut the time it takes HUD to approve projects to an estimated three months. Consolidation would also increase local control and flexibility of funding decisions, which would help the programs’ effectiveness and efficiency. Reauthorization and reform of the McKinney-Vento homeless programs is an important goal. I know that we can certainly better address the pressing needs of the homeless across this country.”
In a written statement, Rep. Julia Carson (D-IN) said, “This past July marked the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act and yet the tragedy of homelessness persists. More than three million individuals experience homelessness every year and over one million of those individuals are children. This is unacceptable in our prosperous nation. It is in this spirit that I introduced the Homeless Emergency and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2007, H.R. 840. The bill would reauthorize McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs, which provide critical transitional housing, supportive services, emergency shelters, and permanent housing. The changes within H.R. 840 reflect the lessons we have learned since the last reauthorization of these programs in 1994. It addresses the concerns of diverse communities with distinct needs but one goal to end homelessness. This bill would restore local level decision making on homeless priorities, increase the authorization of these programs, and modify HUD’s definition of homelessness, which is outdated and exclusive. H.R. 840 ensures more children and families receive homeless assistance by aligning HUD’s definition with the one used by the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health and Human Services.”
Son of the late Rep. Stewart McKinney (R-CT), State Sen. John McKinney (R-CT), said, “Over the past 20 years, the face of homelessness has changed. It is no longer only single men or the mentally ill who are sleeping on streets or inhabiting emergency shelters. Today, it is all too common to see mothers and their children entire families arrive at an emergency shelter in need of a place to sleep.”
Pittre Walker, homeless liaison to a school board in Louisiana, added, “Homelessness compromises the very foundation of child development. Homeless children face loss, trauma, instability, and the deprivation of extreme poverty. They suffer physically and emotionally. Infants and toddlers who are homeless are at extreme risk of developmental delays and health complications. School-age children experiencing homelessness are diagnosed with learning disabilities and chronic and acute health conditions at much higher rates than other children. They struggle academically, and many fall behind in school.”
Abuse as a contributing factor to homelessness was addressed. Jessica Vazquez, executive director of the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said, “Children and youth who flee violent homes with their abused parent, and become homeless as a result, face many barriers. In addition, many young people become homeless to escape abuse in the home, particularly sexual abuse, and find few resources once they have left. These children and young people who flee violent homes are at heightened risk for emotional and behavioral problems. They are more likely than their peers to experience or participate in emotional or physical abuse themselves.” Ms. Vazquez also spoke about the role of domestic violence, saying, “The interrelated nature of domestic violence and homelessness is undeniable: 92 percent of homeless women have experienced severe physical or sexual abuse at some point in their lives, and 63 percent have been victims of intimate partner violence as adults. This is not because homeless women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence, but rather because experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault often forces women and children into homelessness.”
While several witnesses lauded the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act for its positive impact, they also cited HUD’s definition of homelessness as a major barrier to accessing resources for many individuals. Jeremy Rosen, executive director of National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness, said, “HUD’s current definition of homelessness, adopted 20 years ago and not amended since that time, is largely limited to people who are on the streets or living in emergency shelters. This definition excludes people who are forced to live in other homeless situations, including people staying with others (“doubled-up”) or staying in motels because they have nowhere else to go. Children, youth, and families are disproportionately impacted by this exclusion. To address these concerns, HUD’s definition of homelessness must be updated to include people living in doubled up situations or in motels due to an inability to afford adequate alternative housing.”
Ms. Vazquez also highlighted the negative impact of HUD’s definition of homelessness on victims of domestic violence. “Unfortunately, HUD’s practice in recent years has caused a range of problems for victims of domestic violence and their children. Due to HUD’s chronic homeless initiative and prioritization of permanent supportive housing for individuals with disabilities, local domestic violence programs in at least 23 states…have lost their funding or are being told they will lose funding in the future.”
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI); Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO); Barbara Anderson, executive director of Haven House Services; Deborah DeSantis, president and chief executive officer of Corporation for Supportive Housing; Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty; Amy Weintraub, executive director of the Covenant House, Charleston, West Virginia; and Linda Young, executive director of Welcome House of Northern Kentucky, also testified.
