WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, during National Foster Care Month, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) – Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs – announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded a $340,290 grant to the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority through its Family Unification Program (FUP). The funding will go toward the unification and preservation of child welfare-involved families that lack adequate housing, and the prevention and ending of homelessness among youth with a current or prior history of child welfare involvement.

“Lack of affordable housing should never be the reason a child is separated from their parents or the reason a young person leaving foster care is forced into homelessness or unstable housing conditions just as they are starting out in life,” said Brown. “These funds are good news for Cleveland, but there’s still more work to do in Washington. I will continue to work with my colleagues to invest in housing and ensure that everyone has a safe place to call home.”

Specifically, these awards provide needed housing assistance to:

·       Families for whom the lack of adequate housing is a primary factor in the imminent placement or discharge of the family’s child or children in out-of-home care,

·       Youth between ages of 18 and 24 who have left foster care, or will leave foster care within 90 days, and

·       Youth who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless at age 16 or older.

In 2020, Congress enacted Brown’s Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act, which would provide Family Unification Vouchers (FUP) “on-demand” to foster youth who are at risk of homelessness as they transition to adulthood without the familial supports that many young people can rely on. The bill also requires coordination between PHAs and Public Child Welfare Agencies to better connect youth to housing and services as they leave care. Brown worked in partnership with ACTION Ohio to ensure the voices and needs of young people and individuals with lived experiences were reflected in the legislation.

Each year, approximately 20,000 youth across the country age out of foster care. This results in a sudden and permanent transition from foster care to adulthood. Unfortunately, this sudden transition places these vulnerable young adults at risk of homelessness and housing instability due to the loss of the financial, educational, and social supports that the child welfare system provides. Surveys indicate that as many as 1 out of 3 youth aging out of foster care experience homelessness after aging out and that as many as half of all youth experiencing homelessness have come out of the foster care system. 

###