Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Senator Susan Collins
Introduced
Summary
Reauthorizes and expands the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to fund trauma‑informed care and trafficking prevention for runaway and homeless young people. It creates new grant streams, raises service standards, and updates data and outreach tools to reach youth on the street and online.
Show full summary
- Youth and families: Funds local centers and transitional living programs that offer safe shelter, counseling, trafficking victim services, and family engagement. Grants run for 5 years and programs may serve youth up to age 26.
- Service providers and operations: Sets trauma‑informed, culturally and linguistically appropriate standards. Requires confidentiality protections, expanded street and online outreach, training, interagency coordination, and reporting on trafficking indicators.
- Funding and administration: Authorizes $200.0 million for FY2026 for title activities and requires the Secretary to set per‑application grant ranges and prioritization rules tied to annual appropriations.
*Authorizes new federal funding, including $200.0 million for FY2026 and additional program authorizations, which would increase federal spending if appropriated.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
More federal grants for youth shelters
This bill would authorize $200 million for these programs in fiscal year 2026 and allow funding later years as needed. At least 90% of that money would go to shelter and transitional living grants. Grants would be five-year awards and must be given no later than 90 days before they start, with an appeal right. The bill would raise a statutory grant cap to $200,000 and set per-application award ranges tied to annual funding.
Protections against program discrimination
This bill would ban discrimination in these programs based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability. Programs could run sex-segregated services when necessary, but they would need to offer comparable services to those excluded. Enforcement would follow an existing federal enforcement provision named in the bill.
Expanded shelter rules and services
This bill would let Basic Center and Transitional Living programs serve youth under 26 and list prevention and trauma-informed services. Basic Centers would have to offer safe short-term shelter (up to 30 days or the state limit), counseling, suicide prevention, STI testing on request, and FAFSA help when asked. Programs must keep detailed statistical records but could not share names without consent. Shelters would usually house 4–20 youth and must keep staff ratios for safety.
More training, coordination, and reporting
This bill would expand interagency coordination to include HUD, Education, Labor, and Justice. It would require trauma-informed training over five years and allow online and on-site training. The bill would also require a Bureau report two years after enactment and then every three years, with new trafficking and education data, while protecting individuals' identities.
Temporary rule waivers for grantees
This bill would let the Secretary waive title rules for up to three years in special circumstances. Grantees would need to apply in writing, explain the conflict or emergency, and certify youth safety would not be compromised. The Secretary would act in 30 days and must report approved waivers to Congress.
New prevention grants for at-risk youth
This bill would create five-year prevention grants for entities that run Basic Center or Transitional Living programs. The Secretary would give priority to experienced providers and to requests of $75,000 or less per year. These prevention grants would add to other program funding and require a prevention services plan.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Susan Collins
ME • R
Cosponsors
Richard Durbin
IL • D
Sponsored 6/10/2025
Lisa Murkowski
AK • R
Sponsored 6/10/2025
Raphael Warnock
GA • D
Sponsored 6/10/2025
Dan Sullivan
AK • R
Sponsored 6/10/2025
Richard Blumenthal
CT • D
Sponsored 6/10/2025
Peter Welch
VT • D
Sponsored 6/10/2025
Jon Ossoff
GA • D
Sponsored 11/4/2025
Christopher Coons
DE • D
Sponsored 12/18/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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