McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program represents the primary source of federal funding for programs serving homeless people. In 2009, the HEARTH Act made significant improvements to this program, though securing funding for implementation is still ongoing.

LATEST NEWS:

On November 14, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees released the final fiscal year (FY) 2012 funding bill for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which includes funding for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants. The bill includes $1.901 billion for McKinney-Vento, which represents flat funding as compared to FY 2011. The measure was passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by the President on November 18, 2011.

On December 5, HUD published in the Federal Register the second set of regulations for the HEARTH Act, dealing with the Emergency Solutions Grants, which can be found here. Additional fiscal year (FY) 2011 ESG allocations and the final regulation on the definitions of homelessness were also published.

About McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants fund local, regional, and state homeless assistance programs through the Continuum of Care (CoC) process. A CoC is a geographical administrative unit through which federal homeless assistance funds are distributed. Homeless assistance providers in a specific geographic area work together to apply for federal funding. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ranks the applications and provides funding based on the quality of the application, the performance of the local homeless assistance system, the need for homeless assistance, and the local rankings of individual programs. Funding can be used for permanent and supportive housing, transitional housing, and services. Some funding is also distributed to communities through the Emergency Shelter Grants program.

To get involved in advocacy efforts to secure funding for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants for FY 2013, please click here!

About the HEARTH Act
The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act will provide communities with new resources and better tools to prevent and end homelessness. The legislation:

  • Increases priority on homeless families with children.
  • Significantly increases resources to prevent homelessness.
  • Continues to provide incentives for developing permanent supportive housing.
  • Grants rural communities greater flexibility with which to use their federal funding.

The HEARTH Act will make these and other changes. For an overview of the impact of the HEARTH Act on McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Programs, click here.

HUD is expected to issue additional draft regulations for the changes to the McKinney-Vento programs under the HEARTH Act in the coming months. Please watch this page and the Alliance website for updates.

Spotlight

Federal Policy Brief  |  January 17, 2012
The Alliance has prepared draft comments on HUD's interim rule for the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program as part of the HEARTH Act. The interim rule went into effect on January 4, and final comments are due to HUD by February 3.
Federal Policy Brief  |  December 22, 2011
This brief summarizes the interim rule for the Emergency Solutions Grant program.

Library Resources

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Federal Policy Brief  |  January 18, 2012
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a final regulation to implement changes to the definition of homelessness contained in the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act. The new definition is outlined here.
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Federal Policy Brief  |  July 1, 2011
The HEARTH Act expands investments in solutions to homelessness. Congress should fund those investments without shifting significant resources from existing homeless assistance programs. The Homeless Assistance Grants program will require an increase of 21% percent to approximately $2.4 billion in FY 2012.
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Federal Policy Brief  |  June 1, 2010
| The Alliance has prepared draft comments on HUD's proposed rule to change the definition of "homeless" as part of the HEARTH Act. The proposed rule was published in April and final comments are due to HUD by June 21.
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Video  |  January 5, 2010
Steve Berg, vice President of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, explains the history of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs and what we can expect in the future.
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Conference Presentation  |  November 10, 2009
This presentation provides an easy-to-follow overview of the impact of the HEARTH Act on the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs. The presentation lays out how things are under the current McKinney-Vento programs and how they will be once HEARTH Act implementation is complete.
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Federal Policy Brief  |  June 17, 2009
This document provides a section-by-section analysis of the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act signed into law in May 2009.