[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 840 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 840

To amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to consolidate the 
housing assistance programs for homeless persons under title IV of such 
                      Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 6, 2007

Ms. Carson (for herself, Mr. Davis of Kentucky, Ms. Lee, and Mr. Renzi) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to consolidate the 
housing assistance programs for homeless persons under title IV of such 
                      Act, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Homeless Emergency 
Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2007''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 3. Definition of homeless individual.
             TITLE I--HOUSING ASSISTANCE GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 101. Definitions.
Sec. 102. Community homeless assistance planning boards.
Sec. 103. Technical assistance and performance reports.
Sec. 104. Protection of personally identifying information by victim 
                            service providers.
Sec. 105. Authorization of appropriations.
               TITLE II--EMERGENCY SHELTER GRANTS PROGRAM

Sec. 201. Grant assistance.
Sec. 202. Amount and allocation of assistance.
Sec. 203. Eligible activities.
Sec. 204. Repeals.
                  TITLE III--CONTINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM

Sec. 301. Continuum of care.
Sec. 302. Eligible activities.
Sec. 303. Program requirements.
Sec. 304. Allocation amounts and funding.
              TITLE IV--REPEALS AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS

Sec. 401. Repeals.
Sec. 402. Conforming amendments.
Sec. 403. Amendment to table of contents.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) a lack of affordable housing and limited scale of 
        housing assistance programs are the primary causes of 
        homelessness; and
            (2) homelessness affects all types of communities in the 
        United States, including rural, urban, and suburban areas.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to consolidate the separate homeless assistance 
        programs carried out under title IV of the McKinney-Vento 
        Homeless Assistance Act (consisting of the supportive housing 
        program and related innovative programs, the safe havens 
        program, the section 8 assistance program for single-room 
        occupancy dwellings, the shelter plus care program, and the 
        rural homeless housing assistance program) into a single 
        program with specific eligible activities; and
            (2) codify in Federal law the continuum of care planning 
        process as a required and integral local function necessary to 
        generate the local strategies for ending homelessness.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF HOMELESS INDIVIDUAL.

    Section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 11302) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following 
        new subsection:
    ``(a) In General.--For purposes of this Act, the terms `homeless', 
`homeless individual', and `homeless person'--
            ``(1) mean an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and 
        adequate nighttime residence; and
            ``(2) include--
                    ``(A) an individual who--
                            ``(i) is sharing the housing of other 
                        persons due to loss of housing, economic 
                        hardship, or a similar reason;
                            ``(ii) is living in a motel, hotel, or 
                        camping ground due to the lack of alternative 
                        adequate accommodations; or
                            ``(iii) is living in an emergency or 
                        transitional shelter;
                    ``(B) an individual who has a primary nighttime 
                residence that is a public or private place not 
                designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping 
                accommodation for human beings;
                    ``(C) an individual who is living in a car, park, 
                public space, abandoned building, substandard housing, 
                bus or train station, or similar setting; and
                    ``(D) an individual living in an institution that 
                provides a temporary residence for individuals intended 
                to be institutionalized.''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking ``or otherwise detained''; and
                    (B) by inserting after the period at the end the 
                following: ``Such term includes individuals who have 
                been released from prison on probation or parole.''

             TITLE I--HOUSING ASSISTANCE GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.

    Subtitle A of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by striking the subtitle heading and inserting the 
        following:

                  ``Subtitle A--General Provisions'';

            (2) by redesignating sections 401 and 402 (42 U.S.C. 11361, 
        11362) as sections 403 and 406, respectively; and
            (3) by inserting before section 403 (as so redesignated by 
        paragraph (2) of this section) the following new section:

``SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For purposes of this title:
            ``(1) Collaborative applicant.--The term `collaborative 
        applicant' means--
                    ``(A) an entity, which may or may not be a Board, 
                that serves as the applicant for project sponsors who 
                jointly submit a single application for a grant under 
                subtitle C with the approval of, and in accordance with 
                the collaborative process established by, a Board, and, 
                if awarded such grant, receives such grant directly 
                from the Secretary; or
                    ``(B) an individual project sponsor who is an 
                eligible entity under subtitle C and submits an 
                application for a grant under subtitle C, with the 
                approval of, and in accordance with the collaborative 
                process established by, a Board, and, if awarded such 
                grant, receives such grant directly from the Secretary.
            ``(2) Collaborative application.--The term `collaborative 
        application' means an application for a grant under subtitle C 
        that--
                    ``(A) satisfies the requirements of section 422 
                (including containing the information described in 
                subsections (a) and (c) of section 426); and
                    ``(B) is submitted to a Board and then to the 
                Secretary by a collaborative applicant.
            ``(3) Community board.--The term `community board' means a 
        community homeless assistance planning board established in 
        accordance with section 402.
            ``(4) Consolidated plan.--The term `Consolidated Plan' 
        means a comprehensive housing affordability strategy and 
        community development plan required in part 91 of title 24, 
        Code of Federal Regulations.
            ``(5) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means, 
        with respect to a subtitle, a public or private entity eligible 
        to receive directly grant amounts under that subtitle.
            ``(6) Geographic area.--The term `geographic area' means a 
        State, metropolitan city, urban county, town, village, or other 
        nonentitlement area, or a combination or consortia of such, in 
        the United States, as described in section 106 of the Housing 
        and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306).
            ``(7) Homeless individual with a disability.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `homeless individual 
                with a disability' means an individual who is homeless, 
                as defined in section 103, and has a disability that--
                            ``(i)(I) is expected to be long-continuing 
                        or of indefinite duration;
                            ``(II) substantially impedes the 
                        individual's ability to live independently;
                            ``(III) could be improved by the provision 
                        of more suitable housing conditions; and
                            ``(IV) is a physical, mental, or emotional 
                        impairment, including an impairment caused by 
                        alcohol or drug abuse;
                            ``(ii) is a developmental disability, as 
                        defined in section 102 of the Developmental 
                        Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act 
                        of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002); or
                            ``(iii) is the disease of acquired 
                        immunodeficiency syndrome or any condition 
                        arising from the etiologic agency for acquired 
                        immunodeficiency syndrome.
                    ``(B) Rule.--Nothing in clause (iii) of 
                subparagraph (A) shall be construed to limit 
                eligibility under clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph 
                (A).
            ``(8) Homelessness prevention activities.--The term 
        `homelessness prevention activities' means activities designed 
        to help individuals and families avoid becoming homeless, 
        including--
                    ``(A) providing financial assistance to individuals 
                and families who have received eviction notices, 
                foreclosure notices, or notices of termination of 
                utility services, if--
                            ``(i) the inability of the individual or 
                        family to make the required payments is due to 
                        a sudden reduction in income;
                            ``(ii) the assistance is necessary to avoid 
                        eviction, foreclosure, or the termination of 
                        services; and
                            ``(iii) there is a reasonable prospect that 
                        the individual or family will be able to resume 
                        payments within a reasonable period of time;
                    ``(B) carrying out relocation activities (including 
                providing security or utility deposits, rental 
                assistance for a final month or residence at a 
                location, assistance with moving costs, or rental 
                assistance for not more than 6 months) for moving into 
                transitional or permanent housing individuals and 
                families who--
                            ``(i) lack housing;
                            ``(ii) are being discharged from a publicly 
                        funded facility or institution (such as a 
                        health care or treatment facility or 
                        institution, child welfare or youth facility, 
                        or juvenile or adult correctional institution) 
                        or are being terminated from services provided 
                        by such facility or institution; and
                            ``(iii) have plans, developed 
                        collaboratively by the public entities involved 
                        and the individuals and families, for securing 
                        or maintaining housing after any funding 
                        provided under this title is used;
                    ``(C) providing family support services that 
                promote reunification of--
                            ``(i) youth experiencing homelessness, with 
                        their families; and
                            ``(ii) children or youth involved with the 
                        child welfare or juvenile justice systems, with 
                        their parents or guardians; and
                    ``(D) carrying out relocation activities (as 
                described in subparagraph (B)) and providing victim 
                services and other supportive services to individuals 
                who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 
                sexual assault, or stalking, and are in danger of 
                becoming homeless because of the violence or abuse
            ``(8) Independently owned.--The term `independently owned', 
        used with respect to rental assistance, means assistance 
        provided pursuant to a contract that--
                    ``(A) is between--
                            ``(i) the recipient or a project sponsor; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) an independent entity that--
                                    ``(I) is a private organization; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) owns or leases dwelling 
                                units; and
                    ``(B) provides that rental assistance payments 
                shall be made to the independent entity and that 
                eligible persons shall occupy such assisted units.
            ``(9) Low-demand program.--The term `low-demand program' 
        means a program that does not require, but offers, in a non-
        coercive manner--
                    ``(A)(i) health care services, mental health 
                services, and substance abuse services; and
                    ``(ii) other supportive services, which may include 
                medication management, education, counseling, advocacy, 
                job training, and assistance in obtaining entitlement 
                benefits or in obtaining such supportive services; and
                    ``(B) referrals for services described in 
                subparagraph (A).
            ``(10) Metropolitan city; urban county; nonentitlement 
        area.--The terms `metropolitan city', `urban county', and 
        `nonentitlement area' have the meanings given such terms in 
        section 102(a) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 
        1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)).
            ``(11) New.--The term `new', used with respect to housing, 
        means housing for which no assistance has been provided under 
        this title.
            ``(12) Operating costs.--The term `operating costs' means 
        expenses incurred by a recipient or project sponsor operating--
                    ``(A) transitional housing or permanent housing 
                under this title, with respect to--
                            ``(i) the administration, maintenance, 
                        repair, and security of such housing;
                            ``(ii) utilities, fuel, furnishings, and 
                        equipment for such housing; or
                            ``(iii) conducting an assessment under 
                        section 426(c)(2); and
                    ``(B) supportive housing for homeless individuals 
                or homeless families under this title, with respect 
                to--
                            ``(i) the matters described in clauses (i), 
                        (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A); and
                            ``(ii) coordination of services as needed 
                        to ensure long-term housing stability.
            ``(13) Outpatient health services.--The term `outpatient 
        health services' means outpatient health care services, mental 
        health services, and outpatient substance abuse services.
            ``(14) Permanent housing.--The term `permanent housing' 
        means community-based housing without a designated length of 
        stay, and includes both permanent supportive housing and 
        permanent housing without supportive services.
            ``(15) Permanent housing development activities.--The term 
        `permanent housing development activities' means activities--
                    ``(A) to construct, lease, rehabilitate, or acquire 
                structures to provide permanent housing;
                    ``(B) involving tenant-based, independently owned, 
                and project-based flexible rental assistance for 
                permanent housing;
                    ``(C) described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of 
                section 423(a); or
                    ``(D) involving the capitalization of a dedicated 
                project account from which payments are allocated for 
                rental assistance and operating costs of permanent 
                housing.
            ``(16) Personally identifying information.--The term 
        `personally identifying information' means individually 
        identifying information for or about an individual, including 
        information likely to disclose the location of a victim of 
        domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
        stalking, including--
                    ``(A) a first and last name;
                    ``(B) a home or other physical address;
                    ``(C) contact information (including a postal, e-
                mail or Internet protocol address, or telephone or 
                facsimile number);
                    ``(D) a social security number; and
                    ``(E) any other information, including date of 
                birth, racial or ethnic background, or religious 
                affiliation, that, in combination with any other non-
                personally identifying information, would serve to 
                identify any individual.
            ``(17) Private nonprofit organization.--The term `private 
        nonprofit organization' means an organization--
                    ``(A) no part of the net earnings of which inures 
                to the benefit of any member, founder, contributor, or 
                individual;
                    ``(B) that has a voluntary board;
                    ``(C) that has an accounting system, or has 
                designated a fiscal agent in accordance with 
                requirements established by the Secretary; and
                    ``(D) that practices nondiscrimination in the 
                provision of assistance.
            ``(18) Project.--The term `project', used with respect to 
        activities carried out under subtitle C, means eligible 
        activities described in section 423(a), undertaken pursuant to 
        a specific endeavor, such as serving a particular population or 
        providing a particular resource.
            ``(19) Project-based.--The term `project-based', used with 
        respect to rental assistance, means assistance provided 
        pursuant to a contract that--
                    ``(A) is between--
                            ``(i) the recipient or a project sponsor; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) an owner of a structure that exists 
                        as of the date the contract is entered into; 
                        and
                    ``(B) provides that rental assistance payments 
                shall be made to the owner and that the units in the 
                structure shall be occupied by eligible persons for not 
                less than the term of the contract.
            ``(20) Project sponsor.--The term `project sponsor', used 
        with respect to proposed eligible activities, means the 
        organization directly responsible for carrying out the proposed 
        eligible activities.
            ``(21) Recipient.--Except as used in subtitle B, the term 
        `recipient' means an eligible entity who--
                    ``(A) submits an application for a grant under 
                section 422 that is approved by the Secretary;
                    ``(B) receives the grant directly from the 
                Secretary to support approved projects described in the 
                application; and
                    ``(C)(i) serves as a project sponsor for the 
                projects; or
                    ``(ii) awards the funds to project sponsors to 
                carry out the projects.
            ``(22) Safe haven.--The term `safe haven' means a 
        facility--
                    ``(A) that provides 24-hour residence for an 
                unspecified duration for persons who, on entry to the 
                facility, are unwilling or unable to participate in 
                mental health or substance abuse services, or to 
                receive other supportive services;
                    ``(B) that provides private or semi-private 
                accommodations;
                    ``(C) that may provide for the common use of 
                kitchen facilities, dining rooms, and bathrooms;
                    ``(D) that may provide supportive services, on a 
                drop-in basis, to eligible persons who are not 
                residents; and
                    ``(E) in which overnight occupancy is limited to no 
                more than 25 persons.
            ``(23) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
            ``(24) Seriously mentally ill.--The term `seriously 
        mentally ill' means having a severe and persistent mental 
        illness or emotional impairment that seriously limits a 
        person's ability to live independently.
            ``(25) Solo applicant.--The term `solo applicant' means an 
        entity that is an eligible entity, directly submits an 
        application for a grant under subtitle C to the Secretary, and, 
        if awarded such grant, receives such grant directly from the 
        Secretary.
            ``(26) State.--Except as used in subtitle B, the term 
        `State' means each of the several States, the District of 
        Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States 
        Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 
        the Northern Mariana Islands.
            ``(27) Supportive services.--The term `supportive services' 
        means--
                    ``(A) the establishment and operation of a child 
                care services program for families experiencing 
                homelessness;
                    ``(B) the establishment and operation of an 
                employment assistance program, including providing job 
                training;
                    ``(C) the provision of outpatient health services, 
                food, and case management;
                    ``(D) the provision of assistance in obtaining 
                permanent housing, employment counseling, and 
                nutritional counseling;
                    ``(E) the provision of outreach services, advocacy, 
                life skills training, and housing search and counseling 
                services;
                    ``(F) the provision of mental health services, 
                trauma counseling, and victim services;
                    ``(G) the provision of assistance in obtaining 
                other Federal, State, and local assistance available 
                for residents of supportive housing (including mental 
                health benefits, employment counseling, and medical 
                assistance, but not including major medical equipment);
                    ``(H) the provision of legal services for purposes 
                including requesting reconsiderations and appeals of 
                veterans and public benefit claim denials and resolving 
                outstanding warrants that interfere with an 
                individual's ability to obtain and retain housing; and
                    ``(I) the provision of--
                            ``(i) transportation services that 
                        facilitate an individual's ability to obtain 
                        and maintain employment;
                            ``(ii) income assistance;
                            ``(iii) health care; and
                            ``(iv) other supportive services necessary 
                        to obtain and maintain housing.
            ``(28) Tenant-based.--The term `tenant-based', used with 
        respect to rental assistance, means assistance that--
                    ``(A) allows an eligible person to select a housing 
                unit in which such person will live using rental 
                assistance provided under subtitle C, except that if 
                necessary to assure that the provision of supportive 
                services to a person participating in a program is 
                feasible, a recipient or project sponsor may require 
                that the person live--
                            ``(i) in a particular structure or unit for 
                        not more than the first year of the 
                        participation;
                            ``(ii) within a particular geographic area 
                        for the full period of the participation, or 
                        the period remaining after the period referred 
                        to in subparagraph (A); and
                    ``(B) provides that a person may receive such 
                assistance and move to another structure, unit, or 
                geographic area if the person has complied with all 
                other obligations of the program and has moved out of 
                the assisted dwelling unit in order to protect the 
                health or safety of an individual who is or has been 
                the victim of domestic violence, dating violence, 
                sexual assault, or stalking, and who reasonably 
                believed he or she was imminently threatened by harm 
                from further violence if he or she remained in the 
                assisted dwelling unit.
            ``(29) Transitional housing.--The term `transitional 
        housing' has the meaning given the term in section 424(b), and 
        includes transitional supportive housing.
            ``(30) Underserved populations.--The term `underserved 
        populations' includes populations underserved because of 
        geographic location, underserved racial and ethnic populations, 
        populations underserved because of special needs (such as 
        language barriers, disabilities, alienage status, or age), and 
        any other population determined to be underserved by the 
        Secretary, as appropriate.
            ``(31) Victim service provider.--The term `victim service 
        provider' means a private nonprofit organization whose primary 
        mission is to provide services to victims of domestic violence, 
        dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Such term 
        includes rape crisis centers, battered women's shelters, 
        domestic violence transitional housing programs, and other 
        programs.
            ``(32) Victim services.--The term `victim services' means 
        services that assist domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
        assault, or stalking victims, including services offered by 
        rape crisis centers and domestic violence shelters, and other 
        organizations, with a documented history of effective work 
        concerning domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
        or stalking.''.

SEC. 102. COMMUNITY HOMELESS ASSISTANCE PLANNING BOARDS.

    Subtitle A of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 11361 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 401 
(as added by section 101(3) of this Act) the following new section:

``SEC. 402. COMMUNITY HOMELESS ASSISTANCE PLANNING BOARDS.

    ``(a) Boards.--A community homeless assistance planning board shall 
be established for a geographic area by the relevant parties in that 
geographic area, or designated for a geographic area by the Secretary 
in accordance with subsection (c), to lead a collaborative planning 
process to design, execute, and evaluate programs, policies, and 
practices to prevent and end homelessness.
    ``(b) Membership.--A community board established under subsection 
(a) shall be composed of persons--
            ``(1) who are from a particular geographic area;
            ``(2) not less than 51 percent of whom are--
                    ``(A) persons who are experiencing or have 
                experienced homelessness (with not fewer than 2 persons 
                being individuals who are experiencing or have 
                experienced homelessness);
                    ``(B) persons who act as advocates for the diverse 
                subpopulations of persons experiencing homelessness, 
                including advocates for homeless veterans, persons who 
                are mentally ill, persons with physical disabilities, 
                youth, victims of domestic violence, and underserved 
                populations;
                    ``(C) persons or representatives of organizations 
                who provide assistance to the variety of individuals 
                and families experiencing homelessness, including 
                organizations serving the geographic area which have 
                been awarded funds through Federal Government programs 
                targeted to persons experiencing homelessness; or
                    ``(D) one or more local educational agency liaisons 
                designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) (42 U.S.C. 
                11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)); and
            ``(3) the remainder of whom are selected from among--
                    ``(A) government officials, particularly those 
                officials responsible for administering funding under 
                programs targeted for persons experiencing homelessness 
                and other programs for which persons experiencing 
                homelessness are eligible, including law enforcement 
                officials responsible for persons on parole or 
                probation;
                    ``(B) members of the business community;
                    ``(C) members of the religious community or faith-
                based organizations;
                    ``(D) members of neighborhood advocacy 
                organizations; and
                    ``(E) representatives within the geographic area of 
                the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social 
                Security Administration.
    ``(c) Existing Planning Bodies.--The Secretary may designate an 
entity to be a community board if such entity has, prior to the date of 
enactment of the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to 
Housing Act of 2007, engaged in coordinated, comprehensive local 
homeless housing and services planning and applied for Federal funding 
to provide homeless assistance.
    ``(d) Remedial Action.--If the Secretary finds that a community 
board for a geographic area does not meet the requirements of this 
section, the Secretary may take remedial action to ensure fair 
distribution of grant amounts under this title to eligible entities 
within that area. Such measures may include designating another body as 
a community board or permitting eligible entities to apply directly for 
grants.
    ``(e) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
displace conflict of interest or government fair practices laws, or 
their equivalent, that govern applicants for grant amounts under 
subtitles B and C.
    ``(f) Duties.--A community board established under subsection (a) 
shall--
            ``(1)(A) design a collaborative process, established 
        jointly and complied with by its members, for evaluating, 
        reviewing, and prioritizing projects and applications for 
        grants under subtitles B and C submitted by eligible entities, 
        in such a manner as to ensure that the entities further the 
        goal of preventing and ending homelessness in the geographic 
        area involved;
            ``(B)(i)(I) review relevant policies and practices (in 
        place and planned) of public and private entities in the 
        geographic area served by the community board to determine if 
        the policies and practices further or impede the goal described 
        in subparagraph (A);
            ``(II) in conducting the review, give priority to the 
        review of--
                    ``(aa) the discharge planning and service 
                termination policies and practices of publicly funded 
                facilities or institutions (such as health care or 
                treatment facilities or institutions, child welfare or 
                youth facilities, or juvenile or adult correctional 
                institutions), and entities carrying out publicly 
                funded programs and systems of care (such as health 
                care or treatment programs or State programs funded 
                under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 
                U.S.C. 601 et seq.; relating to Temporary Assistance 
                for Needy Families)), to ensure that such a discharge 
                or termination does not result in immediate 
                homelessness for the persons involved; in conducting 
                the review the community board shall provide an 
                estimate of the numbers of individuals discharged from 
                such publicly funded facilities or institutions in the 
                geographic area or applicable State to a homeless 
                situation;
                    ``(bb) the access and utilization policies and 
                practices of the entities carrying out mainstream 
                programs as identified by the Government Accountability 
                Office in the February 1999 report entitled, 
                `Homelessness: Coordination and Evaluation of Programs 
                are Essential', to ensure that persons at risk of or 
                experiencing homelessness are able to access and 
                utilize the programs;
                    ``(cc) local policies and practices relating to 
                zoning and enforcement of local statutes, to ensure 
                that the policies and practices allow reasonable 
                inclusion and distribution in the geographic area of 
                special needs populations and families with children 
                and the facilities that serve the populations and 
                families;
                    ``(dd) policies and practices relating to the 
                school selection and enrollment of homeless children 
                and youths (as defined in section 725) to ensure that 
                the homeless children and youths, and their parents, 
                are able to exercise their educational rights under 
                subtitle B of title VII;
                    ``(ee) policies and practices relating to the 
                placement of families with homeless children and youths 
                (as so defined) in emergency or transitional shelters, 
                to ensure that the children and youths are placed as 
                close as possible to their school of origin in order to 
                facilitate continuity of, and prevent disruption of, 
                educational services;
                    ``(ff) laws, ordinances, or policies of the 
                applicable States and units of general local government 
                that (AA) penalize homeless individuals and families 
                based upon their status as homeless, or (BB) establish 
                status offenses which may result in runaway and 
                homeless youths being adjudicated as delinquent; and
                    ``(gg) policies and practices penalizing victims of 
                domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
                stalking, and placing them at risk of becoming 
                homeless; and
            ``(III) in conducting the review, determine the 
        modifications and corrective actions that need to be taken, and 
        by whom, to ensure that the relevant policies and practices do 
        not stimulate, or prolong, homelessness in the geographic area, 
        or penalize homeless individuals and families, including 
        runaway and homeless youth, based upon their status as 
        homeless;
            ``(ii) inform the entities of the determinations described 
        in clause (i); and
            ``(iii) once every 3 years, prepare for inclusion in any 
        application reviewed by the community board and submitted to 
        the Secretary under section 422, the determinations described 
        in clause (i), in the form of an exhibit entitled `Assessment 
        of Relevant Policies and Practices, and Needed Corrective 
        Actions to End and Prevent Homelessness'; and
            ``(C) if the community board designs and carries out the 
        projects, design and carry out the projects in such a manner as 
        to further the goal described in subparagraph (A);
            ``(2) require, consistent with the Government Performance 
        and Results Act of 1993 and amendments made by that Act, that 
        recipients and project sponsors who are funded by grants 
        received under this title implement and maintain an outcome-
        based evaluation of their projects that measures effective and 
        timely delivery of housing or services and whether provision of 
        such housing or services results in preventing or ending 
        homelessness for the persons that such recipients and project 
        sponsors serve;
            ``(3) require, consistent with the Government Performance 
        and Results Act of 1993 and amendments made by that Act, 
        outcome-based evaluation of the community board's homeless 
        assistance planning process to measure the community board's 
        performance in preventing or ending the homelessness of persons 
        in the community board's geographic area;
            ``(4) participate in the Consolidated Plan for the 
        geographic area served by the community board; and
            ``(5) describe a targeted plan for ensuring housing and 
        services for veterans experiencing homelessness, including 
        coordination with services offered directly by or with the 
        financial support of the Department of Veterans Affairs''

SEC. 103. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND PERFORMANCE REPORTS.

    Subtitle A of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
11361 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 403 (as so 
redesignated by section 101(2) of this Act) the following new sections:

``SEC. 404. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall make available technical 
assistance to--
            ``(1) States, metropolitan cities, urban counties, and 
        counties that are not urban counties, to implement effective 
        planning processes for preventing and ending homelessness, to 
        improve their capacity to prepare collaborative applications, 
        and to adopt and provide best practices in housing and services 
        for persons experiencing homeless; and
            ``(2) community boards or their predecessor homeless 
        planning bodies in States, metropolitan cities, urban counties, 
        and counties that are not urban counties, to improve their 
        capacity to prepare collaborative applications.
    ``(b) Reservation.--The Secretary shall reserve not more than 1 
percent of the funds made available for any fiscal year for carrying 
out subtitles B and C, to provide technical assistance under subsection 
(a).

``SEC. 405. PERFORMANCE REPORTS.

    ``(a) In General.--Each community board shall submit to the 
Secretary an annual performance report regarding the activities carried 
out with grant amounts received under subtitles B and C in the 
geographic area served by the community board, at such time and in such 
manner as the Secretary determines to be reasonable.
    ``(b) Content.--The performance report described in subsection (a) 
shall--
            ``(1) describe the number of persons provided homelessness 
        prevention assistance, and the number of individuals and 
        families experiencing homelessness who were provided shelter, 
        housing, or supportive services, with the grant amounts awarded 
        in the fiscal year prior to the fiscal year in which the report 
        was submitted, including measurements of the number of persons 
        experiencing homelessness who--
                    ``(A) entered permanent housing, and the length of 
                time such persons resided in that housing, if known;
                    ``(B) entered transitional housing, and the length 
                of time such persons resided in that housing, if known;
                    ``(C) obtained or retained jobs;
                    ``(D) increased their income, including increasing 
                income through the receipt of government benefits;
                    ``(E) received mental health or substance abuse 
                services in an institutional setting and now receive 
                that assistance in a less restrictive, community-based 
                setting;
                    ``(F) received additional education, vocational or 
                job training, or employment assistance services;
                    ``(G) received additional physical, mental, or 
                emotional health care;
                    ``(H) were children under the age of 18 during the 
                year at issue, including the number of--
                            ``(i) children who were not younger than 2 
                        and not older than 4, or were infants or 
                        toddlers with disabilities (as defined in 
                        section 632 of the Individuals with 
                        Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1432));
                            ``(ii) children described in clause (i) who 
                        were enrolled in preschool or were receiving 
                        services under part C of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
                        1431 et seq.);
                            ``(iii) children who were not younger than 
                        5 and not older than 17;
                            ``(iv) children described in clause (iii) 
                        who are enrolled in elementary school or 
                        secondary school (as such terms are defined in 
                        section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
                        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); and
                            ``(v) children under the age of 18 who 
                        received child care, health care, mental health 
                        care, or supplemental educational services; and
                    ``(I) were reunited with their families;
            ``(2) estimate the number of persons experiencing 
        homelessness in the geographic area served by the community 
        board who are eligible for, but did not receive, services, 
        housing, or other assistance through the programs funded under 
        subtitles B and C in the prior fiscal year;
            ``(3) indicate the accomplishments achieved within the 
        geographic area to prevent the homelessness of persons 
        discharged from publicly funded institutions or systems of care 
        (such as health care facilities, child welfare or other youth 
        facilities or systems of care, institutions or systems of care 
        relating to the temporary assistance to needy families program 
        established under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), and juvenile or adult corrections 
        programs and institutions);
            ``(4) indicate the accomplishments achieved within the 
        geographic area that involved the use of the grant amounts 
        awarded in the prior fiscal year, regarding efforts to 
        coordinate services and programs within the geographic area;
            ``(5) indicate the accomplishments achieved within the 
        geographic area to increase access, by persons experiencing 
        homelessness, to programs that are not targeted for persons 
        experiencing homelessness (but for which persons experiencing 
        homelessness are eligible), including mainstream programs 
        identified by the Government Accountability Office report 
        entitled `Homelessness: Coordination and Evaluation of Programs 
        are Essential' issued in February 26, 1999, and by the 
        Government Accountability Office report entitled `Homeless 
        Barriers to Using Mainstream Programs', issued in July 6, 2000;
            ``(6) assess the consistency and coordination between the 
        programs funded under subtitles B and C in the prior fiscal 
        year and the Consolidated Plan; and
            ``(7) indicate the accomplishments within the applicable 
        States and units of general local government of the geographic 
        area to repeal or modify laws, ordinances, or policies of the 
        applicable States and units of general local government that--
                    ``(A) penalize homeless individuals and families 
                based upon their status as homeless;
                    ``(B) establish status offenses which may result in 
                runaway and homeless youths being adjudicated as 
                delinquent; or
                    ``(C) disallow reasonable inclusion and 
                distribution in the geographic area of special needs 
                populations and families with children and the 
                facilities that serve the populations and families
    ``(c) Waiver.--The Secretary may grant a waiver to any community 
board that is unable to provide information required by subsection (b). 
Such community board shall submit a plan to provide such information 
within a reasonable period of time.''.

SEC. 104. PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION BY VICTIM 
              SERVICE PROVIDERS.

    Subtitle A of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
11361 et seq.), as amended by the preceding provisions of this title, 
is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 407. PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION BY VICTIM 
              SERVICE PROVIDERS.

    ``In the course of awarding grants or implementing programs under 
this title, the Secretary shall instruct any victim service provider 
that is a recipient or subgrantee not to disclose for purposes of the 
Homeless Management Information System any personally identifying 
information about any client. The Secretary may, after public notice 
and comment, require or ask such recipients and subgrantees to disclose 
for purposes of the Homeless Management Information System non-
personally identifying information that has been de-identified, 
encrypted, or otherwise encoded. Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to supersede any provision of any Federal, State, or local 
law that provides greater protection than this subsection for victims 
of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.''.

SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Subtitle A of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
11361 et seq.), as amended by the preceding provisions of this title, 
is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 408. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out title II and 
this title $2,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2008and such sums as may be 
necessary for each of fiscal years 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.''.

               TITLE II--EMERGENCY SHELTER GRANTS PROGRAM

SEC. 201. GRANT ASSISTANCE.

    The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is amended by striking 
section 412 (42 U.S.C. 11372) and inserting the following new section:

``SEC. 412. GRANT ASSISTANCE.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall make grants to States and 
local governments (and to private nonprofit organizations providing 
assistance to persons experiencing homelessness, in the case of grants 
made with reallocated amounts) for the purpose of carrying out 
activities described in section 414.
    ``(b) Coordination With Community Boards.--An entity that receives 
a grant under this section and serves an area that includes one or more 
geographic areas (or portions of such areas) served by community boards 
that submit applications under subtitle C, shall allocate the funds 
made available through the grant to carry out activities described in 
section 414, in consultation with such community boards.''.

SEC. 202. AMOUNT AND ALLOCATION OF ASSISTANCE.

    Section 413 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 11373) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``amounts appropriated'' and all 
                that follows through ``for any'' and inserting 
                ``amounts appropriated under section 408 and made 
                available to carry out this subtitle for any''; and
                    (B) by striking ``subsection (a)'' and inserting 
                ``subsection (b)'';
            (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ``subsection (b)'' 
        and inserting ``subsection (c)'';
            (3) by redesignating subsections (a) through (e) as 
        subsections (b) through (f), respectively; and
            (4) by inserting before subsection (b) (as so redesignated 
        by paragraph (3) of this section) the following new subsection:
    ``(a) Limitation on Amounts Used for Emergency Shelter.--Of the 
amount made available to carry out this subtitle and subtitle C for a 
fiscal year, the Secretary shall allocate nationally for use under this 
subtitle an aggregate amount not exceeding 15 percent of such total 
amount.''.

SEC. 203. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.

    The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is amended by striking 
section 414 (42 U.S.C. 11374) and inserting the following new section:

``SEC. 414. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.

    ``Assistance provided under section 412 may be used for the 
following activities:
            ``(1) The renovation, major rehabilitation, or conversion 
        of buildings to be used as emergency shelters.
            ``(2) The provision of essential services, including 
        services concerned with employment, health, or education, 
        family support services for homeless youth, substance abuse 
        services, victim services, or mental health services, if--
                    ``(A) such essential services have not been 
                provided by the local government during any part of the 
                immediately preceding 12-month period or the Secretary 
                determines that the local government is in a severe 
                financial deficit; or
                    ``(B) the use of assistance under this subtitle 
                would complement the provision of those essential 
                services.
            ``(3) Maintenance, operation, insurance, provision of 
        utilities, and provision of furnishings.
            ``(4) For homelessness prevention activities.''.

SEC. 204. REPEALS.

    Sections 417 and 418 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 11377, 11378) are hereby repealed.

                  TITLE III--CONTINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM

SEC. 301. CONTINUUM OF CARE.

    The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is amended--
            (1) by striking the subtitle heading for subtitle C of 
        title IV (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.) and inserting the following:

             ``Subtitle C--Continuum of Care Program''; and

            (2) by striking section 422 (42 U.S.C. 11382) and inserting 
        the following new section:

``SEC. 422. CONTINUUM OF CARE APPLICATIONS AND GRANTS.

    ``(a) Eligible Applicant.--In this section, the term `eligible 
applicant' means a collaborative applicant or solo applicant.
    ``(b) Projects.--The Secretary shall award grants to eligible 
applicants to carry out homeless assistance and prevention projects.
    ``(c) Notification of Funding Availability.--The Secretary shall 
release a notification of funding availability for grants awarded under 
this subtitle for a fiscal year not later than 3 months after the date 
of enactment of the appropriate Act making appropriations for the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development for such fiscal year.
    ``(d) Applications.--
            ``(1) In general.--To receive a grant under subsection (b), 
        an eligible applicant shall submit an application for the grant 
        to a community board in accordance with the collaborative 
        process established by the board, as described in section 402, 
        and have such application reviewed, approved, and prioritized 
        by such community board, except that a solo applicant may 
        submit such application to the Secretary without participating 
        in such process if the applicant includes information in such 
        application regarding why the applicant has not participated.
            ``(2) Contents.--To receive the grant, after receiving 
        approval from the community board for the application, the 
        eligible applicant shall submit an application to the Secretary 
        at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require, 
        and containing--
                    ``(A) the application submitted to the community 
                board; and
                    ``(B) other information that, in addition to 
                including the information described in subsections (a) 
                and (c) of section 426, shall--
                            ``(i) describe the establishment and 
                        function of the community board, including--
                                    ``(I) the nomination and selection 
                                process for such board, including the 
                                names and affiliations of all such 
                                board members;
                                    ``(II) all meetings held by such 
                                board in preparing the collaborative 
                                application, including identification 
                                of those meetings that were public;
                                    ``(III) all meetings between board 
                                representatives, and persons 
                                responsible for administering the 
                                consolidated plan; and
                                    ``(IV) documentation of efforts 
                                undertaken to ensure the participation 
                                of all community organizations 
                                providing services to homeless 
                                individuals and of organizations 
                                representing underserved communities;
                            ``(ii) outline the range of housing and 
                        service programs available to persons 
                        experiencing homelessness or imminently at risk 
                        of experiencing homelessness and describe the 
                        unmet needs that remain in the geographic area 
                        for which the collaborative applicant seeks 
                        funding regarding--
                                    ``(I) prevention activities, 
                                including providing assistance in--
                                            ``(aa) making mortgage, 
                                        rent, or utility payments; or
                                            ``(bb) accessing permanent 
                                        housing and transitional 
                                        housing for individuals (and 
                                        families that include the 
                                        individuals) who are being 
                                        discharged from a publicly 
                                        funded facility, program, or 
                                        system of care, or whose 
                                        services (from such a facility, 
                                        program, or system of care) are 
                                        being terminated, including 
                                        discharge from a child welfare 
                                        or juvenile corrections 
                                        program;
                                    ``(II) outreach activities to 
                                assess the needs and conditions of 
                                persons experiencing homelessness;
                                    ``(III) emergency shelters, 
                                including the supportive and referral 
                                services the shelters provide;
                                    ``(IV) transitional housing with, 
                                as needed, appropriate supportive 
                                services to help persons experiencing 
                                homelessness who are not yet able or 
                                prepared to make the transition to 
                                permanent housing and independent 
                                living;
                                    ``(V) permanent housing to help 
                                meet the long-term needs of individuals 
                                and families experiencing homelessness; 
                                and
                                    ``(VI) needed supportive services;
                            ``(iii) prioritize the projects for which 
                        the collaborative applicant seeks funding 
                        according to the unmet needs in the fiscal year 
                        in which the applicant submits the application 
                        as described in clause (ii);
                            ``(iv) identify funds from private and 
                        public sources, other than funds received under 
                        subtitle B and this subtitle, that the State, 
                        units of general local government, recipients, 
                        project sponsors, and others will use for 
                        homelessness prevention, emergency shelter, 
                        supportive services, transitional housing, 
                        permanent housing, and permanent supportive 
                        housing that will be integrated with the 
                        assistance provided under subtitle B and this 
                        subtitle;
                            ``(v) identify funds provided by the State 
                        and units of general local government under 
                        programs targeted for persons experiencing 
                        homelessness, and other programs for which 
                        persons experiencing homelessness are eligible, 
                        including programs identified by the General 
                        Accounting Office in the February 1999 report 
                        entitled `Homelessness: Coordination and 
                        Evaluation of Programs Are Essential';
                            ``(vi) explain--
                                    ``(I) how the collaborative 
                                applicant will meet the housing and 
                                service needs of individuals and 
                                families experiencing homelessness in 
                                the applicant's community; and
                                    ``(II) the strategy of the State, 
                                units of general local government, and 
                                private entities in the geographic area 
                                over the next 5 years to prevent and 
                                end homelessness, including, as part of 
                                that strategy, a work plan for the 
                                applicable fiscal years;
                            ``(vii) report on the outcome-based 
                        performance of programs for homeless persons 
                        within the geographic area served by the 
                        collaborative applicant that were funded under 
                        this title in the fiscal year prior to the 
                        fiscal year in which the application is 
                        submitted;
                            ``(viii) include any relevant required 
                        agreements under this subtitle;
                            ``(ix) contain a certification of 
                        consistency with the consolidated plan pursuant 
                        to section 403;
                            ``(x) contain a certification that the 
                        applicable States and units of general local 
                        government are not penalizing homeless 
                        individuals and families--
                                    ``(I) through laws, ordinances, or 
                                policies based upon their status as 
                                homeless;
                                    ``(II) by using zoning laws, 
                                ordinances, or policies to prevent the 
                                siting of facilities designed to serve 
                                homeless persons; or
                                    ``(III) through laws that establish 
                                status offenses which may result in 
                                runaway and homeless youths being 
                                adjudicated as delinquent;
                            ``(xi) contain such certifications and 
                        assurances to ensure that--
                                    ``(I) project sponsors for all 
                                projects for which collaborative 
                                applicant seeks funding through the 
                                grant will establish policies and 
                                practices that are consistent with, and 
                                do not restrict the exercise of rights 
                                provided by, subtitle B of title VII 
                                (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.), and other 
                                laws relating to the provision of 
                                educational and related services to 
                                individuals experiencing homelessness; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) the strategy referred to in 
                                clause (vi)(II) will take the 
                                educational needs of children into 
                                account when families are placed in 
                                emergency or transitional shelter and 
                                will, to the maximum extent 
                                practicable, place families with 
                                children as close to possible to their 
                                school of origin so as not to disrupt 
                                such children's education; and
                            ``(xii)(I) in the case of a collaborative 
                        applicant, include an exhibit described in 
                        section 402(f)(1)(B)(iii) and prepared by the 
                        community board in accordance with that 
                        section; or
                            ``(II) in the case of a solo applicant, 
                        include an exhibit described in section 
                        402(f)(1)(B)(iii) and prepared by the 
                        applicant.
            ``(3) Consideration of veterans affairs assessments.--In 
        outlining the programs and describing the needs referred to in 
        clause (ii) of paragraph (2)(B), the applicant shall take into 
        account the findings and recommendations of the most recently 
        completed annual assessments, conducted pursuant to section 
        2034 of title 38, United States Code, of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs medical centers or regional benefits offices 
        whose service areas include the geographic area for which the 
        applicant seeks funding.
            ``(4) Announcement of awards.--The Secretary shall 
        announce, not later than 5 months after the last date for the 
        submission of applications described in this subsection for a 
        fiscal year, the grants awarded under subsection (b) for that 
        fiscal year.
            ``(5) Obligation, distribution, and utilization of funds.--
                    ``(A) Requirements for obligation.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not later than 9 months 
                        after the announcement referred to in paragraph 
                        (4), each recipient or project sponsor seeking 
                        the obligation of funds for a grant announced 
                        under paragraph (4) shall meet all requirements 
                        for the obligation of those funds, including 
                        site control, matching funds, and environmental 
                        review requirements, except as provided in 
                        clause (ii).
                            ``(ii) Acquisition, rehabilitation, or 
                        construction.--Not later than 15 months after 
                        the announcement referred to in paragraph (4), 
                        each recipient or project sponsor seeking the 
                        obligation of funds for acquisition of housing, 
                        rehabilitation of housing, or construction of 
                        new housing for a grant announced under 
                        paragraph (4) shall meet all requirements for 
                        the obligation of those funds, including site 
                        control, matching funds, and environmental 
                        review requirements.
                            ``(iii) Extensions.--At the discretion of 
                        the Secretary, and in compelling circumstances, 
                        the Secretary may extend the date by which a 
                        recipient or project sponsor shall meet the 
                        requirements described in clause (i) if the 
                        Secretary determines that compliance with the 
                        requirements was delayed due to factors beyond 
                        the reasonable control of the recipient or 
                        project sponsor. Such factors may include 
                        difficulties in obtaining site control for a 
                        proposed project, completing the process of 
                        obtaining secure financing for the project, or 
                        completing the technical submission 
                        requirements for the project.
                    ``(B) Obligation.--Not later than 45 days after a 
                recipient or project sponsor meets the requirements 
                described in subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary shall 
                obligate the funds for the grant involved.
                    ``(C) Distribution.--A recipient that receives 
                funds through such a grant--
                            ``(i) shall distribute the funds to project 
                        sponsors (in advance of expenditures by the 
                        project sponsors); and
                            ``(ii) shall distribute the appropriate 
                        portion of the funds to a project sponsor not 
                        later than 21 days after receiving a request 
                        for such distribution from the project sponsor.
    ``(e) Selection Criteria.--In determining whether to award a grant 
to an applicant under subsection (b), the Secretary shall consider, in 
addition to criteria described in section 426(b)--
            ``(1) the inclusiveness of the community board involved and 
        the process the board administered, if applicable;
            ``(2) the comprehensiveness and coordination of the 
        homelessness prevention, housing, and services programs 
        (including discharge planning and service termination 
        protocols) within the geographic area served by the community 
        board;
            ``(3) the efforts undertaken to involve all community 
        organizations providing services to homeless individuals and 
        organizations representing underserved communities participated 
        in the continuum of care;
            ``(4) the extent to which prioritized programs meet unmet 
        needs;
            ``(5) the capacity of the geographic area to leverage 
        funding from other public and private sources;
            ``(6) the long-term strategy of the applicable States and 
        units of general local government to combat, prevent, and end 
        homelessness;
            ``(7) the performance of the homelessness prevention, 
        housing, and services programs funded in the fiscal year prior 
        to the date of submission of the application;
            ``(8) the need for services in the geographic area;
            ``(9) the plan by which--
                    ``(A) access to appropriate permanent housing will 
                be secured if the proposed project does not include 
                permanent housing; and
                    ``(B) access to outcome-effective supportive 
                services will be secured for residents or consumers 
                involved in the project who are willing to use the 
                services;
            ``(10) the evaluation plan for evaluations of the project, 
        which--
                    ``(A) will use periodically collected information 
                and analysis to determine whether the project has 
                resulted in enhanced stability and well-being of the 
                residents or consumers served by the project;
                    ``(B) will include evaluations obtained directly 
                from the individuals or families served by the project; 
                and
                    ``(C) will be submitted by the recipient for the 
                grant to the community board for review and use in 
                assessments, conducted by the board consistent with the 
                board's duty to ensure effective outcomes that 
                contribute to the goal of preventing and ending 
                homelessness in the geographic area served by the 
                board;
            ``(11) the extent to which the applicable States and units 
        of general local government have made commitments to and are 
        taking actions to uphold the civil rights of homeless families 
        and individuals, including removing or repealing any policies 
        or laws that--
                    ``(A) penalize homeless individuals and families 
                based upon their status as homeless;
                    ``(B) establish status offenses which may result in 
                runaway and homeless youths being adjudicated as 
                delinquent; or
                    ``(C) disallow reasonable inclusion and 
                distribution in the geographic area of special needs 
                populations and families with children and the 
                facilities that serve the populations and families; and
            ``(12) any other criteria the Secretary determines to be 
        reasonably appropriate.
    ``(f) Notification of Pro Rata Estimated Grant Amounts.--
            ``(1) Notice.--The Secretary shall inform each community 
        board, at a time concurrent with the release of the notice of 
        funding availability for the grants, of the pro rata estimated 
        grant amount under this subtitle for the geographic area 
        represented by the board.
            ``(2) Amount.--
                    ``(A) Basis.--Such estimated grant amount shall be 
                based on a percentage of the total funds available, or 
                estimated to be available, to carry out this subtitle 
                for any fiscal year that is equal to the percentage of 
                the total amount available for section 106 of the 
                Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 
                U.S.C. 5306) for the prior fiscal year that--
                            ``(i) was allocated to all metropolitan 
                        cities and urban counties within the geographic 
                        area represented by the Board; or
                            ``(ii) would have been distributed to all 
                        counties within such geographic area that are 
                        not urban counties, if the 30 percent portion 
                        of the allocation to the State involved (as 
                        described in subsection (d)(1) of that section 
                        106) for that year had been distributed among 
                        the counties that are not urban counties in the 
                        State in accordance with the formula specified 
                        in that subsection (with references in that 
                        subsection to nonentitlement areas considered 
                        to be references to those counties).
                    ``(B) Adjustment.--In computing the estimated grant 
                amount, the Secretary shall adjust the estimated grant 
                amount determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) to 
                ensure that--
                            ``(i) 75 percent of the total funds 
                        available, or estimated to be available, to 
                        carry out this subtitle for any fiscal year are 
                        allocated to the metropolitan cities and urban 
                        counties that received a direct allocation of 
                        funds under section 413 for the prior fiscal 
                        year; and
                            ``(ii) 25 percent of the total funds 
                        available, or estimated to be available, to 
                        carry out this subtitle for any fiscal year are 
                        allocated--
                                    ``(I) to the metropolitan cities 
                                and urban counties that did not receive 
                                a direct allocation of funds under 
                                section 413 for the prior fiscal year; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) to counties that are not 
                                urban counties.
                    ``(C) Combinations or consortia.--For any community 
                board that represents a combination or consortium of 
                cities or counties, the estimated grant amount shall be 
                the sum of the estimated grant amounts for the cities 
                or counties represented by the board.
    ``(g) Appeals.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 3 months after the date 
        of enactment of the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid 
        Transition to Housing Act of 2007, the Secretary shall 
        establish a timely appeal procedure for grant amounts awarded 
        or denied under this subtitle pursuant to a collaborative 
        application or solo application for funding.
            ``(2) Process.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
        procedure permits appeals submitted by community boards, 
        entities carrying out homeless housing and services projects 
        (including emergency shelters and homelessness prevention 
        programs), homeless planning bodies not designated by the 
        Secretary as community boards, and all other applicants under 
        this subtitle.
    ``(h) Solo Applicants.--A solo applicant may submit an application 
to the Secretary for a grant under subsection (b) and be awarded such 
grant on the same basis as such grants are awarded to other applicants 
based on the criteria described in subsection (e), but only if the 
Secretary determines that the solo applicant has attempted to 
participate in the continuum of care process but was not permitted to 
participate in a reasonable manner. The Secretary may award such grants 
directly to such applicants in a manner determined to be appropriate by 
the Secretary.''.

SEC. 302. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.

    The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is amended by striking 
section 423 (42 U.S.C. 11383) and inserting the following new section:

``SEC. 423. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.

    ``(a) In General.--Grants awarded under section 422 to qualified 
applicants shall be used only to carry out homeless assistance and 
prevention projects that consist of one or more of the following 
eligible activities:
            ``(1) Construction of new housing units to provide 
        transitional or permanent housing.
            ``(2) Acquisition or rehabilitation of a structure to 
        provide transitional or permanent housing, other than emergency 
        shelter, or to provide supportive services.
            ``(3) Leasing of property, or portions of property, not 
        owned by the recipient or project sponsor involved, for use in 
        providing transitional or permanent housing, or providing 
        supportive services.
            ``(4) Provision of rental assistance to provide 
        transitional or permanent housing to eligible persons. The 
        rental assistance may include tenant-based, project-based, or 
        independently owned rental assistance.
            ``(5) Payment of operating costs for housing units assisted 
        under this subtitle.
            ``(6) Supportive services.
            ``(7) Homelessness prevention activities, subject to 
        subsection (b).
    ``(b) Eligibility for Funds for Homelessness Prevention 
Activities.--
            ``(1) Application requirement.--To be eligible to receive 
        grant funds under section 422 to carry out homelessness 
        prevention activities, an applicant shall submit an application 
        to the Secretary under section 422 that shall include a 
        certification in which--
                    ``(A) the relevant public entities in the 
                geographic area involved certify compliance with 
                paragraph (2); and
                    ``(B) the publicly funded institutions, facilities, 
                and systems of care in the geographic area certify that 
                the institutions, facilities, and systems of care will 
                take, and fund directly, all reasonable measures to 
                ensure that the institutions, facilities, and systems 
                of care do not discharge individuals into homelessness.
            ``(2) Supplementation requirement.--Funds appropriated 
        under section 408 and made available for homelessness 
        prevention activities shall be used to supplement, and not 
        supplant, other Federal, State, and local public funds used for 
        homelessness prevention.
    ``(c) Use Restrictions.--
            ``(1) Acquisition, rehabilitation, and new construction.--A 
        project that consists of activities described in paragraph (1) 
        or (2) of subsection (a) shall be operated for the purpose 
        specified in the application submitted for the project under 
        section 422 for not less than 20 years.
            ``(2) Other activities.--A project that consists of 
        activities described in any of paragraphs (3) through (7) of 
        subsection (a) shall be operated for the purpose specified in 
        the application submitted for the project under section 422 for 
        the duration of the grant period involved.
            ``(3) Conversion.--If the recipient or project sponsor 
        carrying out a project that provides transitional or permanent 
        housing submits a request to the Secretary to carry out instead 
        a project for the direct benefit of low-income persons, and the 
        Secretary determines that the initial project is no longer 
        needed to provide transitional or permanent housing, the 
        Secretary may approve the project described in the request and 
        authorize the recipient or project sponsor to carry out that 
        project.
    ``(d) Repayment of Assistance and Prevention of Undue Benefits.--
            ``(1) Repayment.--If a recipient or project sponsor 
        receives assistance under section 422 to carry out a project 
        that consists of activities described in paragraph (1) or (2) 
        of subsection (a) and the project ceases to provide 
        transitional or permanent housing--
                    ``(A) earlier than 10 years after operation of the 
                project begins, the Secretary shall require the 
                recipient or project sponsor to repay 100 percent of 
                the assistance; or
                    ``(B) not earlier than 10 years, but earlier than 
                20 years, after operation of the project begins, the 
                Secretary shall require the recipient or project 
                sponsor to repay 10 percent of the assistance for each 
                of the years in the 20-year period for which the 
                project fails to provide that housing.
            ``(2) Prevention of undue benefits.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (3), if any property is used for a project that 
        receives assistance under subsection (a) and consists of 
        activities described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), 
        and the sale or other disposition of the property occurs before 
        the expiration of the 20-year period beginning on the date that 
        operation of the project begins, the recipient or project 
        sponsor who received the assistance shall comply with such 
        terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe to prevent 
        the recipient or project sponsor from unduly benefitting from 
        such sale or disposition.
            ``(3) Exception.--A recipient or project sponsor shall not 
        be required to make the repayments, and comply with the terms 
        and conditions, required under paragraph (1) or (2) if--
                    ``(A) the sale or disposition of the property used 
                for the project results in the use of the property for 
                the direct benefit of very low-income persons; or
                    ``(B) all of the proceeds of the sale or 
                disposition are used to provide transitional or 
                permanent housing meeting the requirements of this 
                subtitle.''.

SEC. 303. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 426 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 11386) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Applications'' 
                and all that follows through ``shall'' and inserting 
                ``Applications for assistance under section 422 
                shall'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by striking subparagraph (B) and 
                        inserting the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(B) a description of the size and characteristics 
                of the population that would occupy housing units or 
                receive supportive services assisted under this 
                subtitle;''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``in 
                        the case of projects assisted under this title 
                        that do not receive assistance under such 
                        sections,''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (3), in the last sentence, by 
                striking ``recipient'' and inserting ``recipient or 
                project sponsor'';
            (2) in subsection (d), in the first sentence, by striking 
        ``recipient'' and inserting ``recipient or project sponsor'';
            (3) by striking subsection (e);
            (4) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), and (h), as 
        subsections (e), (f), and (g), respectively;
            (5) in subsection (f) (as so redesignated by paragraph (4) 
        of this section), in the first sentence, by striking 
        ``recipient'' each place it appears and inserting ``recipient 
        or project sponsor'';
            (6) by striking subsection (i); and
            (7) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (h).

SEC. 304. ALLOCATION AMOUNTS AND FUNDING.

    The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is amended--
            (1) by repealing section 429 (42 U.S.C. 11389); and
            (2) by redesignating sections 427 and 428 (42 U.S.C. 11387, 
        11388) as sections 432 and 433, respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after section 426 the following new 
        sections:

``SEC. 427. ALLOCATION OF AMOUNTS FOR SPECIFIC ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.

    ``(a) Prevention Activities.--From the amount made available to 
carry out this subtitle for each fiscal year (not including any amounts 
made available under section 408 and allocated for use under subtitle 
B), an amount equal to not more than 3 percent shall be used for 
prevention activities described in section 423(a)(9).
    ``(b) Treatment of Amounts for Permanent or Transitional Housing.--
Nothing in this Act may be construed to establish a limit on the amount 
of funding that an applicant may request under this subtitle for 
acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation activities for the 
development of permanent housing or transitional housing.

``SEC. 428. RENEWAL FUNDING AND TERMS OF ASSISTANCE FOR GRANT AMOUNTS 
              FOR PERMANENT HOUSING.

    ``(a) Availability of Amounts.--Of the total amount made available 
for use in connection with this subtitle, such sums as may be necessary 
shall be used for renewing expiring contracts within the `Homeless 
Assistance Grants' account of the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development.
    ``(b) Terms of Renewal Assistance.--Amounts used pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall be available for the renewal of contracts funded 
under this subtitle, subtitle C, or subtitle F, for homeless 
individuals and homeless families. The Secretary shall determine 
whether to renew a contract on the basis of demonstrated need for the 
project and the compliance of the entity carrying out the project with 
appropriate standards of housing quality and habitability as determined 
by the Secretary.

``SEC. 429. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.

    ``(a) Administrative Expenses.--Grant amounts awarded under this 
subtitle may be used for administrative expenses, including expenses 
for--
            ``(1) carrying out routine grant administration and 
        monitoring activities;
            ``(2) receipt and disbursement of program funds;
            ``(3) preparation of financial and performance reports, 
        including carrying out management information system functions; 
        and
            ``(4) compliance with grant conditions and audit 
        requirements.
    ``(b) Limitations on Administrative Expenses.--A portion, of not 
more than 6 percent, of grant amounts awarded under this subtitle may 
be used for administrative expenses described in subsection (a), and 
not less than \1/2\ of such portion shall be allocated to nonprofit 
organizations and other project sponsors to fund management information 
system functions, application preparation, and preparation of annual 
performance and other evaluation reports.

``SEC. 430. MATCHING FUNDING.

    ``An entity who submits an application and receives a grant under 
this subtitle shall make available contributions, in cash or in donated 
services, in an amount equal to not less than 25 percent of the Federal 
funds provided under the grant.

``SEC. 431. APPEAL PROCEDURE.

    ``(a) In General.--With respect to funding under this subtitle, if 
certification of consistency with the consolidated plan pursuant to 
section 403 is withheld from an applicant who has submitted an 
application for that certification, such applicant may appeal such 
decision to the Secretary.
    ``(b) Procedure.--The Secretary shall establish a procedure to 
process the appeals described in subsection (a).
    ``(c) Determination.--Not later than 45 days after the date of 
receipt of an appeal described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
determine if certification was unreasonably withheld. If such 
certification was unreasonably withheld, the Secretary shall review 
such application and determine if such applicant shall receive funding 
under this subtitle.''.

              TITLE IV--REPEALS AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS

SEC. 401. REPEALS.

    Subtitles D, E, F, and G of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11391 et seq., 11401 et seq., 11403 et seq., 
and 11408 et seq.) are hereby repealed.

SEC. 402. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Consolidated Plan.--Section 403(1) of the McKinney-Vento 
Homeless Assistance Act (as so redesignated by section 101(2) of this 
Act), is amended--
            (1) by striking ``current housing affordability strategy'' 
        and inserting ``consolidated plan''; and
            (2) by inserting before the comma the following: 
        ``(referred to in such section as a `comprehensive housing 
        affordability strategy')''.
    (b) Persons Experiencing Homelessness.--Section 103 of the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Persons Experiencing Homelessness.--Any references in this 
Act to homeless individuals (including homeless persons) or homeless 
groups (including homeless persons) shall be considered to include, and 
to refer to, individuals experiencing homelessness or groups 
experiencing homelessness, respectively.''.

SEC. 403. AMENDMENT TO TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    The table of contents in section 101(b) of the McKinney-Vento 
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 note) is amended by striking 
the item relating to the heading for title IV and all that follows 
through the item relating to section 492 and inserting the following 
new items:

                     ``TITLE IV--HOUSING ASSISTANCE

          ``Subtitle A--Comprehensive Homeless Assistance Plan

``Sec. 401. Definitions.
``Sec. 402. Community homeless assistance planning boards.
``Sec. 403. Housing affordability strategy.
``Sec. 404. Technical assistance.
``Sec. 405. Performance reports.
``Sec. 406. Discharge coordination policy.
``Sec. 407. Protection of personally identifying information by victim 
                            service providers.
``Sec. 408. Authorization of appropriations.
             ``Subtitle B--Emergency Shelter Grants Program

``Sec. 411. Definitions.
``Sec. 412. Grant assistance.
``Sec. 413. Allocation and distribution of assistance.
``Sec. 414. Eligible activities.
``Sec. 415. Responsibilities of recipients.
``Sec. 416. Administrative provisions.
                ``Subtitle C--Continuum of Care Program

``Sec. 421. Purpose.
``Sec. 422. Continuum of care applications and grants.
``Sec. 423. Eligible activities.
``Sec. 424. Supportive housing.
``Sec. 425. Supportive services.
``Sec. 426. Program requirements.
``Sec. 427. Allocation of amounts for specific eligible activities.
``Sec. 428. Renewal funding and terms of assistance for grant amounts 
                            for permanent housing.
``Sec. 429. Administrative expenses.
``Sec. 430. Matching funding.
``Sec. 431. Appeal procedure.
``Sec. 432. Regulations.
``Sec. 433. Reports to Congress.''.
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