[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 3 (Thursday, January 5, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1785-1788]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-237]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Proposed Priorities for Fiscal 
Year 1995

AGENCY: Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Fiscal Year 1995 Runaway and Homeless Youth 
Program Priorities for the Administration for Children and Families.

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SUMMARY: Section 384 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, 42 U.S.C. 
5732, requires the Secretary to publish annually, for public comment, a 
proposed plan specifying priorities the Department will follow in 
awarding grants and contracts under the Act. The final priorities 
selected will take into consideration the comments and recommendations 
received from the public in response to this notice.
    The public, particularly those knowledgeable about and experienced 
in providing services to runaway and homeless youth, are urged to 
respond. The actual solicitations for grant applications will be 
published at a later date in the Federal Register. Solicitations for 
contracts will be published in the ``Commerce Business Daily'' or 
addressed to the eight Master Contractors for the ``Policy and Program 
Studies'' consortium recently established by the Administration on 
Children, Youth and Families (ACYF). No proposals, concept papers or 
other forms of application should be submitted at this time.

DATES: To be considered, comments must be received no later than 
February 21, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Please address comments to: Olivia A. Golden, Commissioner, 
Administration on Children, Youth and Families. Attention: Family and 
Youth Services Bureau, P.O. Box 1182, Washington, D.C. 20013.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) administers three 
Federal programs dealing with runaway and homeless youth:
     The Runaway and Homeless Youth Basic Center Program (BCP),
     The Transitional Living Program for Homeless Youth (TLP), 
and
     The Drug Abuse Prevention Program for Runaway and Homeless 
Youth (DAPP).
    The first two of the FYSB programs listed above--the BCP and the 
TLP--are authorized under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (Title III 
of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as 
amended) and are the primary subject of the priorities proposed in this 
notice.
    The Act specifically authorizes the Secretary to make grants to 
entities that establish and operate local runaway and homeless youth 
centers (Basic Centers) to address the immediate needs of at-risk 
youth. Currently, 341 such projects are being supported. The Act also 
authorizes activities that support the local centers, and that gather 
knowledge about the conditions of runaway and homeless youth and their 
families.
    The Act further authorizes the Secretary to make grants to entities 
that establish and operate transitional living projects for homeless 
youth to enable the youth to become self-sufficient and to avoid long-
term dependency on social services. Currently, 74 such projects are 
being supported.
    The Act also authorizes financial support for:
     A national communications system (a toll-free 24-hour 
runaway hotline) which serves as a neutral channel of communication 
between at-risk youth and their families and as a source of referral to 
needed services;
     Grants to statewide and regional non-profit organizations 
for the provision of training and technical assistance to agencies and 
organizations eligible to establish and operate runaway and homeless 
youth centers; and
     Grants to conduct research, demonstration, evaluation, and 
service projects.
    Annual Program Priorities. The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 
instructs the Secretary to develop for each fiscal year, and to publish 
annually in the Federal Register for public comment, a proposed plan 
specifying the subject priorities the Department will follow in making 
grants under the Act (Section 384. [42 U.S.C. 5732] (a)). The Secretary 
is further instructed to take into consideration the comments received 
in developing and publishing the subsequent plan specifying the final 
fiscal year priorities (Section 384. [42 U.S.C. 5732] (b)). The present 
notice constitutes the Department's proposed priorities for fiscal year 
1995.
    No acknowledgement will be made of the comments received in 
response to this notice, but all comments received by the deadline will 
be considered in preparing the runaway and homeless youth final 
priorities. Final priorities will be published in the Federal Register 
prior to or at the time of solicitation of grant proposals competing 
for fiscal year 1995 funds. [[Page 1786]] 

II. Proposed Priorities for Fiscal Year 1995

    The proposed priorities are similar to those of earlier years in 
that the Department proposes to award 90 percent or more of the funds 
appropriated under the BCP and approximately 90 percent of the funds 
appropriated under the DAPP and the TLP to grantees providing direct 
services to runaway and homeless youth.
    The proposed priorities are further similar to those of earlier 
years in that the Department proposes to award continuation funding to 
the National Communications System and to a number of program support 
activities.
    The proposed priorities differ from those of earlier years in two 
major ways:
     The Family and Youth Services Bureau is proposing an 
approach to youth services that emphasizes comprehensive youth 
development over attempts to correct the dysfunctional behaviors of 
youth and their families, and
     The FYSB is proposing administrative changes designed for 
more efficient delivery of services and more stability among service 
providers.

A. Priorities for Basic Centers

    Approximately 340 Basic Center grants, of which about one-third 
will be competitive new starts and two-thirds will be non-competitive 
continuations, will be funded in FY 1995. It is expected that an equal 
number and distribution will be funded in FY 1996.
    It is anticipated that applications for BCP new starts will be 
solicited in the second or third quarters of FY 1995 (January-June 
1995). Eligible applicants for these new starts will be current 
grantees with project periods ending in FY 1995 and otherwise eligible 
applicants not holding current grants. The applications will be 
reviewed by State, and awards will be made during the last quarter of 
FY 1995 (July-September 1995).
    Section 385(a)(2) of the Act requires that 90 percent of the funds 
appropriated under Part A (The Runaway and Homeless Youth Grant 
Program) be used to establish and strengthen runaway and homeless youth 
Basic Centers. Total funding under Part A of the Act for FY 1995 is 
expected to be approximately $40.5 million. This sum, which is an 
increase over the FY 1994 level, will trigger the provision in the Act 
calling for a minimum award of $100,000 to each State, the District of 
Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and a minimum award of $45,000 to each of 
the five offshore territories: the Virgin Islands, Guam, American 
Samoa, Palau, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.
    An announcement of the availability of funds for the Basic Centers, 
along with the instructions and forms needed to prepare and submit 
applications, will be published in the Federal Register.

B. Priorities for Transitional Living Grants

    Part B, Section 321 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, as 
amended, authorizes grants to establish and operate transitional living 
projects for homeless youth. This program is structured to help older, 
homeless youth achieve self-sufficiency and avoid long-term dependency 
on social services. Transitional living projects provide shelter, 
skills training, and support services to homeless youth ages 16 through 
21 for a continuous period not exceeding 18 months.
    In FY 1995, approximately $12.3 million will be available for TLP 
direct service grants. Approximately $6.0 million has already been 
awarded as new start FY 1995 funding to applicants that were successful 
in the competition conducted at the end of FY 1994 and the remaining 
$6.3 million will be awarded as continuation funding to TLP grants 
awarded in FY 1994. Further, it is projected that all potential FY 1996 
TLP funds will be awarded in the form of continuation grants. In 
consequence, it is anticipated that no applications for new start 
Transitional Living Program grants will be solicited for FY 1995 or FY 
1996.

C. The National Communications System

    Part C, Section 331 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, as 
amended, mandates support for a National Communications System to 
assist runaway and homeless youth in communicating with their families 
and with service providers. In FY 1994, a five-year grant was awarded 
to the National Runaway Switchboard, Inc., in Chicago, Illinois, to 
operate the system. It is anticipated that continuation funding will be 
awarded to the grantee in FY 1995 and FY 1996.

D. Support Services for Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs

1. Training and Technical Assistance
    Part D, Section 342 of the Act authorizes the Department to make 
grants to statewide and regional nonprofit organizations to provide 
training and technical assistance (T&TA) to organizations that are 
eligible to receive service grants under the Act. Eligible 
organizations include the Basic Centers authorized under Part A of the 
Act (The Runaway and Homeless Youth Grant Program) and the service 
grantees authorized under Part B of the Act (The Transitional Living 
Grant Program). Section 3511 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, which 
authorizes the Drug Abuse Prevention Program for Runaway and Homeless 
Youth (DAPP), also authorizes support for T&TA to runaway and homeless 
youth service providers. The purpose of this T&TA is to strengthen the 
programs and to enhance the knowledge and skills of youth service 
workers.
    In FY 1994, the Family and Youth Services Bureau made ten 
Cooperative Agreement Awards, one in each of the ten Federal Regions, 
to provide T&TA to agencies funded under the three Federal programs for 
runaway and homeless youth (the BCP, the TLP, and the DAPP). Each 
Cooperative Agreement is unique, being based on the characteristics and 
different T&TA needs in the respective Regions. Each has a five-year 
project period that will expire in FY 1999.
    It is anticipated that continuation funding will be awarded to the 
ten T&TA grantees in FY 1995 and FY 1996.
2. National Clearinghouse on Runaway and Homeless Youth
    In June 1992, a five-year contract was awarded by the Department to 
establish and operate the National Clearinghouse on Runaway and 
Homeless Youth. The purpose of the Clearinghouse is to serve as a 
central information point for professionals and agencies involved in 
the development and implementation of services to runaway and homeless 
youth. To this end, the Clearinghouse:
     Collects, evaluates and maintains reports, materials and 
other products regarding service provision to runaway and homeless 
youth;
     Develops and disseminates reports and bibliographies 
useful to the field;
     Identifies areas in which new or additional reports, 
materials and products are needed; and
     Carries out other activities designed to provide the field 
with the information needed to improve services to runaway and homeless 
youth.
     It is anticipated that non-competitive continuation 
funding will be awarded to sustain the Clearinghouse in FY 1995 and FY 
1996.
3. Runaway and Homeless Youth Management Information System (RHYMIS) 
Implementation
    In FY 1992, a three-year contract was awarded to implement the 
Runaway and Homeless Youth Management [[Page 1787]] Information System 
(RHYMIS) across three FYSB programs: the BCP, the TLP, and the DAPP. In 
FY 1993, using an existing computer-based, information gathering 
protocol, the contractor began providing training and technical 
assistance to these grantees in the use of the RHYMIS. The data 
generated by the system will be used to produce reports and information 
regarding the programs, including information for the required reports 
to Congress on each of the three programs. The RHYMIS is also designed 
to serve as a management tool for FYSB and for the individual programs.
    It is anticipated that optional continuation funding for the RHYMIS 
will be provided in FY 1995 and FY 1996.
4. Monitoring Support for FYSB Programs
    In FY 1992, FYSB began developing a comprehensive monitoring 
instrument and set of site visit protocols, including a peer-review 
component for the BCP, the TLP, and the DAPP. Pilot implementation of 
the instrument and related protocols began in FY 1993. Also in FY 1993 
a new contract to provide logistical support for the peer review 
monitoring process was awarded, including nationwide distribution of 
the new materials. Use of the new instrument and peer review process 
during the first full year of operation has resulted in identification 
of a number of strengths and weaknesses among individual grantees. 
These findings have been used by the Regional T&TA providers as a basis 
for their activities.
    It is anticipated that continuation funding for the logistical 
contractor will be provided in FY 1995 and that a new contract for the 
effort may be solicited in FY 1996.
5. Research and Demonstration Initiatives
    Section 315 of the Act authorizes the Department to make grants to 
States, localities, and private entities to carry out research, 
demonstration, and service projects designed to increase knowledge 
concerning and to improve services for runaway and homeless youth. 
These activities are important in order to identify emerging issues and 
to develop and test models which address such issues.
a. Services for Youth in Rural Areas
    Because of geographic distances, population density and, in some 
cases, cultural differences, it is difficult to provide effective 
services to runaway and homeless youth in rural areas. In many such 
areas, scarcity of funds and other resources precludes funding of 
separate, autonomous Basic Center programs. The need exists for 
innovative and effective models for the provision of runaway and 
homeless youth services in rural areas, including Indian reservations. 
The new models would make services accessible to youth without setting 
up inordinately expensive service agencies in low populated areas. In 
FY 1993, first-year funding was awarded to eight grants to develop such 
models. Continuation funding was provided in FY 1994, and it is 
anticipated that final continuation funding of these grants will be 
provided in FY 1995.
b. Analysis, Synthesis, and Interpretation of New Information 
Concerning Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs
    Over the past few years, considerable new knowledge and information 
has been developed concerning the runaway and homeless youth programs 
administered by FYSB, and concerning the youth and families served. The 
main sources of this new information are the Runaway and Homeless Youth 
Management Information System (RHYMIS) and a number of evaluation 
studies underway or recently completed. The RHYMIS and the evaluation 
studies contain descriptions of FYSB's grantee agencies, along with 
detailed data on the youth and families served, such as demographic 
profiles, presenting problems, services provided, and service outcomes. 
There is need for analysis, synthesis, and interpretation of this new 
information, leading to development of comprehensive plans and policies 
for the Family and Youth Services Bureau.
    A contract may be considered in FY 1995 to analyze, synthesize, and 
develop the program and policy implications of the new information now 
becoming available. The study would be developed within a context of 
the most significant, current comprehensive theories of youth 
development, drawing from the fields of physical and mental health, 
biology, psychology, sociology, education, and preparation for careers 
and family life. Proposals to conduct the study would be solicited from 
the eight Master Contractors for the ``Policy and Program Studies'' 
consortium recently established by the Administration on Children, 
Youth and Families.
c. Consolidated Youth Services Demonstration Grants
    The Family and Youth Services Bureau now administers three programs 
targeting runaway and homeless youth: the BCP, the TLP, and the DAPP. 
Each program was established independently by the Congress, each to 
address a specific need or problem related to runaway and homeless 
youth. Funds for each program are appropriated annually by the Congress 
and are awarded to individual grantees across the country following 
submission and review of separate applications. In practice, there is 
considerable overlap among the populations and problems addressed by 
the separate programs as well as considerable overlap among the 
grantee-administrators of the local projects; some grantees administer 
two of the three programs (BCP and DAPP, for example) and a few 
administer all three programs.
    The overlap among targeted youth populations and youth services 
grantees suggests that program efficiency and coordination might be 
improved by consolidating the three programs into one, setting up in 
their stead comprehensive youth services programs designed to address 
the broad range of needs of at-risk runaway and homeless youth 
populations. An obvious immediate benefit would be that applicants 
wishing to provide services in all three areas would have to submit 
only one application instead of the three now required.
    To this end, ACYF may consider funding in FY 1995 four to six 
``Consolidated Youth Services Demonstration Grants,'' each for a four-
year project period and each at a funding level of $325,000 to $400,000 
per year. Applicants would be invited to design and, if successful in 
the competition, to implement youth service models combining features 
of the BCP, the DAPP, and the TLP. Successful applicants would, in 
fact, be required to provide in their respective geographic areas the 
complete array of services mandated for the three programs and to 
coordinate these services through a single administration. In 
consequence, it would be appropriate to fund these demonstration grants 
from the regular BCP, DAPP, and TLP appropriations from the Congress. 
Further, grantees funded from consolidated BCP, DAPP, and TLP 
appropriations must be able to show that the funds from each 
appropriation were expended to serve the purposes of that 
appropriation. Each grantee would document the advantages and 
disadvantages of the consolidated approach and would participate in a 
comprehensive evaluation of the projects. [[Page 1788]] 
d. Demonstration Grants for Developmentally Disabled Runaway and 
Homeless Youth
    It is proposed that from two to four demonstration grants be 
awarded to develop models of service provision to developmentally 
disabled runaway and homeless youth, or to youth at risk of becoming 
so. The models would address issues of coordination of services, 
removing barriers to service delivery, identification of effective 
training materials, and development of policies and strategies. The 
grants would be funded jointly by FYSB and the Administration on 
Developmental Disabilities (DD) at a level of $150,000 per year for 
three-year project periods. Eligible applicants would include current 
and potential BCP, DAPP, and TLP grantees. Funded grantees would be 
required to show that the funds from each appropriation were expended 
to serve the purposes of that appropriation.

E. Priority for a Comprehensive Youth Development Approach

    Over the past several decades, the Federal government has 
established many programs designed to alleviate discrete problems 
identified among American youth. Examples are programs for school 
dropout prevention, juvenile delinquency prevention, abuse and neglect 
prevention, compensatory programs to improve the performance of 
minority and non-English-speaking youth in the public schools, 
adolescent pregnancy prevention, youth gang prevention, and drug abuse 
prevention among youth. Among these many programs are the BCP, the 
DAPP, and the TLP.
    A shared feature of all these programs is their emphasis on 
undesirable behavior, with a number of negative consequences. Youth 
``problems'' are commonly used to define and blame, even to punish, the 
youth. Further, the labeling of a youth as a drug abuser or a 
delinquent may lead to interventions too narrow to take into account 
the full array of causes leading to the abuse or delinquency, such as 
parental neglect, school failure, or poverty. Practicing youth workers 
are well aware that ``single-problem'' youth are rare, and that 
interventions from many different perspectives, and supports, including 
funding, from many different sources, are required to effectively help 
troubled youth.
    The disjointed services that often follow from this Federal pattern 
of categorical funding to correct undesirable behavior (funding that 
targets a single problem behavior of the youth) may be avoided if 
interventions grow out of a ``developmental'' perspective. A 
developmental perspective views adolescence and youth as the passage 
from the almost total dependence of the child into the independence and 
self-sufficiency of the young adult. The various changes, stages, and 
growth spurts of the passage may be considered as the youth's natural, 
healthy responses to the challenges and opportunities provided by 
functional families, peers, neighborhoods, schools and churches. The 
tasks of youth services providers are seen, thus, not as correcting the 
``pathologies'' of troubled youth, but rather as providing for the 
successive ``needs'' of maturing individuals: the psychological need to 
develop a clear self-identity; the sociological need to resolve 
disagreements through talking and not through flight or fighting; the 
economic need to prepare for and enter into a career; and the familial 
needs for sharing, for trusting, for giving love and receiving love, 
for commitment, and for all that establishing a family entails.
    This developmental approach will become central to all FYSB 
activities and programs over the next two years.

F. Priorities for Administrative Changes

    To support the increased emphasis on youth development, a number of 
management or administrative changes are being considered for 
implementation over the coming years:
     Current holders of BCP and TLP grants may be invited to 
submit applications for Demonstration Grants for Developmentally 
Disabled Runaway and Homeless Youth, or for DD youth who are at risk of 
running away or becoming homeless. Holders of Consolidated Youth 
Services Demonstrations Grants may also be asked to incorporate DD 
services into their projects, always with the proviso that grantees be 
able to show that funds from the DD appropriation were expended to 
serve the purposes of that appropriation.
     The Regional Offices currently play a significant role in 
the assessment of grant applications. We are considering an expansion 
of this role that will involve allowing Regional Office staff to add 
from zero (0) to ten (10) additional points to the total average score 
of the application based on (1) the experience, effectiveness, quality, 
and potential of the applicant agencies and staffs and (2) the 
geographic distribution of the grantees in their respective States and 
Regions. Final funding decisions will remain the responsibility of the 
Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families.
     The Administration on Children and Families (ACF) may 
consider changing the deadline for receipt of grant applications from 
the postal date of the application to the actual receipt date of the 
application by ACF. Applicants should carefully examine upcoming 
announcements to assure that they meet deadlines in the manner 
prescribed.
     Efforts will be continued to avoid the problems of gaps in 
financial support between the expiration of one grant and the beginning 
of a new grant for current grantees that are successful in competition.
     Procedures may be established to increase grant funding 
levels so that all grantees will receive an award sufficient to support 
the required youth services. Therefore, we suggest that all applicants 
examine carefully the program announcements to ensure that they request 
sufficient funds. A minimum annual BCP award of $75,000 is proposed.

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance, Program Number 93.623, 
Runaway and Homeless Youth Program, and Program Number 93.550, 
Transitional Living Program for Homeless Youth.)

    Dated: December 27, 1994.
Olivia A. Golden,
Commissioner, Administration on Children, Youth and Families.
[FR Doc. 95-237 Filed 1-4-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P