[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 160 (Thursday, August 17, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50139-50141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20799]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration For Children and Families

45 CFR Part 1351

RIN 0970-AC04


Runaway and Homeless Youth Program

AGENCY: Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), 
Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Administration on Children, Youth and Families is amending 
the Runaway and Homeless Youth Program regulation requirement that 
grant project periods ``will not exceed three years'', to provide that 
grant project periods ``may be up to five years.''

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule is effective October 16, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stan Chappell (202) 205-8496

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:   

I. Justification for Dispensing With Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

    These regulations are being published in final form. The 
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), provides that, if 
the Department for good cause finds that a notice of proposed 
rulemaking is unnecessary, impractical or contrary to the public 
interest, it may dispense with the notice if it incorporates a brief 
statement in the final regulations of the reasons for doing so. The 
Department finds that there is good cause to dispense with proposed 
rulemaking procedures for the following reasons:
    (1) The regulatory change is non-controversial and purely 
technical. The change from three-year to five-year project periods 
would also be consistent with the Department's Grants Policy Directive 
that permits five-year project periods.
    (2) Significant public comment, primarily from the grantee 
community which delivers the program services funded by the grants, has 
already been recently received on the change and overwhelmingly 
supported the five-year option.
    (3) Publication of a final rule will enable grants in the upcoming 
series to be awarded under the new five-year option. This should result 
in a simpler administrative burden for both FYSB and the grantees 
involved, enabling both to focus more effectively on program quality 
and results.
    For these reasons, we have concluded that a notice of proposed 
rulemaking is unnecessary.

II. Program Purpose

    The mission of the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) is to 
provide national leadership on youth issues and to assist individuals 
and organizations in providing effective, comprehensive services for 
youth in at-risk situations and their families. A primary goal of FYSB 
programs is to provide positive alternatives for youth, ensure their 
safety, and maximize their potential to take advantage of available 
opportunities to develop into healthy, productive adults.
    The Bureau's authorizing legislation provides authority to 
administer a discretionary grant program for Runaway and Homeless Youth 
(RHY) consistent with the provisions of the RHY Act (42 USC 5701 et 
seq.). Grants are awarded to public and private entities to support 
shelter services for runaway and homeless youth; outreach services to 
help protect young people on the streets from sexual abuse and 
exploitation; transitional living programs to help homeless youth 
become self-sufficient; and various research, demonstration, technical 
assistance and information dissemination activities relating to runaway 
youth and the promotion of positive youth development.
    For twenty-five years, FYSB and the youth service field have 
created a strong continuum of care for youth growing up in difficult 
circumstances. More important, the Bureau and the field designed and 
promoted a youth development approach to working with all young people 
that remains the cornerstone of FYSB's work today.
    The Bureau has experienced relatively stable appropriation support 
from Congress for the RHY Act grant programs every year since the 
enactment of the original legislation. Congress recently reauthorized 
the RHY Act in Pub. L. 106-71, and increased the level of funding over 
the previous year.
    The major grant programs that support RHY services are:
    Basic Center Program (BCP): Grants are awarded to youth shelters 
that provide emergency shelter, food, clothing, outreach services, and 
crisis intervention for runaway and homeless youth. The shelters also 
offer services to help reunite youth with their families, whenever 
appropriate.
    Transitional Living Program (TLP): Grants are awarded to 
organizations to address the longer term housing needs

[[Page 50140]]

of youths and assist them in developing skills that promote 
independence and prevent future dependency on social services. Housing 
and a range of services are provided for up to18 months for youth ages 
16-21 who are unable to return to their homes.
    Street Outreach Program (SOP): Grants are awarded to organizations 
to provide education and prevention services to runaway, homeless, and 
street youth who have been subjected to or are at risk of sexual 
exploitation or abuse.
    State Youth Development Collaboration Projects (SYDCP): Grants are 
awarded to states to enable them to develop and support innovative 
youth development strategies.
    FYSB also funds the following systems to support its grantees' 
efforts:
    National Runaway Switchboard (NRS): The National Runaway 
Switchboard provides vital communication links and information to youth 
who are considering running away, who have run away, or who are 
experiencing other events or situations which might lead to a runaway 
episode.
    National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth (NCFY): The National 
Clearinghouse on Families and Youth is the Family and Youth Services 
Bureau's (FYSB's) central information dissemination resource on youth 
and family policy and practice.
    Training and Technical Assistance Services (T/TA): Ten regionally 
based organizations are funded to provide training and technical 
assistance (T/TA) to local youth services agencies.

III. Discussion of Final Rule

    The regulations that govern the administration of the Runaway Youth 
Program grants are codified in Part 1351 of Title 45. The regulations 
were published in 1978. They have not been revised since the original 
publication date. Subpart B, subsection 1351.14 (a) of the regulations 
limits the duration of the project period of a grant to three years 
before requiring a grantee to recompete for funds.
    The Family Youth and Services Bureau (FYSB) is proposing a final 
rule changing the three-year project period to a five-year project 
period at the discretion of the awarding agency.
    The original Runaway and Homeless Youth Act legislation and the 
recent reauthorization legislation (Pub. L. 106-71) are silent on the 
duration of the project period. The Department's Grants Policy 
Directive (GPD) permits five-year project periods. The historical 
background of the regulations provides the reason why a three-year 
instead of a longer project period was adopted previously.
    On April 22, 1975, notice of proposed rulemaking for the Runaway 
and Homeless Youth Programs, including a requirement that grant project 
periods would not exceed three years, was published in the Federal 
Register requesting public comments. Comments received expressed 
concern that the three-year time frame for grant project periods was 
limiting. In 1978, final rules governing RHY programs were published in 
the Federal Register. This rule addressed the comments received 
regarding the duration of grant project periods. It stated that the 
three-year time frames for the duration of grant project periods 
reflected the standard Federal budget period and the three-year 
duration of the RHY Act. No revisions have been made to the regulations 
since they were originally published. Our experience over the past 22 
years, however, has shown that a 5 year project period would be more 
appropriate.
    The Family Youth Services Bureau's decision to publish a final rule 
to extend the agency's discretion in awarding grants for five years is 
supported by a number of favorable comments from the public.
    In our fiscal year 1999 Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) Program 
Priorities, published in the Federal Register on February 4, 1999, we 
informed the public that the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) 
was considering extending grant project periods to a maximum of five 
years. We received a considerable number of comments opining that this 
change would have a positive impact on the stability and planning of 
programs serving youth.
    Commenters stated that longer term financial stability strengthens 
services to youth and families; enables youth and families in need of 
services to be able to count on a more stable resource; enables more 
youth and families to receive services; and enables newer agencies to 
establish a track record of performance. This can enhance their ability 
to gather further funds from other sources, where available. It also 
encourages innovative programming, by allowing the time to try new 
approaches, evaluate their effects, revise the approaches and re-
evaluate them. It also enables agencies to attract and retain more 
high-quality staff (which results in more high quality programming for 
youth and their families). Similar considerations would apply to 
demonstration projects, such as State collaboration grants.
    Several commenters questioned whether the government would have 
appropriate flexibility in dealing with poor performing grantees under 
the extended grant period. However, our grants are funded in one year 
increments regardless of the length of the project period. Continuation 
of funding is based on satisfactory performance of the previous grant 
year. The government may utilize various action options in dealing with 
poor performing grantees.
    Over the years much has been learned from community based agencies 
about the impact of the duration of project periods on the 
implementation and operation of community-based programs servicing 
runaway, homeless and street youth. For example, community-based 
agencies have indicated that longer project periods enable them to 
devote a greater proportion of time and effort to working with youth 
and their families, and a smaller proportion of time and effort to 
writing grant applications and planning for program start-up and/or 
loss of funding.
    The final rule will grant flexibility to the Department to simplify 
the grant application burden in appropriate cases. Grantees who receive 
five-year grant cycles will thus be able to devote more energy to 
service delivery and gain the financial stability of longer grant 
periods, thereby benefiting the populations and communities they serve. 
Less frequent grant reviews and awards will also enable the Department 
to devote resources to program quality and oversight instead of 
administrative procedures.

IV. Impact Analysis

Executive Order 12866

    Executive Order 12866 requires that regulations be drafted to 
ensure that they are consistent with the priorities and principles set 
forth in the Executive Order. The Department has determined that this 
rule is consistent with those priorities and principles. This rule 
implements the statutory authority for the Department of Health and 
Human Services to award grants for Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) 
programs for periods up to five years. Originally, the RHY regulations 
set forth a maximum of three years. As explained in the Summary of this 
final rule, the proposed revision would grant flexibility to the 
Department to simplify the grant application burden of those grantees 
which had demonstrated an ability to deliver quality services and 
achieve desired results in compliance with program rules, as well as 
having other characteristics conducive to

[[Page 50141]]

effective and efficient program operation. Grantees whom the Department 
deemed appropriate for five-year grant cycles would thus be able to 
devote more energy to service delivery and gain the financial stability 
of longer grant periods, thereby benefiting the populations and 
communities they serve.

Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. Chapter 6) requires the 
Federal government to anticipate and reduce the impact of rules and 
paperwork requirements on small entities. For each rule with a 
``significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities,'' an analysis must be prepared describing the rule's impact 
on small entities. Small entities are defined by the Act to include 
small businesses, small non-profit organizations, and small 
governmental entities. While these regulations would affect small 
entities, namely, the approximately 400 organizations that are 
recipients of various RHY grants, only those among the 400 deemed 
appropriate for the longer cycle would be affected, while the remaining 
grantees would continue to operate under the three-year period, at the 
Department's discretion. In any case, whatever the number of grantees 
evaluated as suitable for the longer periods, these would experience a 
reduced regulatory and paperwork burden by having to submit less 
frequent applications for new grants. For these reasons, the Secretary 
certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on 
substantial numbers of small entities other than to permit the more 
efficient operation of a subset.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, all 
Departments are required to submit to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval any reporting or record-keeping 
requirements inherent in a proposed or final rule. This final rule may 
indirectly affect record keeping and reporting.
    Comments were solicited in the Federal Register on June 19, 2000. 
ACF will publish a notice in the Federal Register stating the currently 
valid OMB control number when approval is granted. An agency may not 
conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 
1532) requires that a covered agency prepare a budgetary impact 
statement before promulgating a rule that includes any Federal mandate 
that may result in the expenditure by State, local, and tribal 
government, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million 
or more in any one year.
    If a covered agency must prepare a budgetary impact statement, 
section 205 further requires that it select the least costly, most-
effective or least burdensome alternative that achieves the objective 
of the rule and is consistent with the statutory requirements. In 
addition, section 203 requires a plan for informing and advising any 
small government that may be significantly or uniquely impacted by the 
proposed rule.
    We have determined that this rule will not impose a mandate that 
will result in the expenditure by State, local and Tribal governments, 
in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of more than $100 million 
in any one year. Accordingly, we have not prepared a budgetary impact 
statement, specifically addressed the regulatory alternatives 
considered, or prepared a plan for informing and advising any 
significantly or uniquely impacted small government.

Congressional Review of Rulemaking

    This rule is not a ``major'' rule as defined in Chapter 8 of 5 
U.S.C.

The Family Impact Requirement

    Section 654 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations 
Act of 1999 requires a family impact assessment affecting family well 
being.
    We have determined that this action will not affect the family. 
Therefore, no analysis or certification of the impact of this action 
was developed.

Federalism Impact

    Executive Order 13132 on Federalism applies to policies that have 
federalism implications, defined as ``regulations, legislative comments 
or proposed legislation, and other policy statements or actions that 
have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship 
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.'' 
This rule does not have federalism implications as defined in the 
Executive Order.

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 1351

    Administrative practice and procedure, Grant programs--social 
programs, Homeless, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Technical 
assistance, Youth.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 93.623, 
Runaway Youth)
    Dated: July 18, 2000.
Olivia A. Golden,
Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.

    Approved: August 8, 2000.
Donna E. Shalala,
Secretary.

    For the reasons set forth in the Preamble, 45 CFR Part 1351 is 
amended as follows:
    1. The authority citation for Part 1351 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.


    2. Section 1351.14 (a) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 1351.14  What is the period for which a grant will be awarded?

    (a) The initial notice of grant award specifies how long HHS 
intends to support the project without requiring the project to 
recompete for funds. This period, called the project period, will not 
exceed five years.
* * * * *

[FR Doc. 00-20799 Filed 8-16-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P