U.S. Senators Katie Britt, Angela Alsobrooks Introduce Bipartisan Homeless Children and Youth Act
U.S. Senators Katie Britt, Angela Alsobrooks Introduce Bipartisan Homeless Children and Youth Act
‘No child should be prevented from receiving the critical assistance they need due to unnecessary barriers’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) recently introduced the Homeless Children and Youth Act (HCYA). This bipartisan legislation would support the 4.2 million youth and young adults experiencing homelessness each year in the United States and ensure that all individuals experiencing homelessness have access to the support they need to exit homelessness for good.
“The Homeless Children and Youth Act is commonsense legislation that would simply streamline the definition of homelessness across federal agencies. No child should be prevented from receiving the critical assistance they need due to unnecessary barriers,” said Senator Britt. “Alongside Senator Alsobrooks, I’m grateful to work to ensure our communities can better address the needs of homeless children and youth.”
Youth, children, and families experiencing homelessness often live in unstable, temporary arrangements—including couch-surfing or motels—without access to stable housing. The HCYA aligns the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) definition of homelessness with other federal agencies to reflect this dynamic form of homelessness experienced by children, youth, and families. By removing this bureaucratic barrier, HYCA would ensure this vulnerable population is eligible for services to help them exit homelessness.
The Senators’ legislation also requires HUD to assess annual data on children, family, and youth homelessness, in order to enhance visibility and work towards thoughtful solutions, and it ensures communities can direct funding in an effective way to prevent and end homelessness. The full text of the bill can be viewed here.
“I am proud to be working alongside Senator Britt to introduce the Homeless Children and Youth Act to ensure all children experiencing homelessness can get the support they need to exit homelessness for good. This legislation will begin to close the barrier to services for many young families and is a true action to one of my guiding principles: ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ No person deserves to experience homelessness and HCYA is an important step in ending homelessness in our communities and breaking generational cycles,” said Senator Alsobrooks.
According to HUD, the state of Alabama saw an almost 40% increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness from 2023 to 2024. In total, 4,601 homeless individuals across the state were recorded in 2024.
As Chairman of the Housing, Transportation, and Community Development Subcommittee on the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Britt has prioritized working to address a number of housing-related issues, including homelessness. In a recent hearing prior to HUD Secretary Scott Turner’s confirmation, Senator Britt stated, “. . . when you look over the last year: homelessness jumping 18% in the last 12 months, 33% since 2020. It’s absolutely unacceptable. You look at the fact that a new cost [of a] home has now risen 30% since 2020 . . . and 24% of that is directly attributed to regulation. I know that you agree that that is unacceptable, and it’s clear that overburdensome regulation is part of this.”
Following her vote to confirm HUD Secretary Turner, Senator Britt reaffirmed her commitment to working together to “streamline HUD programs by removing burdensome, unnecessary regulations and implementing commonsense, targeted solutions,” and to “deliver real results and improve transparency for the American people.”
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