Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program | FR 6100 N 35

Opportunity Information: Apply for FR 6100 N 35

The Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) is a competitive grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designed to help communities build a coordinated, system-level response to youth homelessness. Rather than funding a collection of separate programs that operate in silos, YHDP is meant to test and strengthen comprehensive local systems that can prevent youth homelessness when possible, respond quickly and safely when it occurs, and ultimately move communities toward ending youth homelessness. HUD planned to select up to 11 communities for this demonstration, with a specific emphasis on geographic diversity and the inclusion of rural areas (five of the selected communities were expected to be rural). The communities chosen would be announced in Summer 2018, after being evaluated using rating and ranking criteria laid out in the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

Only Continuum of Care (CoC) Collaborative Applicants were eligible to apply. In practice, that means the lead applicant had to be the entity authorized to submit the CoC Program’s consolidated application on behalf of the local homelessness response system. The NOFA made it clear that a strong, multi-partner structure was not optional: participating communities needed to demonstrate meaningful involvement from a youth collaboration board, the local or state public child welfare agency, and a wide range of additional partners. The intent was to ensure that the application reflected a community-wide commitment and that the resulting plan would connect housing and homelessness resources with the youth-serving systems that frequently intersect with homelessness, such as foster care, juvenile justice, education, behavioral health, and workforce supports.

For communities selected into YHDP, the central deliverable was the development and implementation of a Coordinated Community Plan to prevent and end youth homelessness. This plan is essentially a blueprint for how the local system will work together: how youth will be identified and engaged, how they will access help, what housing and service interventions will be available, how equity and safety will be addressed, and how outcomes will be measured and improved over time. The NOFA emphasized that communities must understand and plan for different subgroups of youth experiencing homelessness, including unaccompanied youth, pregnant and parenting youth, LGBTQ youth, and minor-age youth. HUD’s framing recognizes that these groups can face distinct risks and barriers, and that a one-size-fits-all set of services often fails to provide stable, appropriate housing and supports.

Funding under the demonstration was substantial and flexible. Selected communities could apply for project funding ranging from $1 million up to $15 million per community, with the amount tied to youth population size and poverty rate. Across all selected communities, HUD anticipated up to $43 million total for the demonstration. Importantly, communities could request funding on a rolling basis (as described in the appendices), and they could request funds for any project types allowed under the CoC Program to support youth who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The NOFA also opened the door to innovative project types, including approaches that might require waivers of certain CoC Program or McKinney-Vento requirements, reflecting HUD’s goal of learning what works best when communities have room to test new models. Grants were expected to be for a two-year term, with the possibility of renewal under the regular CoC Program so long as projects met statutory requirements.

YHDP was not just a funding stream; it was also a learning and capacity-building effort. Selected communities would receive support from a dedicated technical assistance team to help with both plan development and implementation. In addition, participating communities were required to take part in a formal evaluation intended to shape the federal government’s broader strategy to prevent and end youth homelessness. This evaluation component signals that HUD viewed YHDP as a demonstration: the goal was to generate evidence about effective community-wide approaches, not simply to expand services in the short term.

The program’s policy foundation traces back to Opening Doors, the federal strategic plan released by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) in 2010, which elevated youth as a key population and set a national goal of ending youth homelessness. Subsequent federal guidance, including the 2012 Framework to End Youth Homelessness and USICH’s 2015 publication on a coordinated community response, reinforced the idea that communities need a system-wide crisis response that can assess needs and assets, align resources, divert youth from homelessness when safe and appropriate, and rapidly connect young people to housing and supports. YHDP was positioned as HUD’s major push to operationalize that coordinated vision locally by requiring robust partnerships, youth voice in planning, and data-informed strategies that address the specific realities facing young people in each community.

Administratively, applications were submitted through Grants.gov, with an original due date of February 16, 2018 (the listing also references an original closing date of April 17, 2018, with electronic submissions due by 11:59 p.m. ET on the deadline). The opportunity was categorized as a discretionary grant in the community development funding activity area (CFDA 14.276). Eligible applicant types referenced in the posting included state, county, and local governments; nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education); and other eligible entities as clarified by the NOFA, though the key gatekeeper requirement remained that the applicant had to be the CoC Collaborative Applicant.

• The US Department of Housing and Urban Development in the community development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 14.276.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 17, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 17, 2018 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $15,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 11 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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