The Family and Youth Services Bureau’s Division of Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) is accepting applications for the RHY Prevention Demonstration Program (RHY-PDP).
Donor Name: Family and Youth Services Bureau
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/29/2023
Size of the Grant: $350,000
Grant Duration: 36 months
Details:
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF); Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF); Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) supports organizations and communities that work every day to end youth homelessness and adolescent pregnancy. RHY-PDP supports the design and delivery of community-based demonstration initiatives to prevent youth from experiencing homelessness. Through the development and coordination of partnerships with youth and young adult service providers, community organizations, and private and public agencies, the RHY-PDP will
- identify young people at risk of experiencing homelessness;
- design and develop a comprehensive community-based prevention plan to prevent youth homelessness; and
- implement robust, holistic prevention services tailored for youth and young adults to respond to the diverse needs of youth who are at risk of homelessness and their families.
The goal of the RHY-PDP is to expand existing partnerships among service providers in key areas, such as education, health, mental health, child welfare, family support, substance abuse prevention/intervention, domestic violence/crisis intervention, law enforcement, courts, legal services, and other non-traditional partners, to create a comprehensive safety net that will improve the accessibility, delivery, and quality of prevention services for youth and young adults who are at highest risk of experiencing homelessness.
FYSB funds over 640 active RHY grant awards to public and non-profit organizations to support street-based services, emergency and longer-term shelter, and counseling and supportive services to youth and young adults who have run away or who are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness. The primary RHY Programs are as follows:
- The Street Outreach Program (SOP) provides street-based services to youth and young adults under the age of 22 who are living on the street; have runaway; are experiencing homelessness; and/ or who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and severe forms of trafficking. Youth receive provisions for their basic needs, including food, hygiene packages, and information on RHY shelters.
- The Basic Center Program (BCP) provides temporary, emergency shelter and counseling services to eligible youth under the age of 18 who have runaway or left home without permission of their parents or guardians, have been forced to leave their home, are youth living on the street, or are youth experiencing homelessness for a period of up to 21 days. BCPs support youth with individual, group, and family counseling as appropriate; gateway services, harm reduction; and case management.
- The Transitional Living Program (TLP) provides safe, stable, and appropriate housing for youth ages 16 to under 22 years of age who have runaway or are experiencing homelessness for a period 18 months (540 days) or, under extenuating circumstances, up to 21 months. Services provided within TLP include case management, individual/group counseling, education in basic life skills, financial literacy, interpersonal skill building, assistance with educational advancement and job attainment skills, and access to physical and mental health care.
- Maternity Group Homes (MGH) are TLPs specifically designed to meet the needs of pregnant and/or parenting youth. These homes provide TLP services described above as well as parenting skills, child care, child development education, and health and nutrition services.
The RHY Act also authorizes additional activities to be conducted through contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements, including the following:
- Research, program evaluation, and demonstration initiatives;
- A National reporting system (NCS) to capture data on youth experiencing homelessness serving RHY grant recipients (RHY-Homeless management Information System (RHYHMIS));
- A national communications system to assist youth who have runaway or are experiencing homelessness in communicating with their families and service providers; and
- Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) for FYSB grantee programs through the TTA Centers (RHYTTAC)
The RHY-PDP primary objectives:
- Develop a Prevention Plan by engaging in a community planning and strategic engagement process. The Prevention Plan will identify strategies to prevent youth homelessness by strengthening existing partnerships, forming new partnerships, developing a shared understanding and definition of prevention, addressing system barriers, conducting needs assessments, identifying prevention services tailored for youth and young adults at risk of experiencing homelessness, testing promising interventions, and evaluating their outcomes.
- Promote equity in the delivery of services and measurement of outcomes targeted to the prevention of youth homelessness. RHY-PDP recipients will demonstrate and measure equitable service delivery, positive outcomes, and a reduction in disparate outcomes for youth of color; youth who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit (LGBTQIA2S+); tribal youth; and other underserved youth experience homelessness or housing instability.
- Implement prevention interventions and services that are tailored for youth and young adults to prevent youth homelessness.
- Evaluate the implementation of prevention services and interventions. Develop realistic and measurable targets to evaluate RHY-PDP’s prevention services and their impact on youth experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Upon award, FYSB will provide specific performance measures and training on the collection and analysis of data to demonstrate outcomes in carrying out objectives of the RHY-PDP.
Two Phase Process
- RHY-PDP will be carried out using a two-phase process that includes a 6-month planning phase and a 30-month implementation phase, which includes evaluations.
Phase I: Planning – Develop a Prevention Plan
During the first year of funding, each project will use funds to support a 6-month planning phase that will include:
- Identifying key community partnerships that the RHY-PDP grant recipient will engage with throughout the project. Community partners will assist the RHY-PDP grant recipient in identifying youth and young adults at risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability so that prevention interventions and services are offered in coordination with youth and family serving community partners.
- Defining prevention of youth homelessness to ensure the RHY-PDP grant recipient has a shared understanding of prevention of youth homelessness. RHY-PDP grant recipients will be expected to engage with community partners and FYSB to provide and receive input from youth-and family-serving systems and programs on the definition of prevention of youth homelessness.
- Developing a process for the identification and assessment of youth and young adults at risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability who are eligible for prevention interventions and services and a referral strategy to connect youth and young adults who need immediate access to emergency shelter, short-term housing, longer-term housing, or counseling services in the event prevention efforts are not successful.
- Detail a strategy for implementing the required prevention interventions detailed in Phase II (below) as well as any additional prevention services the RHY-PDP grant recipient will implement. The selected prevention intervention(s) and service(s) must be responsive to community needs.
- Detailing how the RHY-PDP grant recipient will measure and evaluate the outcomes of the selected prevention intervention(s) and service(s).
Phase II: Implementation–Prevention Interventions and Services Tailored to Youth and Young Adults At-Risk of Homelessness
RHY-PDP grant recipients will implement and evaluate prevention interventions or services that are tailored to youth and young adults that must include:
- Flexible Cash Assistance
- Evidence shows that youth and families are often prevented from experiencing homelessness when they have access to immediate, individualized, and flexible financial assistance. Flexible cash assistance to prevent episodes of homelessness and increase housing stability is a promising practice that helps stabilize families, improves outcomes for youth and young adults, and increases the well-being of youth and their families.
- Individualized Supportive Services and Case management
- Youth, young adults, and their families have different experiences, backgrounds, identities, cultures, and needs. RHY- PDP grant recipients will implement individualized supportive services and case management models that are responsive to the needs of the community and support the housing stability of youth and young adults, and their families.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Funding: $1,750,000
- Award Ceiling: $350,000
- Award Floor: $250,000
Project Periods
36-month project period with three 12-month budget periods.
Eligibility Criteria
- Public and nonprofit entities and combinations of such entities are eligible to apply unless they are part of the juvenile justice system. For-profit organizations are not eligible. Private institutions of higher education must be non-profit entities.
- Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity. Other, Application Disqualification Factors.
- Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under this funding opportunity. Faith-based organizations may apply for this award on the same basis as any other organization, as set forth at and, subject to the protections and requirements ACF will not, in the selection of recipients, discriminate against an organization on the basis of the organization’s religious character, affiliation, or exercise.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
