How Counties Are Using Federal Housing Vouchers to Prevent Homelessness Among Former Foster Youth
Presented by John Burton Advocates for Youth
Please join John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) for a web seminar marking the release of a best practices publication guiding local administration of special population Housing Choice Vouchers for former foster youth. Since the 1990’s, federal housing vouchers have been available to local Public Housing Authorities working in partnership with Public Child Welfare Agencies through the Family Unification Program (FUP) using a traditional competitive process. In 2019, access to these vouchers was revolutionized, now available on a rolling basis throughout the year through the Fostering Youth to Independence Initiative (FYI). This webinar and its accompanying publication aim to equip child welfare agencies, Public Housing Authorities and their community partners with best practices to maximize FYI/FUP vouchers. The practices were the basis of and informed by a recent community of practice led by JBAY in partnership with the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare, focused on FYI/FUP vouchers. Over the course of the community of practice, the participating 15 counties increased their collective number of vouchers by 81%, with 11 counties now making use of the on-demand request process, up from one county at the start of the community of practice. Practices include a range of approaches aimed at addressing local needs and challenges including making vouchers on-demand to youth leaving foster care, lengthening housing support for youth up until their late 20s, ensuring youth have the support necessary to lease up with their voucher, streamlining administration, and identifying funding for supportive services.
CE Hours: 1.5
