The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed new rules that impact the way our government serves runaway and homeless youth. For the first time, the proposed rules directly reference sexual orientation and gender identity and expression – and they are currently open for public comment.
The regulations would not only establish new program performance standards for Runaway and Homeless Youth grantees working with youth and their families, but they’d also update existing performance standards and revise procedures for soliciting and awarding grants. As you know, LGBT youth make up to 40% of the population of youth experiencing homelessness. It is critical, therefore, that the proposed rules adequately and explicitly address mechanisms to prevent LGBT youth homelessness, as well as provide culturally competent services to the large number of LGBT youth experiencing homelessness.
The True Colors Fund and the Center for American Progress are currently reviewing the proposed regulations to determine the impact they will have on homeless LGBT youth and, if applicable, where protections should be added to strengthen safeguards and increase access to services for these young people.
In the coming days, we will be developing a tip sheet and comment template to assist in navigating the proposed regulations and their overall impact on LGBT youth. Let us know if you‘d like us to send them to you. Comments are due June 13 by 5pm EST.
Additional information on the proposed regulations can be found here. Please email us should you have any questions or want to discuss the regulations further.