View source for McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act

{{Short description|Federal law in the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle        = McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act
| othershorttitles  = Urgent Relief for the Homeless Act
| longtitle         = An Act to provide urgently needed assistance to protect and improve the lives and safety of the homeless, with special emphasis on elderly persons, handicapped persons, and families with children. 
| colloquialacronym =
| nickname          = Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act
| enacted by        = 100th
| effective date    = July 22, 1987
| public law url    = https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-101/pdf/STATUTE-101-Pg482.pdf
| cite public law   = 100-77
| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|101|482}}
| acts amended    =
| acts repealed   =
| title amended   = [[Title 42 of the United States Code|42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare]]
| sections created = {{Usc-title-chap|42|119}} § 11301 et seq.
| sections amended =
| leghisturl      =
| introducedin    = House
| introducedbill  = {{USBill|100|H.R.|558}}
| introducedby    = [[Tom Foley]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]–[[Washington (state)|WA]])
| introduceddate  = January 8, 1987
| committees      = [[United States House Committee on Financial Services|House Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs]], [[United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce|House Energy and Commerce]]
| passedbody1     = House
| passeddate1     = March 5, 1987
| passedvote1     = [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1987/h23 264-121]
| passedbody2     = Senate
| passedas2       = <!-- used if the second body changes the name of the legislation -->
| passeddate2     = April 9, 1987
| passedvote2     = Passed voice vote, in lieu of {{USBill|100|S.|809}}, {{USBill|100|S.|810}}, {{USBill|100|S.|811}}, {{USBill|100|S.|813}}, {{USBill|100|S.|728}}
| conferencedate  = May 20, 1987
| passedbody3     = Senate
| passeddate3     = June 27, 1987
| passedvote3     = [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1987/s167 65-8]
| agreedbody3     = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreeddate3     = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreedvote3     = <!-- used when the other body agrees without going into committee -->
| agreedbody4     = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| agreeddate4     = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| agreedvote4     = <!-- used if agreedbody3 further amends legislation -->
| passedbody4     = House
| passeddate4     = June 30, 1987
| passedvote4     = [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1987/h226 301–115]
| signedpresident = [[Ronald Reagan]]
| signeddate      = July 22, 1987
| unsignedpresident = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing -->
| unsigneddate    = <!-- used when passed without presidential signing -->
| vetoedpresident = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| vetoeddate      = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenbody1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddendate1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenvote1 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenbody2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddendate2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| overriddenvote2 = <!-- used when passed by overriding presidential veto -->
| amendments      =
| SCOTUS cases    =
}}
{{Living spaces}}
The '''McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987''' is a [[United States federal law]] that provides federal money for [[Homelessness in the United States|homeless]] [[Homeless shelter|shelter]] programs.<ref>[[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development]] [http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/lawsandregs/ "Synopsis of the McKinney-Vento Act"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119002949/http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/lawsandregs/ |date=November 19, 2010 }}</ref><ref name="NCH 2006">National Coalition for the Homeless, [https://web.archive.org/web/20071203073025/http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/McKinney.pdf "Fact sheet on The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act"], June 2006. (archived 2007)</ref> It was the first significant federal legislative response to homelessness,<ref>National Coalition for the Homeless, [http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/McKinney.pdf "McKinney-Vento Act NCH Fact Sheet #18"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203073025/http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/McKinney.pdf |date=December 3, 2007 }}, June 2006</ref> and was passed by the [[100th United States Congress]] and signed into law by President [[Ronald Reagan]] on July 22, 1987.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=34591 |title= Ronald Reagan: 'Statement on Signing the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act,' July 22, 1987 |author1=Peters, Gerhard |author2=Woolley, John T |publisher = University of California – Santa Barbara |work= The American Presidency Project}}</ref>  The act has been reauthorized several times over the years.<ref>National Coalition for the Homeless, [http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/2009Policy/HMV.pdf "NCH Public Policy Recommendations: HUD McKinney-Vento Reauthorization"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202033318/http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/2009Policy/HMV.pdf |date=February 2, 2010 }}, September 14, 2009</ref>

With the death of [[Stewart McKinney (politician)|Stewart McKinney]], its chief sponsor, it was renamed Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. After the death of a leading supporter of the legislation, [[Bruce Vento]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/member/bruce-vento/V000087|title=Bruce F. Vento}}</ref> President [[Bill Clinton]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bill Clinton {{!}} Biography, Presidency, Education, Impeachment, & Facts {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bill-Clinton|access-date=2021-11-14|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> renamed it the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

The McKinney Act originally had fifteen programs providing a spectrum of services to homeless people, including the Continuum of Care Programs: the Supportive Housing Program, the Shelter Plus Care Program, and the Single Room Occupancy Program, as well as the Emergency Shelter Grant Program.<ref name="NCH 2006"/><ref>Cf. National Coalition for the Homeless, "Fact sheet on The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act", June 2006. "The McKinney-Vento Act originally consisted of fifteen programs providing a range of services to homeless people, including emergency shelter, transitional housing, job training, primary health care, education, and some permanent housing."</ref> It also established the Interagency Council on the Homeless, now the [[Interagency Council on Homelessness]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usich.gov/about/usich|title=About USICH}}</ref>

==Congressional findings and purpose==
These are the findings and purpose from the law as of January 6, 1999:
<blockquote>
:(a) ''Findings''
:The Congress finds that —
# the Nation faces an immediate and unprecedented crisis due to the lack of shelter for a growing number of individuals and families, including elderly persons, handicapped persons, families with children, Native Americans, and veterans;
# the problem of homelessness has become more severe and, in the absence of more effective efforts, is expected to become dramatically worse, endangering the lives and safety of the homeless;
# the causes of homelessness are many and complex, and homeless individuals have diverse needs;
# there is no single, simple solution to the problem of homelessness because of the different sub-populations of the homeless, the different causes of and reasons for homelessness, and the different needs of homeless individuals;
# due to the record increase in homelessness, States, units of local government, and private voluntary organizations have been unable to meet the basic human needs of all the homeless and, in the absence of greater Federal assistance, will be unable to protect the lives and safety of all the homeless in need of assistance; and
# the Federal Government has a clear responsibility and an existing capacity to fulfill a more effective and responsible role to meet the basic human needs and to engender respect for the human dignity of the homeless.
:(b) ''Purpose''
:It is the purpose of this chapter —
# to establish an Interagency Council on the Homeless;
# to use public resources and programs in a more coordinated manner to meet the critically urgent needs of the homeless of the Nation; and
# to provide funds for programs to assist the homeless, with special emphasis on elderly persons, handicapped persons, families with children, Native Americans, and veterans.
:(Pub. L. 100-77, title I, Sec. 102, July 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 484.)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/rulesandregs/laws/title1/sec11301.cfm |title=HUD – CPD – Homeless Assistance – Laws and Regulations, Sec. 11301. Findings and Purpose &#91;Section 102 of the Act&#93; |accessdate=July 29, 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060928135107/http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/homeless/rulesandregs/laws/title1/sec11301.cfm |archivedate=September 28, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/11301-|title=42 U.S. Code § 11301 – Findings and purpose|website=LII / Legal Information Institute}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtonwatchdog.org/documents/usc/ttl42/ch119/subchI/sec11301.html|title=washingtonwatchdog.org|website=www.washingtonwatchdog.org}}</ref>
</blockquote>

== Homeless children and education ==
The original federal Act, known simply as the McKinney Act, provided little protection for homeless children in the area of public education.  As a result, the State of Illinois passed the Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act, which was drafted by Joseph Clary, an attorney and advocate for the Illinois Coalition to End Homelessness.  Clary then worked with national advocates to ensure that the protections afforded to homeless children by the Illinois statute were incorporated into the McKinney Act.

At that point, the McKinney Act was amended to become the McKinney-Vento Act.  That Act uses the Illinois statute in defining homeless children as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence."  The Act then goes on to give examples of children who would fall under the following definition: 
* (a) Children sharing housing due to economic hardship or loss of housing;
* (b) Children living in "motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camp grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations"
* (c) Children living in "emergency or transitional shelters"
* (d) Children whose primary nighttime residence is not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation (e.g. park benches, etc.)
* (e) Children living in "cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations..."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nche.ed.gov/legis/mv-def.php|title=National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) {{!}} The McKinney-Vento Definition of Homeless|website=nche.ed.gov|language=en|access-date=May 3, 2017}}</ref>

Following the Illinois statute, the McKinney-Vento Act ensures homeless children transportation to and from school free of charge, allowing children to attend their school of origin (the last school enrolled, or the school they attended when they first became homeless) regardless of what district the family resides in. It requires schools to register homeless children even if they lack normally required documents, such as immunization records or proof of residence.<ref>Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, [http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2002-1/030802a.html "McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youths Program: Notice of school enrollment guidelines"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926123055/http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2002-1/030802a.html |date=September 26, 2006 }}</ref>

To implement the Act, States must designate a statewide homeless coordinator to review policies and create procedures, including dispute resolution procedures, to ensure that homeless children are able to attend school. Local school districts must appoint Local Education Liaisons to ensure that school staff are aware of these rights, to provide public notice to homeless families (at shelters and at school) and to facilitate access to school and transportation services.<ref>Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, [http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2002-1/030802a.html "McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youths Program: Notice of school enrollment guidelines"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926123055/http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2002-1/030802a.html |date=September 26, 2006 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.congress.gov/bill/100th-congress/house-bill/558 Bill summary at Congress.gov]

{{US housing by state}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mckinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act}}
[[Category:United States federal housing legislation]]
[[Category:100th United States Congress]]
[[Category:Homelessness in the United States]]
[[Category:Affordable housing]]
[[Category:1986 in American law]]
[[Category:Homelessness and law]]
[[Category:Acts of the 106th United States Congress]]