Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2018
A BILL
To reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 References
Sec. 3 Findings
“(7) runaway and homeless youth are at a high risk of becoming victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking in persons.”
Sec. 4 Basic center grant program
“(iii) suicide prevention services; and”
“(v) trauma-informed and gender-responsive services for runaway or homeless youth, including such youth who are victims of trafficking in persons or sexual exploitation; and
“(vi) an assessment of family engagement in support and reunification (if reunification is appropriate), interventions, and services for parents or legal guardians of such youth, or (if appropriate) individuals identified by such youth as family.”
“(7) shall keep adequate statistical records profiling the youth and family members of such youth whom the applicant serves, including demographic information on and the number of—
“(A) such youth who are not referred to out-of-home shelter services;
“(B) such youth who are members of vulnerable or underserved populations;
“(C) such youth who are victims of trafficking in persons or sexual exploitation, disaggregated by—
“(i) such youth who have been coerced or forced into a commercial sex act, as defined in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102);
“(ii) such youth who have been coerced or forced into other forms of labor; and
“(iii) such youth who have engaged in a commercial sex act, as so defined, for any reason other than by coercion or force;
“(D) such youth who are pregnant or parenting;
“(E) such youth who have been involved in the child welfare system; and
“(F) such youth who have been involved in the juvenile justice system;”
“(8) shall ensure that—
“(A) the records described in paragraph (7), on an individual runaway or homeless youth, shall not be disclosed without the consent of the individual youth and of the parent or legal guardian of such youth or (if appropriate) an individual identified by such youth as family, to anyone other than another agency compiling statistical records or a government agency involved in the disposition of criminal charges against an individual runaway or homeless youth; and
“(B) reports or other documents based on the statistics described in paragraph (7) shall not disclose the identity of any individual runaway or homeless youth;”
“(i) the number and characteristics of runaway and homeless youth, and youth at risk of family separation, who participate in the project, including such information on—
“(I) such youth (including both types of such participating youth) who are victims of trafficking in persons or sexual exploitation, disaggregated by—
“(aa) such youth who have been coerced or forced into a commercial sex act, as defined in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102);
“(bb) such youth who have been coerced or forced into other forms of labor; and
“(cc) such youth who have engaged in a commercial sex act, as so defined, for any reason other than by coercion or force;
“(II) such youth who are pregnant or parenting;
“(III) such youth who have been involved in the child welfare system; and
“(IV) such youth who have been involved in the juvenile justice system; and”
“(15) shall provide age, gender, and culturally and linguistically appropriate, to the extent practicable, services to runaway and homeless youth; and
“(16) shall assist youth in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid described in section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090).”
Sec. 5 Transitional living grant program
“(3) to provide counseling to homeless youth and to encourage, if appropriate, the involvement in such counseling of their parents or legal guardians, or (if appropriate) individuals identified by such youth as family;
“(4) to provide aftercare services, if possible, to homeless youth who have received shelter and services from a transitional living youth project, including (to the extent practicable) such youth who, after receiving such shelter and services, relocate to a State other than the State in which such project is located;”
“(11) to develop a plan to provide age, gender, and culturally and linguistically appropriate services to the extent practicable that address the needs of homeless and street youth;”
Sec. 6 Coordinating, training, research, and other activities
“(D) best practices for identifying and providing age, gender, and culturally and linguistically appropriate services to the extent practicable to—
“(i) vulnerable and underserved youth populations; and
“(ii) youth who are victims of trafficking in persons or sexual exploitation; and
“(E) verifying youth as runaway or homeless to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid described in section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090);”
“(11) examining the intersection between the runaway and homeless youth populations and trafficking in persons, including noting whether such youth who are victims of trafficking in persons were previously involved in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems.”
“(3) that includes demographic information about and characteristics of runaway or homeless youth, including such youth who are victims of trafficking in persons or sexual exploitation; and
“(4) that does not disclose the identity of any runaway or homeless youth.”
“(B) incidences, if any, of—
“(i) such individuals who are victims of trafficking in persons; or
“(ii) such individuals who are victims of sexual exploitation; and”
“(iv) access to education and job training; and”
Sec. 7 Sexual abuse prevention program
“(c) Eligibility requirements—To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a), an applicant shall certify to the Secretary that such applicant has systems in place to ensure that such applicant can provide age, gender, and culturally and linguistically appropriate, to the extent practicable, services to all youth described in subsection (a).”
Sec. 8 General provisions
“(B) collecting data on trafficking in persons and sexual exploitation of runaway and homeless youth;”
“(A) the number and characteristics of homeless youth served by such projects, including—
“(i) such youth who are victims of trafficking in persons or sexual exploitation;
“(ii) such youth who are pregnant or parenting;
“(iii) such youth who have been involved in the child welfare system; and
“(iv) such youth who have been involved in the juvenile justice system;”
“386B. Nondiscrimination
“(a) In general—No person in the United States shall, on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity (as defined in section 249(c)(4) of title 18, United States Code), sexual orientation, or disability, be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance under title III of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974.
“(b) Exception
“(1) Essential sex-segregated or sex-specific programming—If programming that is segregated by or specific to sex is necessary to the essential operation of a program, nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the entity carrying out any such program or activity from consideration of an individual's sex.
“(2) Exceptions—In such a circumstance, the entity may meet the requirements of this section—
“(A) by providing comparable services to individuals who cannot be provided with the sex-segregated or sex-specific programming; or
“(B) by providing sex-specific programming in accordance with an approved application describing such programming, for the grant, contract, or other agreement involved.
“(c) Disqualification—The authority provided for the Secretary to enforce this section shall be the same as the authority provided for the Secretary to enforce subsection (a) or (b) of section 654 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9849). The procedures provided for review of an action to enforce this section shall be the same as the procedures provided for review of an action to enforce subsection (b) of that section.
“(d) Construction—Nothing in this section shall be construed, interpreted, or applied to supplant, displace, preempt, or otherwise limit the responsibilities and liabilities under other Federal or State laws with respect to discrimination on a basis described in subsection (a).”
“(1) Culturally and linguistically appropriate—The term culturally and linguistically appropriate, with respect to services, has the meaning given the term culturally and linguistically appropriate services in the “National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care”, issued in April 2013, by the Office of Minority Health of the Department of Health and Human Services.”
“(II) trafficking in persons;”
“(VI) suicide.”
“(8) Trafficking in persons—The term trafficking in persons has the meaning given the term severe forms of trafficking in persons in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).”
“(iv) who is involved in the child welfare or juvenile justice system, but who is not receiving government-funded housing.”