McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act

McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act

Other short titles	Urgent Relief for the Homeless Act
Long title	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.
Nicknames	Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act
Enacted by	the 100th United States Congress
Effective	July 22, 1987
Citations
Public law	100-77
Statutes at Large	101 Stat. 482
Codification
Titles amended	42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare
U.S.C. sections created	42 U.S.C. ch. 119 § 11301 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 558 by Tom Foley (D–WA) on January 8, 1987 Committee consideration by House Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, House Energy and Commerce Passed the House on March 5, 1987 (264-121) Passed the Senate on April 9, 1987 (Passed voice vote, in lieu of S. 809, S. 810, S. 811, S. 813, S. 728) Reported by the joint conference committee on May 20, 1987; agreed to by the Senate on June 27, 1987 (65-8) and by the House on June 30, 1987 (301-115) Signed into law by President Ronald W. Reagan on July 22, 1987

The McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 (Pub. L. 100-77, July 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 482, 42 U.S.C. § 11301 et seq.) is a United States federal law that provides federal money for homeless shelter programs. It was the first significant federal legislative response to homelessness, and was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 22, 1987. The act has been reauthorized several times over the years.

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.

It established the Interagency Council on the Homeless (later called the Interagency Council on Homelessness). The legislation has been amended several times since it was first written and enacted.

Sponsored by Representative Tom Foley (D-WA), the bill was named after Representatives Stewart McKinney (R-CT) and Bruce Vento (D-MN).

The following are the findings and purpose from the law as of January 6, 1999:

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 this definition:

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