S. 4854 — Foster Youth Housing Opportunity Act

This section expands the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood to include access to housing for youth age 18 or older. It extends eligibility for support services to current as well as former foster care recipients ages 18–21 (or 23), allows states to average the 30 percent cap on room-and-board expenditures over the five-year plan period, authorizes use of funds for housing supportive services (including financial counseling, lease assistance, and move-in costs) for eligible youth receiving section 8(x) vouchers up to age 26, and requires states to collaborate with public housing agencies administering those vouchers.

This section directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development to develop and issue joint guidance within one year of enactment to State child welfare agencies and public housing authorities. The guidance must clarify Federal policies, provide direction on using section 477 funds for supportive services, identify best practices for agency partnerships, and include other information to coordinate housing access for youth who have experienced foster care under section 477 of the Social Security Act and section 8(x) of the United States Housing Act of 1937.

This section requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to submit a report within 3 years of enactment to the House Ways and Means and Financial Services Committees and the Senate Finance and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committees. The report must include aggregate data on foster youth receiving federal housing assistance, their housing stability and homelessness rates, findings from evaluations under section 477(g)(1) of the Social Security Act, and statutory recommendations to improve coordination between child welfare agencies and federal housing programs.