Biden wants to reduce homelessness by helping former foster kids pay for rent

Each year, thousands of young people who leave the U.S. foster care system when they become adults don't know where they'll live next or how they'll afford rent.

Data shows about 20% of foster youth become homeless the moment they turn 18, according to the National Foster Youth Institute.

As part of a proposed program within President Joe Biden's 2024 budget, all 20,000 youth aging out of foster care each year would have access to affordable housing vouchers — the same government housing program meant to help low-income Americans offset a portion of their monthly rent.

The proposed expanded program is meant to "ensure that more households have access to safe and affordable housing," the president's budget says, and aligns with the administration's goal of reducing homelessness over the next couple of years.

Former foster youth could use the housing vouchers for as long as they need to, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development spokesperson told USA TODAY. Currently, vouchers for young people aging out of foster care can only be used for up to three years.

What happens when you age out of foster care?

When someone ages of out foster care, they must secure their own place to live and navigate the challenges of adulthood, such as college costs or finding employment, on their own.

The federal government already makes some housing vouchers available for young people leaving foster care, but it can vary between states and counties. The proposed program could greatly expand access, advocates say.

"This would be a huge game changer for young adults across the nation," said Rebecca Louve Yao, executive director of the National Foster Youth Institute.

Because many young people exit the foster care system with no money saved up, "It's mind-blowing to think that an 18 year old could possibly afford rent by themselves without support," she said.

Many foster children become homeless

The U.S. Department of Housing and Development now offers vouchers to former foster youth through the Foster Youth to Independence program, but the vouchers can only be used for up to 36 months.

This year, HUD funded vouchers for 16 local housing authorities in nine states, totaling $12.9 million.

But Louve Yao said "it's not enough," to provide housing assistance to only some foster youth depending on the state or county they live in.

According to HUD, the existing program is meant to "set youth on a path to self-sufficiency by providing a suite of supportive services for the duration of a youth’s 36 months of assistance on the program."

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Youth exiting the foster care system in their late teens and early 20s are "particularly vulnerable to homelessness," according to Biden's budget.

Children usually age out of foster care when they turn 18, although young people can stay in programs until age 21 in some places.

If Biden's program is approved, "we would see a different level of outcomes for foster youth by giving them housing stability that's going to really help their lives become stable sooner," Louve Yao said.

How do housing vouchers work?

Securing housing vouchers from the federal government and finding a landlord who will accept them is often a challenging process for low-income Americans, and foster youth advocates say young people exiting the system face the same stressful problems.

Even if a young person qualifies for a housing voucher, Louve Yao said they can still be placed on a years-long waitlist.

U.S. senators in February urged HUD to improve the Foster Youth to Independence voucher program, and said young people told them they encountered significant "barriers and delays" with the FYI program.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Affordable housing for foster kids? Biden wants to help