McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act

The McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 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 100th 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.

With the death of Stewart McKinney, its chief sponsor, it was renamed Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. After the death in October 2000 of a leading supporter of the legislation, Bruce Vento, President Bill Clinton 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. It also established the Interagency Council on the Homeless, now the Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Congressional findings and purpose

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

(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.