Runaway and Homeless Youth Act 

2019 marks the 45th anniversary of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA). In 1974, the Runaway Youth Act passed as Title III of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act which decriminalized runaway youth and authorized funding for Basic Center Programs (BCP). In 2017, the Office of Law Revision Counsel reorganized existing provisions of the United States Code into a new Title 34, Crime Control and Law Enforcement. No statutory text was repealed or amended in the reorganization. The impetus for the Title 34 project was to gather in one title the growing body of law bearing on crime control and law enforcement. Those provisions were previously scattered in various parts of the United States Code. Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, where the Runaway and Homeless Youth authorizing legislation was previously classified, is an enormous title containing a complicated mix of various provisions. Title 34 was created to provide a place in the Code where current and future provisions related to crime control and law enforcement could be better organized and maintained. The text of the legislation, not including amendments and citations, is below.

To learn more about the RHYA, please view the timeline below or visit www.acf.hhs.gov/fysb/resource/rhy-act to read the current RHYA findings. You may also access the complete text of the legislation, including all amendments and citations at http://bit.ly/32ffBR1. 

Runaway and Homeless Youth Act: Celebrating 45 Years

FYSB, RHYTTAC, and attendees of the 2019 National RHY Grantees Training were pleased to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the RHYA. In recognition and celebration of the RHYA, grantees were invited to share photos that convey the evolution of your services since its inception in 1974. The RHYA provides the federal funding needed to maintain and run Basic Center Programs, Maternity Group Homes, Transitional Living Programs, and Street Outreach Programs, as well as various demonstration projects that impact RHY communities. The photos were utilized in an interactive timeline displayed at the national training. View the video at: https://youtu.be/1zAJz4m5fOY.