Youth Homeless Demonstration Program | FR 6800 N 35

Opportunity Information: Apply for FR 6800 N 35

The Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designed to help communities build and test a coordinated, youth-focused system that prevents and ends youth homelessness. HUD plans to competitively select up to 25 communities nationwide (with an expected 20 awards listed in the source data) to participate in the demonstration. The core idea is not just to fund isolated projects, but to push selected communities to create a full, community-wide strategy that can show measurable reductions in homelessness among youth and young adults.

This opportunity is structured in two major stages: first, a community selection application, and then project funding applications once a community is selected. Only Continuum of Care (CoC) Collaborative Applicants can apply to have a community selected under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), and those community selection applications must be submitted through Grants.gov. A key requirement is that the community’s planning and implementation approach must be genuinely youth-centered and partner-rich. Communities must include a Youth Action Board (so people with lived experience have real influence), the local or state public child welfare agency, and a broad mix of other relevant partners. HUD will use the rating and ranking criteria in the NOFO to make selections, but it also reserves the right to choose lower-scoring applications in certain circumstances described in the NOFO, which signals that HUD may consider factors beyond raw scores (such as balance across geographies, needs, or other policy considerations).

Once selected, communities must develop and implement a Coordinated Community Plan (CCP) focused on preventing and ending youth homelessness. The CCP is the backbone of the program and is expected to reflect an understanding of the different subgroups within youth homelessness, particularly unaccompanied youth, and to incorporate innovative practices. The target population is youth age 24 and under experiencing homelessness, including unaccompanied youth as well as pregnant and parenting youth. The NOFO emphasizes that a successful approach requires tailoring interventions to distinct needs rather than treating all youth experiencing homelessness as one group.

Funding levels are substantial and depend on the community’s youth population size and poverty rate. Each selected community may apply for project funding ranging from $600,000 up to $15 million, with a total demonstration amount of roughly $60 million across all selected communities. Grants are for a 2-year term, with the possibility that they may later be eligible for renewal under the CoC Program. Communities also receive technical assistance to help design and implement the CCP, which is important because the program expects systems-level change and not just program expansion.

On what can be funded, YHDP is flexible. Selected communities may request funding for all project types allowed under the CoC Program to support homeless youth, and they may also propose innovative project types that could require a waiver or exception to standard CoC Program or McKinney-Vento requirements (as discussed in the NOFO and Appendix A). That flexibility is one of the defining features of YHDP: it is meant to test comprehensive approaches that may not fit perfectly inside existing program rules without adjustment.

Eligibility is also divided by stage. For the initial community selection application, eligibility is limited to CoC Collaborative Applicants designated through the most recent CoC Program Registration process. A Collaborative Applicant may apply for any community within its CoC geographic area and may submit for multiple communities, but HUD will not select more than one community within a single CoC’s geographic area. After a community is selected, project applications can be submitted by Project Applicants that the Collaborative Applicant (or its designee) designates during the local process. The Collaborative Applicant itself may also apply for project funding. If the area has a Unified Funding Agency (UFA), the UFA must apply for and receive all grants for that community. If the Collaborative Applicant is not a UFA, it may designate an eligible applicant to receive the planning grant. For HMIS-dedicated funding, the eligible applicant must be the UFA where one exists, or the HMIS Lead where there is no UFA. For-profit entities are not eligible to apply and cannot be subrecipients, and individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorships are not eligible to compete for or receive awards.

The program also places clear boundaries on who may be served with YHDP funds. Grant funds may only be used for youth who initially qualify as homeless under specific parts of the CoC Program homeless definition (24 CFR 578.3, paragraphs (1) or (2)) or under section 103(b) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as well as certain youth eligibility categories described in Appendix A. In practice, this means communities must pay close attention to eligibility documentation and intake standards to ensure the funded projects are serving the intended population and staying compliant with federal definitions.

Key administrative details from the listing include: the Funding Opportunity Number is FR-6800-N-35, the Assistance Listing (CFDA) number is 14.276, the activity category is Community Development, and eligible applicant types listed include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, and other eligible entities as defined by the NOFO’s CoC-based structure. The original closing date shown is 2024-08-29, and the maximum award ceiling per community is $15,000,000.

Overall, YHDP is aimed at communities that are ready to organize a strong cross-system partnership, elevate youth voice through a Youth Action Board, coordinate with child welfare and other systems, and build a data-informed plan that goes beyond emergency response to include prevention and long-term housing stability. The combination of multi-million-dollar project funding, a required community-wide plan, and permission to propose innovative or non-standard approaches makes it a major opportunity for CoCs that want to redesign how their local homelessness response system works for people age 24 and under.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development in the community development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Youth Homeless Demonstration Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 14.276.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-06-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-29. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $15,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Others.

Apply for FR 6800 N 35

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