The Runaway and Homeless Youth Program: Administration, Funding, and Legislative Actions

"The exact number of runaway and homeless youth in the nation is not known. Various sources estimate that at any given time, the number of such youth falls between 500,000 and 2.8 million. In the early 1970s, concern about runaway youth gained national prominence because of a noticeable increase in the number of such youth. At that time, it was reported that one million youth in the nation left home without parental or guardian permission. In January 1972, two-day congressional hearings began a process that eventually led to the passage of the 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA, P.L. 93-415). As Title III of JJDPA, the Runaway Youth Act (RYA) encouraged states to improve local treatment of at-risk youth. Federal funding was provided to states that agreed to deinstitutionalize runaway youth and other status offenders (such as truants) and provide them with shelter, food, counseling and other necessities. Such emergency assistance, through what was termed the Basic Center Program (BCP), was delivered apart from the law enforcement, mental health, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems. In 1977, RYA was expanded to include homeless youth, and the name of the act changed to the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA)." Source: Congressional Research Service

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