Earlier today the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $24M in new FY2019 Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers.
CSH and One Roof partners have collectively called for increased investments in this critical resource for children, youth and families with child welfare experience who are also facing homelessness and housing instability, and today's announcement brings the total investment in the last three awards to $70M.
Given the current crisis, ensuring that vulnerable children, youth and families have access to housing and services resources promotes positive health and safety and decreases risks to these populations and their communities.
Today also marks the start of Child Abuse Prevention Month. As the child welfare sector continues to focus on upstream prevention of child abuse, neglect and family separations, FUP plays a critical role in providing a platform for family success. Safe and stable housing is a prerequisite to economic mobility and overcoming other challenges to ensure family and youth success. FUP can help to give families and youth that are at high risk for negative outcomes an equitable opportunity to take full advantage of services, engage in their communities and overcome generational challenges.
FUP also serves as a critical tool for child welfare, partnership with housing, homelessness, and services agencies, to create access to affordable housing integrated with wraparound services as a means to keep families together, and as a means to reunify families, as well as supporting young adults on their transition from foster care to avoid or exit homelessness.
CSH is working with several of the jurisdictions awarded new FUP vouchers to collaboratively implement or expand Keeping Families Together supportive housing. These new vouchers provide a critical housing subsidy resource in that effort.
For more information and resources visit 1rooffamilies.org.
