§ 11313. Functions

(a) Duties The Council shall—

(1) not later than 12 months after May 20, 2009, develop, make available for public comment, and submit to the President and to Congress a National Strategic Plan to End Homelessness, and shall update such plan annually;

(2) review all Federal activities and programs to assist homeless individuals;

(3) take such actions as may be necessary to reduce duplication among programs and activities by Federal agencies to assist homeless individuals;

(4) monitor, evaluate, and recommend improvements in programs and activities to assist homeless individuals conducted by Federal agencies, State and local governments, and private voluntary organizations;

(5) provide professional and technical assistance (by not less than 5, but in no case more than 10, regional coordinators employed by the Council, each having responsibility for interaction and coordination of the activities of the Council within the 10 standard Federal regions) to States, local governments, and other public and private nonprofit organizations, in order to enable such governments and organizations to—

(A) interpret regulations and assist in the application process for Federal assistance, including grants;

(B) provide assistance on the ways in which Federal programs, other than those authorized under this chapter, may best be coordinated to complement the objectives of this chapter;

(C) develop recommendations and program ideas based on regional specific issues in serving the homeless population; and

(D) establish a schedule for biennial regional workshops to be held by the Council in each of the 10 standard Federal regions to further carry out and provide the assistance described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) and other appropriate assistance as necessary, of which—

(i) not less than 5 such workshops shall be held by September 30, 1989; and

(ii) at least 1 such workshop shall be held in each of the 10 Federal regions every 2 years, beginning on September 30, 1988;

(6) encourage the creation of State Interagency Councils on Homelessness and the formulation of jurisdictional 10-year plans to end homelessness at State, city, and county levels;

(7) annually obtain from Federal agencies their identification of consumer-oriented entitlement and other resources for which persons experiencing homelessness may be eligible and the agencies’ identification of improvements to ensure access; develop mechanisms to ensure access by persons experiencing homelessness to all Federal, State, and local programs for which the persons are eligible, and to verify collaboration among entities within a community that receive Federal funding under programs targeted for persons experiencing homelessness, and other programs for which persons experiencing homelessness are eligible, including mainstream programs identified by the Government Accountability Office in the reports entitled “Homelessness: Coordination and Evaluation of Programs Are Essential”, issued February 26, 1999, and “Homelessness: Barriers to Using Mainstream Programs”, issued July 6, 2000;

(8) conduct research and evaluation related to its functions as defined in this section;

(9)

(2) publish a newsletter concerning Federal, State, and local programs that are effectively meeting the needs of homeless individuals.

(c) Reports

(1) Within 90 days after July 22, 1987, and annually thereafter, the head of each Federal agency that is a member of the Council shall prepare and transmit to the Congress and the Council a report that describes—

(A) each program to assist homeless individuals administered by such agency and the number of homeless individuals served by such program;

(B) impediments, including any statutory and regulatory restrictions, to the use by homeless individuals of each such program and to obtaining services or benefits under each such program; and

(C) efforts made by such agency to increase the opportunities for homeless individuals to obtain shelter, food, and supportive services.

(2) The Council shall prepare and transmit to the President and the Congress an annual report that—

(A) assesses the nature and extent of the problems relating to homelessness and the needs of homeless individuals;

(B) provides a comprehensive and detailed description of the activities and accomplishments of the Federal Government in resolving the problems and meeting the needs assessed pursuant to subparagraph (A);

(C) describes the accomplishments and activities of the Council, in working with Federal, State, and local agencies and public and private organizations in order to provide assistance to homeless individuals;

(D) assesses the level of Federal assistance necessary to adequately resolve the problems and meet the needs assessed pursuant to subparagraph (A); and

(E) specifies any recommendations of the Council for appropriate and necessary legislative and administrative actions to resolve such problems and meet such needs.

(d) Notification of other Federal agencies

If, in monitoring and evaluating programs and activities to assist homeless individuals conducted by other Federal agencies, the Council determines that any significant problem, abuse, or deficiency exists in the administration of the program or activity of any Federal agency, the Council shall submit a notice of the determination of the Council to the Inspector General of the Federal agency (or the head of the Federal agency, in the case of a Federal agency that has no Inspector General).

(e) Program timetables

Not later than 90 days after November 7, 1988, the head of each Federal agency that is a member of the Council and responsible for administering a program under this chapter shall provide to the Council a timetable regarding program funding availability and application deadlines. The Council shall furnish such information to each State (including the State contact person).

(Pub. L. 100–77, title II, § 203, July 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 487; Pub. L. 100–628, title II, §§ 201–203, Nov. 7, 1988, 102 Stat. 3227, 3228; Pub. L. 111–22, div. B, § 1004(a)(3), (4), May 20, 2009, 123 Stat. 1666, 1668.)

References In Text

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a)(5)(B) and (e), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 100–77, July 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 482, known as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 11301 of this title and Tables.

Section 1003 of the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2009, referred to in subsec. (a)(13), is section 1003 of Pub. L. 111–22.

Amendments

Amendments

2009—Subsec. (a)(1) to (4). Pub. L. 111–22, § 1004(a)(3)(A), (B), added par. (1) and redesignated former pars. (1) to (3) as (2) to (4), respectively. Former par. (4) redesignated (5).

Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 111–22, § 1004(a)(3)(A), (C), redesignated par. (4) as (5) and substituted “not less than 5, but in no case more than 10” for “at least 2, but in no case more than 5”. Former par. (5) redesignated (9).

Subsec. (a)(6) to (13). Pub. L. 111–22, § 1004(a)(3)(A), (D)–(G), added pars. (6) to (8), par. (9) relating to joint Federal agency and other initiatives to fulfill the goals of the agency, and pars. (12) and (13), redesignated former par. (5) as par. (9) relating to collection and dissemination of information, and redesignated former pars. (6) and (7) as (10) and (11), respectively.

Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 111–22, § 1004(a)(4), substituted “national” for “Federal” and “and pay for expenses of attendance at meetings which are concerned with the functions or activities for which the appropriation is made;” for “; and”.

1988—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 100–628, § 202(1), substituted “(by at least 2, but in no case more than 5, regional coordinators employed by the Council, each having responsibility for interaction and coordination of the activities of the Council within the 10 standard Federal regions)” for “, through personnel employed by the Council in each of the 10 standard Federal regions,” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (a)(4)(A) to (D). Pub. L. 100–628, § 202(2), added subpars. (A) to (D) and struck out former subpars. (A) and (B) which read as follows:

“(A) effectively coordinate and maximize resources of existing programs and activities to assist homeless individuals; and

“(B) develop new and innovative programs and activities to assist homeless individuals;”.

Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 100–628, § 201, added par. (7).

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 100–628, § 203, added subsec. (e).

Effective Date Of Amendment

Effective Date of 2009 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 111–22 effective on, and applicable beginning on, May 20, 2009, see section 1004(b) of Pub. L. 111–22, set out as a note under section 11311 of this title.

Miscellaneous

Termination of Reporting Requirements

For termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions in subsec. (c)(2) of this section relating to transmittal to Congress of annual report, see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and the 5th item on page 175 of House Document No. 103–7.

Personnel From Federal Departments and Agencies

Pub. L. 102–389, title III, Oct. 6, 1992, 106 Stat. 1608, provided in part: “That the Council shall carry out its duties in the 10 standard Federal regions under section 203(a)(4) of such Act [now 42 U.S.C. 11313(a)(5)] only through detail, on a non-reimbursable basis, of employees of the departments and agencies represented on the Council pursuant to section 202(a) of such Act [42 U.S.C. 11312(a)].”

Similar provisions were contained in the following prior appropriations acts:

Pub. L. 102–139, title III, Oct. 28, 1991, 105 Stat. 769.

Pub. L. 101–507, title III, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1377.

Pub. L. 101–144, title III, Nov. 9, 1989, 103 Stat. 861.

Pub. L. 100–404, title I, Aug. 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 1017.

Nonimplementation of Subsection (a)(5)

Pub. L. 100–202, § 101(f) [title I], Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1329–187, 1329–191, provided: “That the provision in section 203(a)(4) [now 203(a)(5)] of such Act [Pub. L. 100–77, 42 U.S.C. 11313(a)(5)] that relates to employment of personnel in the regions shall not be implemented.”

Executive Order

Executive Order No. 12848

Ex. Ord. No. 12848, May 19, 1993, 58 F.R. 29517, required Federal member agencies acting through the Interagency Council on the Homeless to develop a single coordinated Federal plan for breaking the cycle of existing homelessness and for preventing future homelessness and to submit the plan to the President no later than 9 months after May 19, 1993.