Last week, the following Senators re-introduced the bipartisan Emergency Family Stabilization Act (EFSA) S.220: Senators Murkowski (R-AK), Manchin (D-WV), Collins (R-ME), Sinema (D-AZ), Shaheen (D-NH), Schatz (D-HI), Hassan (D-NH), Casey (D-PA), Hirono (D-HI), Kelly (D-AZ), and Sullivan (R-AK).
The Emergency Family Stabilization Act was created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and administered by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to generate new crisis financing streams. While the CARES Act provided some assistance related to homelessness, most children and youth experiencing homelessness are ineligible due to the fact that they are also ineligible for most HUD Emergency Solutions Grant services. This EFSA flexible funding will permit local area based organizations to meet the exceptional needs of children, youth, and families facing homelessness under a more comprehensive definition of homelessness due to COVID-19.
Last year, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) introduced the “Emergency Family Stabilization Fund” (S.3923) to provide emergency relief to families experiencing homelessness and to unaccompanied youth, in light of the health and economic consequences of COVID–19.
EFSA will provide funding to communities and populations, especially those that will experience long-lasting consequences of COVID-19. Specifically, EFSA will meet the needs of underserved populations by providing “health and safety, housing, education, transportation, child care, communications, and robust services.” EFSA gives special consideration to children with disabilities, pregnant and parenting youth, children under age 6, pregnant women, families encountering abusive behavior at home, families, and youth in rural communities, survivors of sexual assault or human trafficking, and historically marginalized and underserved communities.
To send a message to your Senators urging them to cosponsor the Emergency Family Stabilization Act and ensure that it is included in the COVID relief package, Click Here to Message Your U.S. Senators. SchoolHouse Connection has created sample tweets for organizations to share on social media, you can find them at https://bit.ly/2MuSL5H. CWLA has joined with the National Network for Youth and endorsed the legislation. To endorse the Emergency Family Stabilization Act, click here to complete the form.
