On Thursday, December 15, Department of Homeless Services (DHS) Commissioner Seth Diamond traveled to Washington, D.C. to testify at a Congressional hearing of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity.  The hearing, entitled, "The Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2011: Proposals to Promote Economic Independence for Homeless Children and Youth" focused in part on the definition of homelessness for the purposes of federal funding, and exploring the services and resources allocated to effective and efficient program models that prevent and end homelessness for families across the nation.

On a panel with top White House officials, including Mark Johnston, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Community Planning and Development, and Barbara Poppe, Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), Commissioner Diamond spoke about New York City's ambitious strategies to address homelessness for families with children. He also articulated the City's emphasis on homelessness prevention, the importance of helping families in shelter gain employment and the aggressive efforts to ensure that children in shelter attend school. 

"Our family prevention efforts recognize that wherever possible, it is far better to keep a family in their home where their children are enrolled in school and where they have community supports, rather than uprooting a family to a shelter to receive services," Commissioner Diamond told the subcommittee.  Pointing to the agency's focus on employment, he also reported on the 7,500 shelter residents who have gone to work this year. "A solid employment system is an essential component of efforts to assist shelter residents."

The hearing was spurred by the introduction of H.R. 32- a bill seeking to expand the definition of "homeless youth" under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.  While testifying, Commissioner Diamond expressed the agency's opposition to the proposal, believing that the limited existing HUD resources should be targeted to those with the greatest need. "With financing already stretched thin, to further dilute those allocations would hurt the substantial efforts being made in New York and across the country to assist those in shelter," he said. "Dedicated resources are essential to provide those in shelter with needed housing, employment, rehabilitative and case management services."

New York City remains a leader in policies related to homelessness and will continue to serve homeless New Yorkers through a variety of innovative and effective programs.