Fact Sheet: Basic Center Program
History
In the early 1970s, concern began to grow about youth who were away from home and in at-risk situations, often through no fault of their own. While efforts to help these young people were beginning at the local level, few, if any, Federal resources existed to provide runaway and homeless youth with shelter or to help reunite them with their families.
In 1974, Congress passed the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) (Public Law 93-415). The JJDPA created a system of financial support for States that was linked to mandates designed to improve community treatment of young people in at-risk circumstances. To receive JJDPA funding, States had to agree to deinstitutionalize status offenders, including runaway youth.
To support deinstitutionalization efforts, Congress authorized the Basic Center Program through the JJDPA’s Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA). The Basic Center Program would provide a system of care for young runaways outside the traditional child protective services, law enforcement, or juvenile justice agencies. The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) began funding Basic Centers in 1974.
Today, FYSB continues to fund the Basic Center Program under the provisions of the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-378). In FY 2008, 371 programs received a total of $45.7 million in funding.
Purpose
FYSB's mission is to provide national leadership on youth and family issues. The Bureau promotes positive outcomes for children, youth, and families by supporting a wide range of comprehensive services and collaborations at the local, Tribal, State, and national levels. The goals of FYSB programs are to provide positive alternatives for youth, ensure their safety, and maximize their potential to take advantage of available opportunities.
Through the Basic Center Program, FYSB works to establish or strengthen community-based programs that address the immediate needs of runaway and homeless youth and their families. These programs provide youth up to age 18 with emergency shelter, food, clothing, counseling, and referrals for health care. Most Basic Centers can provide 21 days of shelter for up to 20 youth. There are exceptions for those jurisdictions that have different standards for licensing. The Basic Centers seek to reunite young people with their families, whenever possible, or to locate appropriate alternative placements.
Services Provided
Basic Centers are required to offer the following types of assistance to young people and their families:
- Food, clothing, medical care, or other services that youth need (offered either directly or by referral)
- Individual, group, and family counseling
- Recreation programs
- Outreach targeting both youth who may need assistance and other public or private agencies that work with youth and families
- Aftercare services for youth after they leave the shelter
In addition, FYSB requires grantees to incorporate elements of Positive Youth Development. The approach suggests that the best way to prevent risky behavior is to help young people achieve their full potential. Youth development strategies focus on giving young people the chance to exercise leadership, build skills, and become involved in their communities.
FYSB's Grant Award Process
FYSB solicits applications for the Basic Center Program through funding announcements on the Grants.gov Web site at http://www.grants.gov. Applications are competitively reviewed by peer panels, and successful applicants receive 3-year grants. Basic Center Program funds are allocated to States using a formula based on the State’s population of youth under age 18, according to the latest census data.
For More Information
For further information about FYSB's Basic Center Program, contact the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth, P.O. Box 13505, Silver Spring, MD 20911-3505; (301) 608-8098; fax: (301) 608-8721; e-mail: ncfy@acf.hhs.gov; Web site: http://ncfy.acf.hhs.gov |
