Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 117.djvu/1186

 PUBLIC LAW 108–96—OCT. 10, 2003

117 STAT. 1167

Public Law 108–96 108th Congress An Act To reauthorize programs under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and the Missing Children’s Assistance Act, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Runaway, Homeless, and Missing Children Protection Act’’.

Oct. 10, 2003 [H.R. 1925] Runaway, Homeless, and Missing Children Protection Act. Grants. 42 USC 5601 note.

TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO RUNAWAY AND HOMELESS YOUTH ACT SEC. 101. AMENDMENT TO FINDINGS.

Section 302 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘SEC. 302. FINDINGS.

‘‘The Congress finds that— ‘‘(1) youth who have become homeless or who leave and remain away from home without parental permission, are at risk of developing, and have a disproportionate share of, serious health, behavioral, and emotional problems because they lack sufficient resources to obtain care and may live on the street for extended periods thereby endangering themselves and creating a substantial law enforcement problem for communities in which they congregate; ‘‘(2) many such young people, because of their age and situation, are urgently in need of temporary shelter and services, including services that are linguistically appropriate and acknowledge the environment of youth seeking these services; ‘‘(3) in view of the interstate nature of the problem, it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to develop an accurate national reporting system to report the problem, and to assist in the development of an effective system of care (including preventive and aftercare services, emergency shelter services, extended residential shelter, and street outreach services) outside the welfare system and the law enforcement system; ‘‘(4) to make a successful transition to adulthood, runaway youth, homeless youth, and other street youth need opportunities to complete high school or earn a general equivalency degree, learn job skills, and obtain employment; and

VerDate 11-MAY-2000

10:15 Aug 27, 2004

Jkt 019194

PO 00000

Frm 00119

Fmt 6580

Sfmt 6581

D:\STATUTES\2003\19194PT2.001

APPS10

PsN: 19194PT2

�