Homelessness

GAO is required to report annually to Congress on the status of programs authorized under the McKinney Act. This report provides updated program and funding information for fiscal years 1992 and 1993. It also provides information on the third reauthorization of the act. GAO discusses the legislative history of the act; describes each McKinney Act program, and identifies the funding provided under each program by state. GAO also briefly describes newly authorized assistance programs for the homeless and significant changes to existing McKinney Act programs that occurred during these two fiscal years.

GAO found that: (1) McKinney Act programs provide homeless people with emergency food and shelter, transitional and permanent housing, primary health care services, mental health care, alcohol and drug abuse treatment, education, and job training; (2) the McKinney Act required the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUD) to develop and submit a Comprehensive Housing Strategy, authorized property disposition programs, and created the Interagency Council on the Homeless; (3) McKinney Act programs are administered by HUD, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and Veterans Affairs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the General Services Administration; (4) between fiscal years (FY) 1992 and 1993, Congress increased its appropriations for McKinney Act programs by 16 percent; (5) between FY 1987 and 1993, Congress appropriated $4.2 billion for McKinney Act programs; (6) although the majority of funds appropriated in FY 1992 and 1993 were allocated for emergency food and shelter programs, the remaining funds were allocated for physical and mental health care, education, and job training programs; and (7) the Supportive Housing Demonstration Program and the Shelter Plus Care program were the two largest funded McKinney Act programs for FY 1992 and 1993 respectively.