The Primary Prevention Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program

The Primary Prevention Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, funded under solicitation HHS-2026-ACF-ACYF-YY-0119, aims to support organizations in developing and implementing evidence-based strategies to prevent homelessness among youth and young adults aged 12 to 26, particularly those at high risk due to family instability, poverty, lack of affordable housing, involvement in foster care or the juvenile justice system, substance abuse, mental health challenges, or vulnerability to human trafficking. Applicants must design community-driven initiatives that actively engage youth with lived experience of homelessness to co-create solutions, including the establishment of local youth advisory boards. The program emphasizes trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and linguistically accessible services aligned with Administration for Children and Families priorities such as family stability, economic mobility, and early childhood learning outcomes. Recipients are required to operate within a two-year performance period from September 30, 2026, to September 30, 2028, and must comply with all applicable federal regulations under 2 CFR Part 200, including subrecipient oversight, financial accountability, data protection, and adherence to salary caps and indirect cost limitations of up to 15% of modified total direct costs. Each award is capped between $350,000 and $500,000, with funding subject to availability and priority alignment. Proposals must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 17, 2026, and are limited to a total of 75 pages across two required files: one containing narrative components and budget details, and the other containing attachments such as indirect cost agreements, legal proof of organizational status, third-party agreements, and organizational capacity documentation. The ACF priorities alignment attestation, while not counted in the page limit, is mandatory and must be signed. Applications are evaluated on a 110-point scale across seven factors including approach, impact, organizational capacity, alignment with ACF priorities, budget reasonableness, purpose and need, and sustainability planning, with a review process focused on merit, trade-offs, and risk assessment including SAM.gov performance history for prior award holders. Applicants must hold a valid Unique Entity Identifier from SAM.gov, and all subrecipients must also be registered. Additional requirements include implementing human trafficking identification and reporting protocols, ensuring data protection for sensitive information, and submitting detailed project performance sites through the SF-P/PSL