A number of other rules and regulations apply or potentially apply to applicants and grantees. These include:

(a) 2 CFR part 182—Government-wide Requirements for Drug Free Workplace;

(b) 2 CFR part 376—Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension

(c) 45 CFR part 16—Procedures of the Departmental Grant Appeals Board;

(d) 45 CFR part 30—Claims Collection;

(e) 45 CFR part 46—Protection of Human Subjects;

(f) 45 CFR part 75—Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost principles, and Audit Requirements for HHS Awards, including nondiscrimination requirements.

(g) 45 CFR part 80—Nondiscrimination Under Programs Receiving Federal Assistance Through the Department of Health and Human Services Effectuation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;

(h) 45 CFR part 81—Practice and Procedure for Hearings Under part 80;

(i) 45 CFR part 84—Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance;

(j) 45 CFR part 86—Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities receiving Federal Financial Assistance;

(k) 45 CFR part 87—Equal Treatment for Faith Based Organizations;

(l) 45 CFR part 91—Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Age in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance;

(m) 45 CFR part 92—Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities; and

(n) 45 CFR part 93—New Restrictions on Lobbying.

Several program policies regarding confidentiality of information, treatment, conflict of interest and state protection apply to recipients of Runaway and Homeless Youth Program grants. These include:

(a) Confidential information. Pursuant to the Act, no records containing the identity of individual youth, including but not limited to lists of names, addresses, photographs, or records of evaluation of individuals served by a Runaway and Homeless Youth project, may be disclosed or transferred to any individual or to any public or private agency except:

(1) For Basic Center Program grants, records maintained on individual runaway and homeless youth shall not be disclosed without the informed consent of the individual youth and parent or legal guardian to anyone other than another agency compiling statistical records or a government agency involved in the disposition of criminal charges against an individual runaway and homeless youth;

(2) For Transitional Living Programs, records maintained on individual homeless youth shall not be disclosed without the informed consent of the individual youth to anyone other than an agency compiling statistical records;

(3) Research, evaluation, and statistical reports funded by grants provided under section 343 of the Act are allowed to be based on individual data, but only if such data are de-identified in ways that preclude disclosing information on identifiable individuals; and

(4) Youth served by a Runaway and Homeless Youth project shall have the right to review their records; to correct a record or file a statement of disagreement; and to be apprised of the individuals who have reviewed their records.

(b) State law protection. HHS policies regarding confidential information and experimentation and treatment shall not apply if HHS finds that state law is more protective of the rights of runaway or otherwise homeless youth.

(c) Procedures shall be established for the training of project staff in the protection of these rights and for the secure storage of records.

(a) Non-discriminatory and culturally and linguistically sensitive services and training. Service delivery and staff training must comprehensively address the individual strengths and needs of youth as well as be language appropriate, gender appropriate (interventions that are sensitive to the diverse experiences of male, female, and transgender youth and consistent with the gender identity of participating youth), and culturally sensitive and respectful of the complex social identities of youth (i.e., race, ethnicity, nationality, age, religion/spirituality, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical or cognitive ability, language, beliefs, values, behavior patterns, or customs). No runaway youth or homeless youth shall, on any of the foregoing bases, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under, any program or activity funded in whole or in part under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.

(1) The criteria that grantees adopt to determine eligibility for the program, or any activity or service, may include an assessment of the needs of each applicant, and the health and safety of other beneficiaries, among other factors.

(2) [Reserved]

(b) Medical, psychiatric or psychological treatment. No youth shall be subject to medical, psychiatric, or psychological treatment without the consent of the youth and, for youth under the age of emancipation in their state of residence, consent of a parent or guardian, if required by state law.

(c) Conflict of interest. Employees or individuals participating in a program or project under the Act shall not use their positions for a purpose that is, or gives the appearance of being, motivated by a desire for private gain for themselves or others, particularly those with whom they have family, business or other ties.

To improve the administration of these Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs by increasing the capacity of Runaway and Homeless Youth projects to deliver services, by improving their performance in delivering services, and by providing for the evaluation of performance:

(a) Grantees shall participate in technical assistance, monitoring, and short-term training as a condition of funding, as determined necessary by HHS, in such areas as: Aftercare services and counseling; background checks; core competencies of youth workers; core support services; crisis intervention techniques; culturally and linguistically sensitive services; participation in or development of coordinated networks of private nonprofit agencies and/or public agencies to provide services; ethics and staff safety; fiscal management; low cost community alternatives for runaway or otherwise homeless youth; positive youth development; program management; risk and protective factors related to youth homelessness; screening and assessment practices; shelter facility staff development; special populations (tribal youth; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ), and intersex youth; youth with disabilities; youth victims of trafficking, sexual exploitation or sexual abuse); trauma and the effects of trauma on youth; use of evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions; and youth and family counseling. It is not a requirement that every staff person receives training in every subject but all staff members who work directly with youth should receive training sufficient to meet the stated core-competencies of youth workers.

(b) Grantees shall coordinate their activities with the 24-hour National toll-free and Internet communication system, which links Runaway and Homeless Youth projects and other service providers with runaway or otherwise homeless youth, as appropriate to the specific activities provided by the grantee.

(c) Grantees shall submit statistical reports profiling the clients served and providing management and performance information in accordance with guidance provided by HHS.

(d) Grantees shall perform outreach to locate runaway and homeless youth and to coordinate activities with other organizations serving the same or similar client populations, such as child welfare agencies, juvenile justice systems, schools, and Continuums of Care, as defined by HUD.

(e) Grantees shall develop and implement a plan for addressing youth who have run away from foster care placement or correctional institutions, in accordance with federal, state, or local laws or regulations that apply to these situations. In accordance with section 312(b)(4) of the Act, Basic Center grantees must also develop a plan that ensures the return of runaway and homeless youth who have run away from the correctional institution back to the correctional institution.

(f) Grantees shall take steps to ensure that youth who are or should be under the legal jurisdiction of the juvenile justice or child welfare systems obtain and receive services from those systems until such time as they are released from the jurisdiction of those systems.

(g) Grantees shall develop and document plans that address steps to be taken in case of a local or national situation that poses risk to the health and safety of staff and youth. Emergency preparedness plans should, at a minimum, include routine preventative maintenance of facilities as well as preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. The plan should contain strategies for addressing evacuation, security, food, medical supplies, and notification of youths' families, as appropriate. In the event of an evacuation due to specific facility issues, such as a fire, loss of utilities, or mandatory evacuation by the local authorities, an alternative location needs to be designated and included in the plan. Grantees must immediately provide notification to their project officer and grants officer when evacuation plans are executed.

(h) Grantees shall ensure that all shelters that they operate are licensed and determine that any shelters to which they regularly refer clients have evidence of current licensure, in states or localities with licensure requirements. Grantees shall promptly report to HHS instances in which shelters are cited for failure to meet licensure or related requirements, or lose licensure. For grantee-operated facilities, failure to meet any applicable state or local legal requirements as a condition of operation may be grounds for grant termination.

(i) Grantees shall utilize and integrate into the operation of their projects the principles of positive youth development, including healthy messages, safe and structured places, adult role models, skill development, and opportunities to serve others.

(j) No later than October 1, 2017, grantees shall have a plan, procedures, and standards for ensuring background checks on all employees, contractors, volunteers, and consultants who have regular and unsupervised private contact with youth served by the grantee, and on all adults who reside in or operate host homes. The plans, procedures, and standards must identify the background check findings that would disqualify an applicant from consideration for employment to provide services for which assistance is made available in accordance with this part.

(1) Required background checks include:

(i) State or tribal criminal history records, including fingerprint checks;

(ii) Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records, including fingerprint checks, to the extent FSYB determines this to be practicable and specifies the requirement in a Funding Opportunity Announcement that is applicable to a grantee's award;

(iii) Child abuse and neglect state registry check, to the extent FSYB determines this to be practicable and specifies the requirement in a Funding Opportunity Announcement that is applicable to a grantee's award;

(iv) Sex offender registry check; and,

(v) Any other checks required under state or tribal law.

(2) Programs must document the justification for any hire where an arrest, pending criminal charge or conviction, is present.

(k) Grantees shall provide such other services and meet such additional requirements as HHS determines are necessary to carry out the purposes of the statute, as appropriate to the services and activities for which they are funded. These services and requirements are articulated in the funding opportunity announcements and other instructions issued by the Secretary or secretarial designees. This includes operational instructions and standards of execution determined by the Secretary or secretarial designees to be necessary to properly perform or document meeting the requirements applicable to particular programs or projects.

(a) Grantees shall have an intake procedure that is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to all youth seeking services and temporary shelter that addresses and responds to immediate needs for crisis counseling, food, clothing, shelter, and health care services.

(b) Grantees shall provide, either directly or through arrangements, access to temporary shelter 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

(c) Grantees shall provide trauma-informed case management, counseling and referral services that meet client needs and that encourage, when in the best interests of the youth particularly with regard to safety, the involvement of parents or legal guardians.

(d) Grantees shall provide additional core support services to clients both residentially and non-residentially as appropriate. The core services must include case planning, skill building, recreation and leisure activities.

(e) Grantees shall, as soon as feasible and no later than 72 hours of the youth entering the program, contact the parents, legal guardians or other relatives of each youth according to the best interests of the youth. If a grantee determines that it is not in the best interest of the client to contact the parents, legal guardian or other relatives of the client, or if the grantee is unable to locate, or the youth refuses to disclose the contact information of, the parent, legal guardian or other relative of the client, they must:

(1) Inform another adult identified by the child;

(2) Document why it is not in the client's best interest to contact the parent, legal guardian or other relative, or why they are not able to contact the parent, legal guardian or other relative; and

(3) Send a copy of the documentation to the regional program specialist for review.

(f) Additional requirements included in the funding opportunity announcement.

(a) Grantees shall provide transitional living arrangements and additional core services including case planning/management, counseling, skill building, consumer education, referral to needed social and health care services, and education, recreation and leisure activities, aftercare and, as appropriate to grantees providing maternity-related services, parenting skills, child care, and child nutrition.

(b) Additional requirements included in the funding opportunity announcement.

(a) Basic Center and Transitional Living grantees shall develop and implement an aftercare plan, covering at least 3 months, to stay in contact with youth who leave the program in order to ensure their ongoing safety and access to services. A youth's individual aftercare plan shall outline what services were and will be provided as well as the youth's housing status during and after the program. The plan shall be provided to the youth in exit counseling or before. Follow-up efforts shall be made for all youth. For those contacted after 3 months, the plan shall be updated to record the rate of participation and completion of the services in the plan at 3 months after exiting the program. In accordance with section 312(b)(5) of the Act, as possible, Basic Center grantees shall also provide a plan for providing counseling and aftercare services to youth who are returned beyond the state in which the runaway and homeless youth service is located.

(b) Basic Center and Transitional Living grantees shall develop and implement a plan for health care services referrals for youth during the service and aftercare periods. Such referral plans shall include health care services and referrals and counseling on insurance coverage through family health insurance plans, or to agencies that assist in enrolling persons in Medicaid or in insurance plans offered under Affordable Care Act exchanges.

(c) Basic Center and Transitional Living grantees shall develop and implement a plan to assist youth to stay connected with their schools or to obtain appropriate educational services, training, or employment services. This includes coordination with McKinney-Vento school district liaisons, designated under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, to assure that runaway and homeless youth are provided information about the services available under that Act. This also includes coordination with local employment and employment training coordinating agencies or programs, coordination with local college placement services, and providing access to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application.

(a) Grantees shall provide services that are designed to assist clients in leaving the streets, making healthy choices, and building trusting relationships in areas where targeted youth congregate.

(b) Grantees shall directly or by referral provide treatment, counseling, prevention, and education services to clients as well as referral for emergency shelter.

(c) Additional requirements included in the funding opportunity announcement.