The continuum of care (COC) program is designed to promote community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, states, and local…

The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development awarded Hennepin County $564,343 on January 1, 2026, under the Continuum of Care Program (CFDA 14.267) to support youth homelessness demonstration programming. The award funds eligible costs to establish and operate projects serving households where no person exceeds age 24, including permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, supportive services only, Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS), and homelessness prevention. Performance runs through December 31, 2026, with place of performance in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hennepin County, a large metropolitan county government based in Minneapolis, receives this funding as a direct federal grantee and pass-through entity for social services and housing programs. The Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) grant supports the county's coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness while sharing implementation experience to mobilize communities nationwide toward the same goal.

Activities

These grants may be used to pay for the eligible costs used to establish and operate projects under five program components: 1. Permanent housing, which includes permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities, and rapid rehousing; 2. Transitional housing; 3. Supportive services only; 4. Homeless management information systems (hmis); and 5. Homelessness prevention (in some cases). Eligible costs within these projects include: 1. Leasing of a structure or structures, or portions thereof, to provide housing or supportive services; 2. Rental assistance, which may be short-term, medium-term, or long-term, as well as tenant-based, project-based, or sponsor-based, for transitional or permanent housing; 3. Supportive services to assist program participants obtain and maintain housing; 4. Operating costs of supportive housing; 5. Costs of implementing and operating hmis; 6. Project administrative costs; 7. Relocation costs; and 8. Indirect costs in accordance with 2 CFR parts 200, as applicable. In addition to using grant funds for the eligible costs described above, recipients and subrecipients in continuums of care designated as high performing communities may also use grant funds to provide housing relocation and stabilization services and short- and/or medium-term rental assistance to youth at risk of homelessness as set forth in 24 CFR 576.103 and 24 CFR 576.104, if necessary to prevent youth from becoming homeless. No assistance provided under program (or any state or local government funds used to supplement this assistance) may be used to replace state or local funds previously used, or designated for use, to assist homeless persons or persons at-risk of homelessness.

Expected outcomes

Decrease in the number of youth experiencing homelessness, more specifically using performance indicators such as the length of time homeless, returns to homelessness over time, and exits to permanent housing. COC performance profile reports can be found at: https://WWW.hudexchange.info/programs/COC/COC-performance-profile-reports/

Intended beneficiaries

Youth defined as households where no person is over the age of 24

Subrecipient activities

The subrecipient activities are unknown at the time of award