A Bipartisan Housing Fix for Families?
Movement on cross-partisan priorities, and how they’d impact child welfare.
A Bipartisan Housing Fix for Families?
Movement on cross-partisan priorities, and how they’d impact child welfare.
Last week, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs unanimously voted to advance the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream to Housing Act of 2025.
The committee’s first bipartisan housing markup in a decade targets the housing crisis by addressing the root causes of instability, not just adding more units.
Key provisions include:
Addressing structural barriers to housing affordability, like the federal requirement for manufactured housing to have a permanent foundation;
Reviewing federal construction financing barriers for modular housing;
Expanding affordable housing through rental assistance programs like the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and public housing preservation;
Strengthening tenant protections, including a Right to Counsel for eviction cases;
Incentivizing zoning reform to increase affordable housing in high-demand areas; and
Supporting home repairs through programs like the Whole-Home Repairs Act to ensure families can stay in their homes without displacement.
Housing’s Role in Child Welfare
The relevant impacts for child welfare policy are manifold.
Housing instability is a key driver of child welfare system involvement; homelessness and inadequate housing contributed to 13 percent of foster care entries in FY2023.1
Stable housing can also improve family reunification outcomes, giving parents the stability they need to meet reunification goals.
This matters given that 44 percent of foster care exits in FY 2023 were for reunification.2
And the expansion of homelessness prevention programs could serve as a lifeline for the over 15,000 youth aging out of foster care each year, who are disproportionately at risk for homelessness.
What Comes Next
Unanimous advancement out of committee isn’t just movement; it’s a signal of momentum.
Look for these policies to show up in future comprehensive legislative development.