Take Action! Tell Congress to Enact the Bipartisan “Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act”

On September 16, Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Todd Young (R-IN) reintroduced the “Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act,” which would create an additional 250,000 housing vouchers specifically designed for low-income families with young children to expand their access to well-resourced neighborhoods with high-performing schools, strong job prospects, and other opportunities.  This legislation would significantly reduce homelessness among families with young children, as well as substantially decrease the number of children growing up in areas of concentrated poverty. This policy solution has been championed by the Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) campaign, which worked with the bill’s sponsors to get the concept introduced into legislation. 

The legislation prioritizes these new vouchers for low-income pregnant women and families with children under age 6 who either have a recent history of homelessness or housing instability, or live in an area of concentrated poverty (or are at risk of being displaced from an opportunity area). These vouchers would be coupled with counseling and services that have a proven track record of supporting parents and helping families move out of neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. 

Research shows that when children in poor families grow up in neighborhoods with low poverty, quality schools, and low crime, they are significantly more likely to attend college, less likely to become single parents, and more likely to earn dramatically more as adults over the course of their lifetimes. They also experience better health outcomes, including a reduction in asthma symptoms. This helps break cycles of generational poverty and produces a positive taxpayer return. Research also shows that low-income students perform better academically and close achievement gaps faster when housing assistance enables them to live stably in well-resourced neighborhoods with lower-poverty schools. 

The “Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act” is an important and historic bipartisan effort that, if enacted, would dramatically improve the life trajectories of low-income children by expanding their access to stable housing located in safe, well-resourced communities. Take action today and send a letter to your elected officials urging them to support the bill. 

Send a letter.   

Read the press release from Senator Van Hollen.  

Read the fact sheet.  

Read the bill text.