Establishes a former foster youth priority program that reserves at least five percent of units in housing lotteries that are administered by the New York city department of housing preservation and development or the New York city housing development corporation for eligible former foster youth; authorizes the promulgation of rules, regulations and marketing handbooks and procedural guidelines; establishes reporting requirements.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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10121
IN SENATE
April 30, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. BRISPORT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and
Community Development
AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to estab-
lishing a former foster youth priority program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. 1. The legislature finds
2 that individuals who age out of foster care face significantly higher
3 risks of housing instability, homelessness, and related adverse
4 outcomes. Nationally, about one in four former foster youth become
5 homeless within four years of leaving foster care.
6 2. In New York city, as of December 31, 2024, 6,503 youth lived in
7 twenty-four-hour foster care.
8 3. The legislature acknowledges that stable, affordable housing is a
9 critical foundation for successful transitions to adulthood, reducing
10 reliance on emergency systems and improving educational, economic, and
11 health outcomes.
12 4. Accordingly, it is the intent of the legislature to direct the
13 relevant housing agencies to adopt a Former Foster Youth Priority
14 program for lottery selection in assisted housing programs, so that
15 former foster youth have expanded access to quality affordable housing.
16 § 2. The private housing finance law is amended by adding a new arti-
17 cle 33 to read as follows:
18 ARTICLE 33
19 FORMER FOSTER YOUTH PRIORITY PROGRAM
20 Section 1300. Definitions.
21 1301. Former foster youth priority program.
22 1302. Administration; rules; plans.
23 1303. Fair housing compliance; reporting.
24 § 1300. Definitions. As used in this article:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14045-01-5
S. 10121 2
1 1. "Former foster youth" means an individual aged eighteen through
2 twenty-seven who, on or after their sixteenth birthday, was or had been
3 in the custody of the New York state office of children and family
4 services or a local social services district, including those individ-
5 uals who exited care via adoption, guardianship, reunification, or aging
6 out of care.
7 2. "State-assisted housing" means a dwelling unit that is financed,
8 subsidized, or regulated under a state housing program, including but
9 not limited to programs established under this chapter, and for which a
10 lottery or waiting list is used to allocate occupancy.
11 3. "Housing lottery" means a regulated selection process administered
12 by the New York city department of housing preservation and development
13 or the New York city housing development corporation for the purpose of
14 allocating affordable housing units to eligible applicants through a
15 randomized selection system.
16 4. "Former foster youth priority program" means a housing lottery
17 program that reserves five percent of units in applicable housing
18 lotteries for eligible former foster youth.
19 § 1301. Former foster youth priority program. 1. In conducting any
20 housing lottery, the New York city department of housing preservation
21 and development and the New York city housing development corporation
22 shall implement a former foster youth priority program that reserves a
23 proportion of units in applicable housing lotteries for eligible former
24 foster youth, in an amount not less than five percent, subject to
25 compliance with federal, state, and local fair housing laws.
26 2. In implementing a former foster youth priority program, the New
27 York city department of housing preservation and development and the New
28 York city housing development corporation shall coordinate with the
29 office of children and family services and relevant local social
30 services districts to verify that an individual is a former foster
31 youth, pursuant to subdivision one of section thirteen hundred of this
32 article, and shall allow for the use of alternative forms of verifica-
33 tion where records are unavailable or difficult to obtain.
34 § 1302. Administration; rules; plans. 1. The New York city department
35 of housing preservation and development and the New York city housing
36 development corporation are authorized to adopt, amend or repeal any
37 rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of the former
38 foster youth priority program.
39 2. The New York city department of housing preservation and develop-
40 ment and the New York city housing development corporation are also
41 authorized to develop any marketing handbooks and procedural guidelines
42 necessary to implement and promote the program. The New York city
43 department of housing preservation and development and the New York city
44 housing development corporation shall also include marketing and appli-
45 cant selection plans that account for, and conspicuously advertise, the
46 availability of units to former foster youth.
47 § 1303. Fair housing compliance; reporting. 1. In conducting any hous-
48 ing lottery, the New York city department of housing preservation and
49 development and the New York city housing development corporation shall
50 implement a former foster youth priority program in a manner consistent
51 with the federal Fair Housing Act, the New York state human rights law,
52 and any other applicable anti-discrimination laws.
53 2. In executing a former foster youth priority program, the New York
54 city department of housing preservation and development and the New York
55 city housing development corporation shall conduct an analysis of the
56 program, in order to evaluate and analyze the program's impact on former
S. 10121 3
1 foster youth. Such analysis shall capture demographic information
2 including age, race, employment status, and educational attainment of
3 those who enter and exit housing through the former foster youth priori-
4 ty program and shall also incorporate exit surveys identifying post-ten-
5 ancy housing outcomes for participating individuals. The results of such
6 analysis shall be published in a publicly accessible format, and shall
7 include statistics regarding: (a) the number of applications for housing
8 under the former foster youth priority program; (b) the number of awards
9 made under the former foster youth priority program; (c) non-identifying
10 demographic breakdowns of former foster youth priority program partic-
11 ipants; and (d) any recommended modifications to the program to ensure
12 fairness and effectiveness.
13 § 3. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part
14 of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to
15 be invalid and after exhaustion of all further judicial review, the
16 judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof,
17 but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, para-
18 graph, section or part of this act directly involved in the controversy
19 in which the judgment shall have been rendered.
20 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
21 it shall have become a law.
