123STA T . 1 68 8 PUBLIC LA W 111 – 22 —M A Y 2 0, 200 9‘ ‘ (1)forany of the e lig i b lea c ti v itie sd escribed in section 423; or ‘‘(2) for any of the eligible activities described in p aragraphs (4) and ( 5 ) of section 415(a) . ‘‘(d) DEFIN I T I O NOF H I GH-P E R FOR M ING C OMM U NIT Y . —F orp u r- poses of this section , the ter m ‘high-performing community ’ means a geographic area that demonstrates through reliable data that all five of the follo w ing re q uirements are met for that geographic area
‘‘(1) T ERM OF HOME L E S SNESS.—The mean length of episodes of homelessness for that geographic area— ‘‘( A )islessthan2 0 days; or ‘‘( B ) for individuals and families in similar cir- cumstances in the preceding year was at least 10 percent less than in the year before. ‘‘(2) F A MILIES LEA V ING HOMELESSNESS.— O f individuals and families— ‘‘(A) who leave homelessness, fewer than 5 percent of such individuals and families become homeless again at any time within the ne x t 2 years; or ‘‘(B) in similar circumstances who leave homelessness, the percentage of such individuals and families who become homeless again within the next 2 years has decreased by at least 20 percent from the preceding year. ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY A C TION.—The communities that compose the geographic area have— ‘‘(A) actively encouraged homeless individuals and families to participate in homeless assistance services avail- able in that geographic area; and ‘‘(B) included each homeless individual or family who sought homeless assistance services in the data system used by that community for determining compliance with this subsection. ‘‘(4) E FFECTIVENESS OF P REVIOUS ACTIVITIES.— I f recipients in the geographic area have used funding awarded under sec- tion 422(a) for eligible activities described under section 415(a) in previous years based on the authority granted under sub- section (c), that such activities were effective at reducing the number of individuals and families who became homeless in that community. ‘‘(5) FLE X I B ILITY TO SERVE PERSONS D EFINED AS HOMELESS UNDER OTHER FEDERAL LA W S.— W ith respect to collaborative applicants exercising the authority under section 422( j ) to serve homeless families with children and youth defined as homeless under other Federal statutes, effectiveness in achieving the goals and outcomes identified in subsection 42 7 (b)(1)(F) according to such standards as the S ecretary shall promulgate. ‘‘(e) COOPERATION AMONG ENTITIES.—A collaborative applicant designated as a high-performing community under this section shall cooperate with the Secretary in distributing information about successful efforts within the geographic area represented by the collaborative applicant to reduce homelessness.’’. SEC.1304 . PROG R AM RE QUI REME NT S. Section 42 6 of the M c K inney- V ento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U .S.C. 113 8 6) is amended—
