(Washington D.C. – October 28th, 2026)

Today, the National Homelessness Law Center (NHLC) and National Network for Youth (NN4Y) issued an amicus brief calling on the Supreme Court to protect the rights of homeless youth

In International Partners for Ethical Care v. Ferguson, parents mistakenly assert that Washington’s runaway youth shelter laws will encourage their children to run away to seek gender-affirming care. In the amicus brief, NHLC and NN4Y argue that these parents simply do not have standing to challenge laws that have not yet and likely will never impact them. Additionally, the parents fundamentally misinterpret Washington’s laws, which are designed to reunite families when possible and to protect the many homeless youth who have nowhere else to go. NHLC and NN4Y call on the Court to avoid opening the door to endless challenges to laws like these that keep homeless and vulnerable youth safe.

“Licensed emergency shelters provide critical care to youth who are facing unimaginable circumstances – abandonment, neglect, abuse, violence, and trafficking,” said Katie Meyer Scott, Youth Homelessness Program Director at NHLC. “For youth who can’t go home or who have no home, the alternative to these shelters is often the street or worse. Allowing parents to arbitrarily contest youth shelter rules would be both misguided and cruel. We call on the Court to put a halt to this effort that would quite literally putting youth’s lives at risk.”

“Every young person deserves a safe place to turn when home is unsafe or unavailable,” said Darla Bardine, Executive Director of NN4Y. “Our network of youth homelessness service providers sees every day how access to shelter creates an opportunity to build trust, address a crisis, and help families reconnect whenever it is safe to do so. Putting more barriers between young people and that support leaves them exposed to violence, exploitation, and trafficking. We urge the Court to uphold the safeguards that allow providers to respond when young people need help most.”

“NHLC and NN4Y are national experts in protecting the rights and safety of homeless youth,” said Jennifer Knight Lang, of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP, pro bono counsel. “Their perspective is rooted in real-world experience working with vulnerable young people who have nowhere else to go. We all want youth, especially youth experiencing homelessness, to be safe. To truly keep kids safe, we ask the Court to look past hypothetical concerns and recognize how these laws actually operate for the youth and families they protect.”

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on December 7th. Regardless of the outcome, NHLC and NN4Y will continue advocating for and standing with homeless youth in Washington State and across the country.

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About the National Homelessness Law Center   

The National Homelessness Law Center is committed to protecting the rights of unhoused people across the United States and to advocating for policies that prevent and end homelessness, ensuring that all people have access to safe and adequate housing.