The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awards grants to provide shelter and services to runaway and homeless youth through the Basic Center, Transitional Living and Street Outreach Programs. In response to a mandate for a review of the grant award process for these programs in the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110-378), GAO examined (1) grant announcements and application requirements, (2) technical assistance for grant applicants, (3) how grant award decisions are made, and (4) notification of grant award decisions. GAO reviewed requirements, documents, and records associated with this process for fiscal years 2007 and 2008, observed the grant evaluation portion of this process, and interviewed applicants, peer reviewers, and agency officials. HHS should take steps to ensure a fair and transparent award process, including clarifying evaluation criteria; selecting better qualified reviewers; better documenting agency guidance to reviewers and its rationale for grant decisions; and providing this rationale to applicants in a timely manner. HHS agreed to improve its process in response to all of GAO's recommendations except the ones related to clarifying evaluation criteria and better documenting agency guidance to reviewers. Three appendices are included: (1) Administration for Children and Families' Notification Letters to Grant Applicants; (2) Comments from the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families; and (3) GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments. (Contains 4 tables, 5 figures and 17 footnotes.)