America's Youngest Summary Report

8/14/2019 America's Youngest Summary Report

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S TAT E R E P O R T C A R DO N C H I L D H O M E L E S S N E

T H E N A T I O N A L C E N T E R O N

for every child, a chance

AMERICAS

YOUNGESTOUTCASTSS U M M A R Y R E P O R T


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EACH YEAR, ONE IN 50 (OVER 1.5 MILLION) OF

OUR NATIONS CHILDREN GO TO SLEEP WITHOUT

A HOME. Who are these children and why are they homeless? What

are their housing, health, and educational needs? How has our country

responded to their situation? This Report Card answers these questions.

Ending child homelessness is within our reach, but we must act now

before it becomes a permanent feature of the American landscape.

This is a summary of America's Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness . For the full report and state-by-state information,visit www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org .


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A M E R I C A S Y O U N G E S T O U T C A S T S State Report Card on Child Homelessness

The National Center on Family Homelessness www.HomelessChildrenAme|1

About Americas Youngest Outcasts

A storm is moving across the country, sweeping families out of homes and workers out of jobs. At least two million Americans are likely to face home foreclosures in the foreseeable future. Job cuts will have the gravest impact on those struggling to survive low-income parents with children.

Not since the Great Depression have so many children stood in the sight lines of homelessness.Americas Youngest Outcasts demonstrates the connection between poverty and family homeless-ness. More than 1.5 million American children already stand at the grim nexus of poverty, theeconomic downturn, the housing crisis, and homelessness. This is shocking and contrary to thespirit of international law. The 25th Article of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights,ratified in 1948, declared that everyone has the right to housing.1 Failure to house one child foreven one day represents an unacceptable societal failing.

Approximately 2.3 to 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness at least once a year.2 Those working in the field of homelessness have divided people experiencing homelessness into threegroups: single adults, a subset of whom are referred to as chronically homeless; unaccompanied youth (e.g., runaway, throwaway or homeless youth); and families with children in tow. For thesake of clarity, this report is specifically about the latter group. Families with children comprise34% of the homeless population, 3 and this number is growing.

Within a single year, nearly all (97%) homeless children have moved,4 at least 25% have witnessed violence,5 and 22% have been separated from their families. 4 About half of all school-age childrenexperiencing homelessness have problems with anxiety and depression,4 and 20% of homelesspreschoolers have emotional problems that require professional care. 4 Their education is oftendisrupted and challenges in school are common.

The Report Card

is a call to actionto end childhomelessnessbefore it becomesa permanent fea-ture of Americaslandscape.


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|2| The National Center on Family Homelessness www.HomelessChildrenA

The Campaign to End Child Homelessness

The National Center on Family Homelessness (NCFH) has launched the Campaign to End Child Homelessness to increase public awareness of the plight of homeless children; offer program and pub-lic policy solutions; disseminate best practices and tools for service providers, policymakers, andadvocates; and implement a state and national advocacy campaign.

Specific objectives of this Campaign include:

Publication and dissemination of Americas Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness .

Development of www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org, an interactive website.

Congressional and press briefings to share findings and policy recommendations.

Coalition-building and community organizing at the state, regional, and national levels to shape new policie

Technical assistance and dissemination of best practices to support states in improving policies and program

for homeless children.

We Need You!

The Report Card describes various activities developed by states to address this issue, but does not attempt to fully understand underlying causes or to design comprehensive solutions. The next stepis to take the information from the Report Card, build upon partnerships with federal, state, andlocal agencies, and translate this knowledge into action.

We encourage you to tell us more about your state. What is being done to address child homelessness?

What needs to be done? How would you like to be involved? How can we advance the Campaign to End

Child Homelessness? Please visit our interactive website at www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org to find

information, share your opinions, and become a partner in this Campaign. We hope you will join us in our efforts to end child homelessness. As a nation, we can no longerignore the fact that more than 1.5 million American children go without homes, food, access tohealth care, and educational opportunities. Now is a time of great change, and now is the time toend child homelessness.


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State Report Card on Child HomelessnessHow the Report Card Was DevelopedThe Report Card was developed by considering the complex factors contributing tochild homelessness in America. Each state was given a composite rank that representsfour domains:

1. Extent of Child Homelessness Counting homeless children helps us understand thescope of the problem, which drives planning and policy efforts. The percentage of homeless children identified in each state is based on school data collected through amandate of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

2. Child Well-Being Child well-being was determined by three factors: food security,health outcomes, and educational proficiency, using data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Survey of Childrens Health, McKinney-Vento AcademicProgress Reports, National School Lunch Program, and the National Assessment of Education Progress.

3. Risk for Child Homelessness The risk for child homelessness is based on generosity of state benefits, household structure, housing market factors, extreme poverty, and struc-tural factors contributing to homelessness. The current economic downturn and rise inhome foreclosures is likely to place more children at risk for homelessness.

4. Policy and Planning Efforts This domain includes a state-by-state review of housing,income, education, and health policies and planning activities related to child home-lessness. A total score was computed based on various sate efforts in these areas.

Each of the four domain above has various sub-domains that also received individualscores and ranks. For more information about our scoring and ranking methodology,please see Appendix 2 in the full report (www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org).

Definition of Homelessness Used in the Report CardThe Report Card describes homeless children from birth to age 18 who are accompanied by one or more parents orcaregivers.We use the definition of homelessness in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, and adopted by the U.S.Department of Education.

Our counts and descriptions do not include unaccompanied children and youth, but do include children and youth who are:

Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (sometimesreferred to as doubled-up).

Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations.

Living in emergency or transitional shelters.

Abandoned in hospitals.

Awaiting foster care placement.

Using a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regularsleeping accommodation for human beings.

Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings.

Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above.


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Snapshot of Child Homelessness

Extent of Child Homelessness Approximately 1,555,360 children living in families had no place to call home in 2005-2006.

Age Forty-two percent (approximately 650,000 children) of homeless children are under the age of 6 years, compared to just 34% of all American

902,108 homeless children are school-aged and enrolled in school. Of these children:

Race/Ethnicity African-American and Native American children are disproportionately represented among homeless children.

Characteristics of Children under 18 Living with a Homeless Parent and the U.S. Population of Children: Parents Race/Ethnicity 2

Health More than one in seven homeless children have moderate to severe health conditions, including:

Asthma: Almost one in nine homeless children are reported to have one or more asthma-related health conditions.

Traumatic Stress: Almost one in 18 homeless children are members of families where adults hit or throw things.

Emotional Disturbance: One in six homeless children suffer from emotional disturbances.

Homeless Children Under 18Parents Race/Ethnicity

! White, non-Hispanic (38%)! Black, non-Hispanic (47%)! Hispanic (13%)! Native American (2%)! Other (1%)

U.S. Population: Children, 1996Parents Race/Ethnicity

! White, non-Hispanic (66%)! Black, non-Hispanic (15%)! Hispanic (14%)! Native American (1%)! Other (4%)

Race/Ethnicity of ShelteredHomeless Persons inFamilies and Poor Personsin Families 6

CharacteristicsPercentage of Sheltered

Homeless Persons inFamilies

Percentage of Poor Personsin Families

EthnicityNon-Hispanic, non-Latino(all races) 78.2 69.2

Hispanic, Latino (all races) 21.8 30.8RaceWhite, non-Hispanic,non-Latino (nonminority) 21.3 36.3

White Hispanic, Latino 9.8 15.6Black or African American 55.2 26.2Asian 0.7 3.0American Indian/Alaskan Native 4.9 1.8

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.6 0.2

Some other (alone) n/a 13.8Several races 7.3 3.1

! 77.3% or 697,130 are in grades K-8

! 22.7% or 204,978 are in grades 9-12


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Residential Status

Educational Outcomes

Proficiency rates for homeless children in reading and math are on average 16% lower than the scores for all students.

Less than one in four homeless children graduates from high school.

Loss in Lifetime Earnings

Students who drop out of high school earn on average $200,000 less over their lifetime than high school graduates.

Approximately 1,166,520 of todays homeless children will not graduate from high school. These children stand to lose over$230 billion in lifetime earnings.

Living Situations of Homeless Children7

For Jaydens mother, Suzanna, homelessness started with abuse. She is 24 years old, married, and the sin-

gle mother of three. The walls of Jaydens room failed to protect him from the sights and sounds of hisfather threatening and beating his mother. After six years, it finally became too much. Concerned for their

safety, Suzanna fled with Jayden and his siblings first to a domestic violence shelter and ultimately to adifferent state.

The family found refuge in an emergency shelter where Suzanna and her three children shared one room.Soon after arriving, Jayden developed an unremitting cough that required several trips to the emergency

room. Ultimately, Jayden was diagnosed with asthma and depression, for which he was prescribed med-

icationand a home for his family.

The experience of homelessness had taken a toll on Jaydens physical and emotional health. Asthma trig-

gers pervaded Jaydens environment. He grew tired of his inhaler his constant companion. His emer-gency room visits grew more frequent. Coughing and breathing difficulties limited his ability to play, talk,

and sleep comfortably. Suzannas homelessness made it difficult for her to access the services needed toaddress her central concern Jaydens asthma.

Jayden feels excluded from the community in which he grew up. Emotionally isolated, he has had difficul-ty connecting with his peers at school. While Jayden is aware that the search for safety spurred his fam-

ilys move, he still longs for the life that he has lost. He blames himself for their presence in the shelterand apologized to his mother for being unable to prevent his fathers violence. Nightmares plague his

sleep along with the pervasive fear that his father will return. His ailments interfere with school atten-

dance and homework.

Jayden hopes his family will find a better life. His future depends in part on legislators and public leaders

far away from the little room where he coughs his way through the night.

Case Study: The Impact of Homelessness on a Child

! Doubled-Up (56%)! Shelters (24%)! Unknown/Other (10%)! Hotels/Motels (7%)! Unsheltered (3%)


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State ScoreConnecticut 1New Hampshire 2Hawaii 3Rhode Island 4North Dakota 5Minnesota 6

Wisconsin 7Massachusetts 8Maine 9Vermont 10Iowa 11South Dakota 12Illinois 13Pennsylvania 14West Virginia 15New Jersey 16Virginia 17

Maryland 18Delaware 19Ohio 20Wyoming 21Alaska 22Idaho 23Tennessee 24Washington 25Oregon 26Missouri 27Kansas 28Michigan 29Indiana 30Oklahoma 31Alabama 32Montana 33Nebraska 34Colorado 35Arizona 36Utah 37New York 38South Carolina 39California 40

Mississippi 41Kentucky 42Florida 43North Carolina 44Nevada 45Louisiana 46New Mexico 47Arkansas 48Georgia 49Texas 50

AKHI

WA

OR

ID

MT ND

MN

IA

WI

IL INOH

KY

TN

MI

MO

AR

LA

MS AL

FL

GA

SC

NC

WVVA

PA NJDE

MD

NY

VTNH MA

CTRI

SD

NE

KS

OK

TX

WY

UT

AZ NM

CO

CA

NV

ME

Overall RankEach state has been given a score of one through 50. Thisscore is a composite that reflects each states overall per-formance across four domains:

1) Extent of Child Homelessness(adjusted for population size)

2) Child Well-Being

3) Risk for Child Homelessness

4) State Policy and Planning Efforts

Each state received a score for each domain. These weresummed to compute the composite score.

Top and Bottom 10 States: by Overall Rank

Top 10 states by overall rank

Bottom 10 states by overall rank


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State ScoreConnecticut 1Pennsylvania 2Arizona 3Oregon 4Hawaii 5Missouri 6Rhode Island 7Tennessee 8North Dakota 9Oklahoma 10Virginia 11Colorado 12New Hampshire 13Illinois 14

California 15Mississippi 16New Jersey 17Massachusetts 18Alabama 19Louisiana 20Iowa 21West Virginia 22Nevada 23Ohio 24South Dakota 25Vermont 26

Kentucky 27Alaska 28Delaware 29Idaho 30Minnesota 31New Mexico 32Maryland 33Washington 34South Carolina 35Florida 36Wisconsin 37Michigan 38

New York 39Montana 40Georgia 41Nebraska 42Wyoming 43Texas 44Arkansas 45Kansas 46Indiana 47Utah 48North Carolina 49Maine 50

Child Well-Being(1=Best, 50=Worst)

State ScoreRhode Island 1New Jersey 2Connecticut 3Hawaii 4New Hampshire 5Oklahoma 6Maine 7Ohio 8Kansas 9South Dakota 10North Dakota 11Indiana 12Idaho 13North Carolina 14

Vermont 15Wisconsin 16Michigan 17Maryland 18Illinois 19Wyoming 20Minnesota 21New York 22Nebraska 23Virginia 24South Carolina 25Tennessee 26

Massachusetts 27West Virginia 28Florida 29Delaware 30Iowa 31Mississippi 32Montana 33Pennsylvania 34Washington 35Nevada 36New Mexico 37Colorado 38

Alabama 39Arizona 40Missouri 41Utah 42Georgia 43Oregon 44Arkansas 45Kentucky 46Alaska 47California 48Texas 49Louisiana 50

Extent of Child HomelessnessBased on % of homeless children(1=Best, 50=Worst)

AK

HI

WA

OR

ID

MT ND

MN

IA

WI

IL INOH

KY

TN

MI

MO

AR

LA

MS AL

FL

GA

SC

NC

WVVA

PA NJDE

MD

NY

VTNH

MA

CTRI

SD

NE

KS

OK

TX

WY

UT

AZ NM

CO

CA

NV

ME

Top and Bottom 10 States: EXTENT

Top 10 states by percentage

Bottom 10 states by percentage

AK

HI

WA

OR

ID

MT ND

MN

IA

WI

IL INOH

KY

TN

MI

MO

AR

LA

MS AL

FL

GA

SC

NC

WVVA

PA NJDE

MD

NY

VTNH MA

CTRI

SD

NE

KS

OK

TX

WY

UT

AZ NM

CO

CA

NV

ME

Top and Bottom 10 States: CHILD WELL-BEING

Top 10 states by child well being

Bottom 10 states by by child well being


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State ScoreMinnesota 1New Hampshire 2North Dakota 3Iowa 4Vermont 5Wyoming 6Alaska 7Wisconsin 8Utah 9Hawaii 10Maine 11Nebraska 12Kansas 13Montana 14Idaho 15South Dakota 16Connecticut 17Massachusetts 18Delaware 19Virginia 20Maryland 21New Jersey 22Washington 23West Virginia 24Rhode Island 25Oregon 26

Pennsylvania 27California 28Indiana 29Missouri 30New York 31Colorado 32Illinois 33Alabama 34Kentucky 35Michigan 36Florida 37South Carolina 38

Mississippi 39Nevada 40North Carolina 41Ohio 42Arkansas 43New Mexico 44Arizona 45Tennessee 46Oklahoma 47Georgia 48Louisiana 49Texas 50

Risk for Child Homelessness(1=Best, 50=Worst)

State ScoreAlabama InadequateAlaska ModerateArizona ModerateArkansas InadequateCalifornia InadequateColorado Early StagesConnecticut ModerateDelaware InadequateFlorida ModerateGeorgia InadequateHawaii InadequateIdaho InadequateIllinois ModerateIndiana InadequateIowa InadequateKansas InadequateKentucky ModerateLouisiana ModerateMaine ExtensiveMaryland ModerateMassachusetts ExtensiveMichigan ModerateMinnesota ModerateMississippi InadequateMissouri ModerateMontana Extensive

Nebraska InadequateNevada InadequateNew Hampshire ModerateNew Jersey InadequateNew Mexico InadequateNew York InadequateNorth Carolina ModerateNorth Dakota InadequateOhio Early StagesOklahoma InadequateOregon ExtensivePennsylvania Moderate

Rhode Island ModerateSouth Carolina ExtensiveSouth Dakota InadequateTennessee InadequateTexas InadequateUtah ModerateVermont Early StagesVirginia InadequateWashington ExtensiveWest Virginia Early StagesWisconsin InadequateWyoming Inadequate

State Planning Efforts

AK

HI

WA

Extensive Moderate InadequateEarly

OR

ID

MT ND

MN

IA

WI

IL INOH

KY

TN

MI

MO

AR

LA

MS AL

FL

GA

SC

NC

WVVA

PA NJDE

MD

NY

VTNH MA

CTRI

SD

NE

KS

OK

TX

WY

UT

AZ NM

CO

CA

NV

ME

State Planning Efforts

AK

HI

WA

OR

ID

MT ND

MN

IA

WI

IL INOH

KY

TN

MI

MO

AR

LA

MS AL

FL

GA

SC

NC

WVVA

PA NJDE

MD

NY

VT

NH MA

CTRI

SD

NE

KS

OK

TX

WY

UT

AZ NM

CO

CA

NV

ME

Top and Bottom 10 States: RISK

Top 10 states by risk of homelessness

Bottom 10 states by risk of homelessness


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AK

HI

WA

Number of forec losuresin thousands

0-24

25-49

50-74

75-99

100+

OR

ID

MT ND

MN

IA

WI

IL INOH

KY

TN

MI

MO

AR

LA

MS AL

FL

GA

SC

NC

WVVA

PA NJDE

MD

NY

VTNH MA

CTRI

SD

NE

KS

OK

TX

WY

UT

AZ NM

CO

CA

NV

ME

Home Foreclosuresin the First Half of2008

Adapted fromNewsweek,October 20,2008,A Coast-to-Coast Fire Sale, p. E19

Housing Market FactorsHousing market factors reflect the shortage of affordable housing and thegrowing imbalance between housing costs and the resources of low-income families and partly explain why increasing numbers of familiesare becoming homeless.

As the gap between rich and poor has increased, the purchasingpower of low-income families has plummeted. According to theCenter for Budget and Policy Priorities, income inequality in the UnitedStates has risen to historically high levelsand has been increasing formore than 30 years.8 Between 1979 and 2005, the income of the richestAmericans more than tripled, rising 228% ($76,500) per household, whilethe income of the bottom fifth rose only 6% ($900).8 As a result, many low-income families no longer have the purchasing power to sustain theirhouseholds.

Across the country, housing costs have soared as the supply ofaffordable housing has shrunk compounding the dwindling purchas-

ing power of families at the bottom of the income scale.9

Between 2003and 2005, 4.2% of units for extremely low-income renters and 4.9% ofunits for very low-income renters disappeared from the market.Affordablerental units are frequently inhabited by higher income renters furthershrinking the housing supply for low-income renters. The number of vacantaffordable housing units for extremely low-income renters shrunk by400,000 (13%) in 2005.

As housing costs rise, millions of Americans must choosebetween housing and other necessities. More and more families arepaying over one-third of their incomes for housing the proportion atwhich housing costs are considered affordable. For these families, essen-

tials such as food, transportation, medical care, and child care often lie oof reach. About six million American families must devote 50% or mortheir income to housing and/or live in substandard housing.9 These familiesare at high risk of becoming homeless.

The current economic downturn, especially housing foreclosures,has created unprecedented increases in family homelessness .Foreclosures rose 70% between the third quarters of 2007 and 2008.Thimpact on children is startling. More than 150 school districts reportedleast a 50% increase in the numbers of identified homeless children frothe 2006-2007 school year to 2007-2008.Within the first three months othe 2008-2009 school year, 177 school districts had already served thsame number or more homeless students than they served during thentire previous school year.10

Housing assistance programs have been unable to close the gapbetween the supply and demand for affordable housing. The dual

problem of declining housing stock and increasing rents for existing hoing has been exacerbated by the failure of housing assistance programs keep pace with the need. In 2002, HUDs budget was less than half of whit was in the late 1970s in real dollars. Vouchers, originally designed bridge the gap between income and rent, have become the primary forof housing assistance yet, three out of four eligible households receino federal housing assistance. Because of the high demand for housinassistance and already-lengthy waiting lists, some agencies have stopptaking new voucher applications altogether. In many areas with tight renvacancy rates, families allocated vouchers are unable to find landlords wing to rent to them. Many lose their chance to become adequately house


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State and Local ActionHousing Create state and local housing trust funds to complement the National Housing Trust Fund.

Use National Housing Trust Fund, Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs), and HOMEdollars for new units of affordable housing.

Minimize shelter stays and move families quickly into housing. Place families directly intopermanent housing rather than into motels.

Support stabilization services for families exiting the shelter system, helping them to remainhoused.

Provide short-term financial assistance to at-risk households, including help with back rent andutilities, and security deposits to obtain housing.

Create or expand efforts to prevent evictions through landlord-tenant mediation and legal services.Income Use TANF dollars for housing assistance for homeless families, along with child care and

other employment work supports.

Waive TANF time limits if a family is homeless.

Permit TANF recipients to pursue educational opportunities.

Give priority to homeless families in distribution of child care vouchers.

Adopt fully refundable state Earned Income Tax Credits, funded with TANF dollars.

Enroll homeless families into federal entitlement programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, and WIC toavoid costly emergency services.

Family Preservation Require state child welfare agencies to invest in homelessness prevention.

Prevent foster care placement due to homelessness or unstable housing by providing families withintensive wrap-around services (e.g., income supports, job training, health care, trauma services,parenting supports, and programs for children).

Health Care Enroll all eligible children in Medicaid or SCHIP.

Improve access to primary, dental, and mental health care by incentivizing collaborations betweenagencies that serve homeless families.

Invest in holistic services and supports for homeless families and children.

Recognize complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as an omnipresent issue among home-less children and families.

Provide homeless family members with priority access to state funded mental health and substanceabuse services.

Ensure that all providers serving homeless children and families have competencies in trauma-informed and trauma-specific program models.

Hunger Increase participation in federal nutrition programs (National School Lunch Program, School

Breakfast Program, Summer Food Service Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).

Increase access to healthy foods in school and community settings.


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The National Center on Family Homelessness www.HomelessChildrenAmeri|13

Education Strengthen efforts to identify and support students experiencing homelessness.

Provide training to school districts to ensure compliance with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

Ensure that school personnel are aware of the ways in which the trauma of homelessness impedeslearning, and develop policies and programs to address this reality.

Planning, Research, and Data Collection Include representatives from key agencies serving homeless children, youth, and families on all state

Interagency Councils on Homelessness.

Include appropriate strategies to end homelessness for children and families in all state and local 10- Year Plans to End Homelessness.

Require all state programs to collect data on the housing status of participants.

Make family homelessness a priority of state Interagency Councils on Homelessness and other home-lessness and poverty planning efforts.

Ending homeless-ness for all childrenin the U.S.is possible if aconcerted effort ismade by national,

state, and localpolitical leaders,funders, theWhite House,service providers,advocates, andphilanthropic foun-dations.


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www.FamilyHomelessness.org

181 Wells AvenueNewton, MA 02459617.964.3834

National Center on Family Homelessness, 2009.

181 Wells Avenue, Newton, MA 02459

www. FamilyHomelessness.org

Photo Credits:John Soares: www.johnsoares.comDesign:Fassino/Design: www.fassino.com

About The National Center on Family HomelessnessThe National Center on Family Homelessness, foundedin 1988, is the nations foremost authority on family homelessness, and the only national organizationdedicated solely to helping homeless families. Throughstate-of-the-art research, program design, and publiceducation, the National Center is committed to endingfamily homelessness in America. For more, please visit www.FamilyHomelessness.org.

This is a summary of America's Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness .

For the full report and state-by-state information, visit www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org.

1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights , G.A. res 217A (III), U.N. Doc A/810 at 71(1948).

2 Burt, M. R.,Aron, L.Y., Douglas,T., Valente, J., Edgar, L, & Britta,I. (1999).Homelessness: Programs and the people they serve:Summary reportfindings of the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients . Washington , DC:TheUrban Institute.

3 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (2007).Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. Retrieved fromwww.huduser.org/Publications/pdf/ahar.pdf .

4 National Center on Family Homelessness (NCFH). (1999). Homeless children:Americas new outcasts. Newton, MA. National Center on Family Homelessness.

5 Bassuk, E.L., et al. (1996). Characteristics and needs of sheltered homeless and low-income housed mothers.Journal of the American Medical Association, 276 (8), 640-646; Bassuk, E.L, et al. (1997). Homelessness in female-headed families: Childhoodand adult risk and protective factors.American Journal of Public Health, 87 (2), 241-248; NCFH, 1999; Buckner, J., et al. (2004). Exposure to violence and low-incomechildrens mental health: Directed, moderated, and mediated relations.AmericanJournal of Orthopsychiatry , 74 (4), 413-423.

6 Homeless Management Information System data, October 2006September 2007;and American Community Survey, 2006, as reported in U.S. Department of Housingand Urban Development (2008). The Third Annual Homeless Assessment Report toCongress, July 2008. Washington, DC.

7 National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE). (2007). Analysis of 2005-2006federal data collection and three-year comparison, Education for Homeless Childreand Youth Program, Title VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act AAmended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

8 Greenstein, R. (2008). Testimony of Robert Greenstein, Executive Director, Center oBudget and Policy Priorities, Before the Subcommittee on Workforce ProtectionsCommittee on Education and Labor. July 31, 2008, Center on Budget and PolicyPriorities. Retrieved fromwww.cbpp.org/10-29-08pov-testimony.htm

9 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (2007). Affordablehousing needs 2005: Report to Congress.Washington, D.C.

10 National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. (2008).Unpublished data.

Documents

America's Youngest Summary Report