Families with Children
Photograph by Ren Haoyuan, 2009. Reprinted with permission of The National Center on Family Homelessness.
Opening Doors established a national goal to end homelessness among families and children by 2020. To reach this critical landmark, we must quickly begin to change the current trajectory on family homelessness. For every child experiencing homelessness today, we must act urgently. The 2012 Point-In-Time Count found 239,403 persons in families, an estimated 77,157 households, homeless on a night in January. That number was up slightly, 1.4 percent, over 2011, and essentially flat for the past four years. In addition, the Department of Education reports that nearly 1,065,794 children were identified as homeless over the course of the 2010-2011 school year by public schools.
Given the recession, that family homelessness has been held mostly flat is a significant accomplishment, but now we must make headway and begin to reduce family homelessness.
We know that families who become homeless face a variety of circumstances and have different needs for support to avert or escape homelessness. The most common reasons for families becoming homeless are the inability to find stable housing, loss of a job, or work that doesn’t pay enough to afford housing. In addition, other factors that contribute to episodes of homelessness include health crises, domestic violence, having children at a young age, and not having a strong social support network. Preventing and ending homelessness for all families needs to be approached with a range of strategies. In addition, we need to be increasingly better at ensuring limited resources are used as effectively and efficiently as possible.
One promising model for communities to consider is progressive engagement, which is a lighter-touch approach to providing supports for familes in crisis that can help stretch limited dollars further in the work to end family homelessness.
Preventing and ending homelessness for families with children needs to be a partnership across all levels of government, across all disciplines, and with the private sector.
Below you will find information and resources focused specifically on improving outcomes for families and children experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.
Blog
Using Resources Effectively and Efficiently to Permanently End Homelessness for All Families
Looking to the End of Family Homelessness: A Pledge We Make to Our Children
The National Conference to End Family and Youth Homelessness and the Work of USICH’s Regional Coordinators
Keeping the Momentum for Ending Youth Homelessness: Reflections from Indianapolis and Beyond
NLIHC Releases New Report on Renters in Foreclosure
What We're Talking About: The Week at USICH - September 4-7
The Siemer Institute on Family Stability: Maintaining Housing Stability to Ensure Academic Success
What will it take to end family homelessness?
Checklist: Ten Principles of Care for Families and Children Experiencing Homelessness
Fact Sheets
Opening Doors: Homelessness Among Families
Current Trends According to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Point In Time (PIT) data, the number of persons ...
Helpful Websites
Making Home Affordable Program
http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/ Homepage for the Obama Administration's Making Home Affordable ...
National Center for Homeless Education
http://center.serve.org/nche/ibt/ibt.php The SERVE Center contains resources for state and local governments and service providers ...
Programs
Children’s Health Insurance Program: CHIP
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is a partnership between the Federal and State government that provides health ...
Related Research
Testing a Typology of Family Homelessness
Dennis P. Culhane, Stephen Metraux, Jung Min Park, Maryanne Schretzman and Jesse Valente May 2007 This study tests a typology of ...
Homeless Families and Children
John C. Buckner and Debra J. Rog May 2010 Since the mid-1990s, there has been continued research and policy interest in ...
Costs Associated with First Time Homelessness for Families and Individuals
Abt, Associates, Inc., Jill Khadduri, Josh Leopold, Brian Sokol, and Brooke Spellman March 2010 This study measures costs ...
Variations in Maternal and Child Wellbeing by TANF Participation
Nancy E. Reichman, Julien O. Teitler, Irwin Garfinkel, and Sandra Garcia January 2004 "This study uses baseline and one year ...
Promoting Medicaid and Food Stamp Participation
LaDonna Pavetti, Kathleen Maloy, and Liz Schott June 2002 This study, 'Promoting Medicaid and Food Stamp Participation: ...
Final Report: A Comprehensive Evaluation of the Sound Families Initiative
Jami Bodonyi, Laura Orlando, Briana Yancey, Renee Lamberjack, and Oma McClaughlin September 2008 Launched in 2000, Sound Families ...
Housing Patterns of Low Income Families With Children
Daniel Gubits, Jill Khadduri and Jennifer Turnham September 2009 Housing Patterns of Low Income Families With Children: Further ...
Permanent Housing For Homeless Families: A Review of Opportunities and Impediments
Jill Khadduri and Bulbul Kaul Fall 2007 This report focuses on the role of federally funded rental housing subsidies in helping ...
Effects of Housing Choice Vouchers on Welfare Families
Gregory Mills, Daniel Gubits, Larry Orr, David Long, Judie Feins, Bulbul Kaul, and Michelle Wood September 2006 This report ...
Evaluation of the Sound Families Initiative, Early Exits: Lessons Learned from Families Asked to Leave Transitional Housing Programs
Jami Bodonyi, Laura Orlando, Briana Yancey, and Renee Lamberjack April 2006 In 2000, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ...
Family Permanent Supportive Housing: Preliminary Researchon Family Characteristics, Program Models, and Outcomes
Ellen L. Bassuk, Nicholas Huntington, Cheryl H. Amey, Kim Lampereur February 2006 Homelessness in America is a tragic and ...
Characteristics of Transitional Housing for Homeless Families
Martha R. Burt September 7, 2006 This report was written in preparation for a larger study sponsored by HUD’s Office of ...
Health Behaviors and Infant Health Outcomes in Homeless Pregnant Women in The United States
Rickelle Richards, Ray M. Merrill, and Laurie Baksh August 2011 The objective of this study is to describe select demographics, ...
U.S. Housing Insecurity and the Health of Very Young Children
Diana Becker Cutts, Alan F. Meyers, Maureen M. Black, Patrick H. Casey, Mariana Chilton, John T. Cook, Joni Geppert, Stephanie ...
Homeless Children: Update on Research, Policy, Programs, and Opportunities
Judith Samuels, Marybeth Shinn, and John C. Buckner May 2010 This paper provides an update on the research, policy, laws, and ...
An Exploration of Child Maltreatment Among Homeless Families: Implications For Family Policy
John T. Pardeck May 2005 This research explores the incidence of child maltreatment among homeless families. The maltreatment ...
The Patterns and Costs of Services Use among Homeless Families
Dennis Culhane, Jung Min Park, Stephen Metraux October 2011 This study examines families’ use of behavioral health ...
Predictors of Homelessness and Doubling-Up Among at Risk Families
Angela Fertig and David Reingold August 2008 Over the last 25 years homeless families with children have emerged as a distinct ...
Characteristics and Dynamics of Homeless Families with Children
Debra J. Rog, C. Scott Holupka and Lisa C. Patton Fall 2007 Westat, in collaboration with Vanderbilt University’s Center for ...
TANF Leavers: Examining the Relationship Between the Receipt of Housing Assistance and Post-TANF Well-Being
David C. Mancuso, Charles J. Lieberman, Vanessa L. Lindler, and Anne Moses 2003 This article describes the results of a study ...
Upcoming Events and Deadlines
Friendship Place Symposium on Family Homelessness
Young Children Without Homes National Conference 2013
USICH Webpages
Progressive Engagement
In 2009, Congress passed the HEARTH Act, which set the stage for a new way of approaching homelessness, with the intent to end it. ...
Program Profile: Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) McCarver Special Housing Program
The problem of high school mobility is one that affects many students and districts across the nation, and McCarver Elementary School ...
Experts Share Successes on Using Mainstream Resources for Families Experiencing Homelessness
The September 2012 USICH Council meeting on family homelessness featured two experts from the field: Associate Executive Director of ...
September 2012 Council Meeting on Family Homelessness
On September 12, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) hosted the third Council meeting of the year, which focused on ...
