Featured Research

This report, developed in partnership with Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, describes the prevalence of homelessness among infants and toddlers in twenty states; gaps in access to early learning programs; and recommendations for increasing enrollment and support.

Data released by the Office of Head Start show that while the overall number of children enrolled in Head Start decreased by 28% between the 2019 and 2021 school year, the number of children experiencing homelessness in Head Start decreased by 22%. At the same time, the percentage of Head Start children identified as experiencing homelessness increased from 5.7% of total enrollment in 2019 to 6.22% of total enrollment in 2021.

Over the past few months, many new reports on children and youth homelessness, education, and related issues have been released. We highlight key findings from twelve new reports.

This report shares new data demonstrating that transitional programs for youth and young adults are effective, and an essential and core element of efforts to prevent and end youth homelessness. These data underscore the vitality of transitional living programs with robust supportive services as an effective pathway from homelessness for young people, including families with children headed by young parents. Other findings demonstrate that transitional programs have positive outcomes in both rural and urban areas, and for minors as well as young adults. 

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was first developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1990 to assess the health risk behaviors of youth and adults in the United States. SchoolHouse Connection analyzed demographic and risk factor data...

This week, the U.S. Department of Education released data on high school graduation rates for the 2018-19 school year, revealing an all-time high of 85.8 percent. For the second year in a row, the U.S. Department of Education did not release a national graduation rate for students experiencing homelessness. Cohort counts from 49 states and the District of Columbia, however, show a national graduation rate of 67.7 percent, up slightly from 67.5 percent in 2018.

There are approximately 1.5 million K-12 students and an additional 1.4 million children under the age of six experiencing homelessness across the United States. While many of these students attend traditional public schools, a growing number, at least 60,000, are enrolled in charter schools. The purpose of this report is to begin to paint a clearer picture of the experiences and outcomes of students experiencing homelessness enrolled in charter schools. In this document we offer basic information about the McKinney-Vento Act, case studies highlighting best practices across charter schools and networks, and key questions for charter school educators, administrators, authorizers, support staff, advocates, and others.

New survey data suggests that an estimated 420,000 fewer children and youth experiencing homelessness have been identified and enrolled by schools so far this school year — despite evidence of increasing homelessness, and despite proactive identification efforts by many school district homeless liaisons. This decrease in homeless student enrollment, combined with previous estimates of under-identification, means that as many as 1.4 million children and youth experiencing homelessness may be un-identified and unsupported by their school during the pandemic.

Many new reports on children and youth homelessness, education, and related issues have been released over the past few weeks. Here are the key takeaways. 

A new survey by the Hope Center examines the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and school closures on the security of students’ basic needs. It found that 11% of students at two-year institutions and almost 15% at four-year institutions were experiencing homelessness due to the pandemic. The vast majority of homeless students were couch-surfing or staying in other temporary accommodations. On-campus students and off-campus students experienced similar rates of food insecurity (34% vs. 31%) and homelessness during the pandemic (17% vs. 15%). The report also found significant disparities in the pandemic’s impact on the security of college students’ basic needs, with the highest rates among Indigenous, Black, and Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian students.

The U.S. Department of Education recently released its updated Early Childhood Homelessness State Profiles. The report compiles data from multiple sources to provide information on the extent of early childhood homelessness in every state and nationally, as well as...

On February 12, the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice published #RealCollege 2020, the fifth annual #RealCollege survey on basic needs insecurity among college students. In 2019, nearly 167,000 students from 171 two-year institutions and 56 four-year institutions responded to the #RealCollege survey.

Federal education data released today/yesterday show that public schools identified a record 1.5 million children and youth experiencing homelessness in the 2017-2018 school year – an 11% increase over the previous school year and the highest number ever recorded nationally. 

Research published in Health Affairs finds that the impact of homelessness on infants goes beyond the effects of poverty, and lasts throughout early childhood. Across most indicators, children who experienced homelessness as an infant were more likely to have health problems, hospitalizations, and emergency department visits than children in poverty who did not experience infant homelessness. Through the end of the study (at age 6), infants exposed to homelessness still had higher rates of asthma and used emergency departments at higher rates.

In November 2019, Young Invincibles published a report on young adults experiencing homelessness in New York City and their ability to enter and complete a postsecondary education. The report examines barriers and provides recommendations to increase college access and success.

On Monday, November 4, Chapin Hall released a new report, Missed Opportunities: Education Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness in America. The report finds that not completing high school is the single greatest risk factor associated with experiencing unaccompanied homelessness as a young person.

SchoolHouse Connection’s own Dr. Grace Whitney, Director of Early Childhood Initiatives, is guest editor of the Journal’s March issue, which includes a sampling of policies, practices, challenges, and opportunities on homelessness facing the infant–toddler field today. The authors cover topics ranging from early care and early childhood programs to parenting supports, housing, pediatrics, and young families.

A new report by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago finds that youth homelessness has its origins in early family experiences, including family homelessness. The analysis, based on in-depth interviews with 215 young people, found that: 100% experienced...

New data released by the National Center for Homeless Education (the technical assistance center for the U.S. Department of Education) reveal that the number of students experiencing homelessness enrolled in public schools during the 2016-2017 school year was 1,355,821 – the highest number on record, and a 7% increase over the past three years.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was first developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1990 to assess the health risk behaviors of youth and adults in the United States. For the first time since the survey has been widely administered, the 2017 YRBS optional question list included two questions pertaining to homelessness. Using this YRBS data from 17 states (Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin), we conducted an analysis of differences in seven self-reported risk factors and health outcomes between high school students experiencing homelessness and those not experiencing homelessness. Read the entire paper here.

Recent research further proves the importance of childhood, early care, and education in efforts to prevent and end homelessness. This blog post summarizes four new studies on homelessness during infancy; the Adverse Childhood Experiences of homeless adults; the employment of families during and after stays in homeless shelters; and the impact of Rapid Rehousing on the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness.

Chapin Hall released Missed Opportunities: Pregnant and Parenting Youth Experiencing Homelessness in America. This research underscores the inextricable connection between youth and family homelessness: family homelessness as a precursor to youth homelessness, and youth homelessness as a precursor to family homelessness.

On March 15, 2018, North Carolina State University released the results of a student survey, Food and Housing Security Among NC State Students.
The survey found that 14% of NC students have faced food insecurity in the past 30 days, and that 9.6% experienced homelessness over the past year. The report includes an evaluation of programs specifically developed to address food and housing security. NC State offers a variety of support services for students, including an on-campus food pantry; a national program that provides academic, personal and career support for under-resourced undergraduate students; and on-campus emergency housing.

Post-secondary education is increasingly necessary to obtain a job that pays enough to afford housing. As such, it is a critical strategy to help children and youth escape homelessness, and prevent future homelessness. Three new studies shed light on the challenges faced by many students in their efforts to obtain a college education, as well as the economic imperative of educational attainment beyond high school.

On the heels of CSU’s groundbreaking study of homelessness among CSU students released yesterday, a new report by the National Center for Education Statistics highlights the barriers that first-generation college students face.

Published in February 2018, CSU’s Study of Student Basic Needs is the most comprehensive mixed-methods study of university students’ unmet basic needs and the relationship to student success ever completed within a 4-year higher education system.

On November 14, 2017, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago released the results of a groundbreaking national survey, Missed Opportunities: Youth Homelessness in America. The research, part of the Voices of Youth Count (VoYC) initiative, challenges many assumptions in current homelessness policy and practice – not only for addressing youth homelessness, but for all forms of homelessness.

Preliminary data[i] released by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) last month indicate a significant jump in the number of unaccompanied homeless youth (UHY) reported by public schools, and a modest increase in the overall numbers of children and youth experiencing homelessness. As the number of UHY identified by schools surpasses 100,000 for the first time ever, and the overall number shows no signs of abating, it’s time to rethink how data on children and youth experiencing homelessness are reported and interpreted by the media, policymakers, advocates, and the public.

Two new state reports provide comprehensive baseline data to help raise awareness of homelessness in early care and education systems.