Process Scheduling

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Homeless Youth and Young Adults in the US
What Do We Know?Youth Housing
SummitDecember 3, 2007Columbus, OH
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Who Are Homeless Youth?

• No single definition but some common elements
• Lack a safe environment in which to live
• Not accompanied by a parent or guardian
• Distinguished from
• Single adults who are predominantly male and do
  not have children in their custody
• Homeless families typically comprised of a mother
  and her children

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Who Are Homeless Youth?

• Homeless youth include
• Runaways who have left home without parental
  permission
• Throwaways who have been forced to leave home by
  their parents
• Street youth who have spent time living on the
  streets
• Systems youth who become homeless after aging out
  of foster care or exiting the juvenile justice
  system
• Categories are neither static nor mutually
  exclusive
• Example Youth may perceive themselves as being
  thrown out by their parents but parents may
  perceive youth as having run away

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Methods Used to Study Homeless Youth

• Survey large samples of youth in the general
  population to identify those with a history of
  homelessness
• Misses currently homeless youth
• Service setting samples
• Misses youth who do not seek help
• Shelters samples
• Tend to be younger
• Homeless fairly recently and for the first time
• Street youth samples from drop-in centers or
  other sites where homeless youth congregate
• Older youth and youth engaged in deviant
  behaviors over-represented
• Tend to have experienced longer and/or multiple
  episodes of homelessness

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Prevalence of Youth Homelessness in the U.S.

• Estimates vary widely depending on how homeless
  is defined, the age range covered, and the
  methodology used
• Ringwalt et al. (1998) estimated that
  approximately 7.6 of 12 to 17 year olds
  had been homeless at least one night during the
  past 12 months, which corresponds to 1.6
  million homeless youth each year
• Hammer et al. (2002) estimated that approximately
  1.7 million youth experienced a runaway
  or throwaway episode in 1999
• Ringwalt et al. (1994) estimated that 15 of
  youth will become homeless at least once before
  age 18

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Characteristics of Homeless Youth

• Gender
• Shelter samples tend to include either equal
  numbers of males and females or more females
• Street youth tend to be disproportionately male
• Risk of becoming homeless may decline for females
  but rise for males during the transition to
  adulthood
• Contradictory findings with respect to
  race/ethnicity
• No racial or ethnic differences in rates of
  homelessness
• Homeless youth reflect the racial and ethnic
  composition of the surrounding area
• Racial and ethnic minority youth over-represented
  

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Characteristics of Homeless Youth

• Geographic distribution
• Found in urban, suburban, and rural areas but
  most visible in major cities
• Few differences found when urban, suburban, and
  rural homeless youth have been compared
• Studies of street youth based in large
  metropolitan areas on the east and west coasts
• Many homeless youth lack basic life skills (e.g.,
  budgeting, time management) that are essential
  for a successful transition out of homelessness
• History of academic and school behavior problems
  (e.g., grade retention, suspensions/expulsions,
  special education placement)

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Homeless Youth with Special Needs

• GLBT youth
• Estimates vary widely, from 6 to 35 of homeless
  youth
• Risk of homelessness may be particularly high due
  to conflict with parents over sexual orientation
• Higher rates of victimization while on the
  streets
• Pregnant or parenting youth
• Green Ringwalt (1998) found that
• 48 of street youth and 33 of shelter youth had
  ever been pregnant or impregnated someone
• 10 of both street and shelter female youth are
  currently pregnant
• More recent studies have found even higher rates
• Contributing factors include sex at an early age,
  need to engage in survival sex, and inconsistent
  use of birth control

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Family and Other Background Characteristics

• History of family disruption (i.e., growing up in
  single-parent or step-parent families) and
  residential mobility
• Conflict with parents consistently identified as
  the primary reason for homelessness
• Long-standing problems rather than problems that
  arise just before leaving home
• Most common sources of conflict include
  step-parent relationships, sexual activity,
  pregnancy, sexual orientation, school problems,
  and alcohol or drug use
• History of child abuse and/or neglect
• Physical or sexual abuse often cited as the
  reason for leaving home

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Prevalence of Psychosocial Problems among
Homeless Youth

• High rates of mental health problems (e.g., mood
  disorders, suicide attempts, and PTSD), behavior
  problems (e.g., conduct or oppositional defiant
  disorder) and problems with substance use
• Especially among street youth
• Causality unclear
• Problems ? family conflict ? homelessness
• Homelessness ? problems

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Risky Behaviors and Victimization

• Many homeless youth are sexually active and
  engage in sexual behaviors that put them at high
  risk for both STDs and pregnancy
• Homeless youth report engaging in delinquent or
  illegal activities (e.g., stealing, forcibly
  entering a residence, prostitution, and dealing
  drugs) often as part of a survival strategy to
  obtain money, food or shelter
• High rates of physical and sexual victimization
• Especially among street youth

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Service Utilization

• Few studies have examined service utilization
  among homeless youth
• At least some research suggests that many
  homeless youth do not receive services that would
  address their non-shelter needs (e.g., food
  assistance, mental health services, alcohol and
  drug treatment)
• Relatively little is known about barriers to
  service receipt

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Longitudinal Studies of Homeless Youth

• Relatively few studies have tracked homeless
  youth over time
• Example Toro et al. followed 249 homeless youth
  in the Detroit metro area and a matched sample of
  149 housed youth
• Baseline interview at ages 13 to 17
• Re-interviewed 6 times over a 7-year period
• Most homeless youth returned fairly quickly to
  their family
• 93 were not homeless at the 4.5-year follow-up
• 34 living on their own
• 33 living with their parents
• 21 living with friends or relatives

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Homelessness Among Former Foster Youth

• Many homeless youth report a history of
  out-of-home care placement, with estimates
  ranging between 21 and 53
• Other research suggests that many homeless adults
  had spent time in foster care while they were
  growing up
• Focus on homelessness and housing instability
  among young adults who "age out" of foster care
• Often lack the financial and other resources
  needed to live independently once they leave the
  child welfare system

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Studies of Young Adults Who Aged Out of Foster
Care

• Courtney et al. (2001)
• Baseline survey data collected from 141 Wisconsin
  foster youth who were 17 or 18 years
• 80 (n113) re-interviewed 12 to 18 months after
  leaving care
• 12 had been homeless for at least one night
  within a year of exiting
• Fowler et al. (2006)
• Surveyed 264 young adults (mean age 20.6 years
  old) in metro Detroit area who had aged out of
  foster care (mean time since discharge 3.6
  years)
• 17 had experienced literal homelessness (average
  length of homeless spell 61 days)
• One-quarter attributed homelessness to problems
  with their families
• One-third had spent time doubled up or couch
  surfing because they could not afford more
  permanent housing

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Studies of Young Adults Who Aged Out of Foster
Care

• Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of
  Former Foster Youth (Courtney et al.)
• Interviewed 732 foster youth from Iowa, Wisconsin
  and Illinois at age 17 or 18
• Re-interviewed at ages 19 (n 603) and 21 (n
  591)
• One-third reported at least three different
  living arrangements since exiting, including 20
  who reported four or more
• 18 had been homeless for at least one night
  since exiting
• 54 had been homeless more than once
• 53 reported that their longest homeless spell
  had lasted more than a week, including 30 who
  reported that their longest homeless spell had
  lasted more than a month

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Homelessness Among Youthful Offenders

• Each year, 200,000 10 to 24 year olds are
  released from secure detention or correctional
  facilities and reenter their communities---communi
  ties with high rates of poverty, unemployment,
  and crime
• Finding a place to live can be a major challenge
  because
• Families are often unsupportive
• Policies prohibit individuals convicted of
  certain drug offenses and other crimes from
  living in public or Section 8 housing
• At risk of becoming trapped in a cycle of
  homelessness and incarceration
• Programs to prevent youthful offenders from
  becoming homeless could reduce recidivism

Homelessness ? illegal activities
(e.g., prostitution, selling/using
drugs) ? re-arrest
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Homelessness Among Youthful Offenders

• No good estimates of how many youth offenders
  become homeless upon release because most studies
  of youthful offenders have not measured
  homelessness
• Covenant House, a shelter for homeless youth in
  New York City, reported that 30 of the youth
  they serve have been detained or incarcerated
• Some had been in foster care prior to detention
  or incarceration, and had nowhere to go upon
  release because their child welfare case had been
  closed
• At least some research suggests that youth
  offenders are more likely to be homeless or
  precariously housed than other youth

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Intervention and Intervention Research

• Much progress has been made in providing services
  to homeless youth since the Stuart B. McKinney
  Homeless Assistance Act of 1986
• Increased funding from the federal government and
  other sources for shelters and other emergency
  services to address their diverse needs
• Programs for homeless youth often include other
  components such as mental health services,
  alcohol/drug treatment, or HIV/AIDS risk
  reduction
• Few interventions have been rigorously evaluated
  so we know we know little about what works or
  with whom

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Case Management Interventions

• Address the unique needs of each homeless youth
• Implemented in existing shelters and drop-in
  centers
• Example Urban Peak Denver
• Provides overnight shelter as well as other
  services to homeless 15 to 21 years olds
• Case manager conducts a needs assessment and
  develops a case plan that includes educational
  and employment goals
• Youth eligible for shelter as long as they are
  moving forward on case plans
• Followed for six months
• Positive housing outcome (e.g., own apartment,
  permanent supportive housing, or family
  reunification) reported by 48 in 2000 and 65 in
  2003
• Intensive case management used successfully with
  homeless families and adults and some research
  suggests that it might also be effective with
  homeless youth

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Family-Focused Interventions

• Many programs work primarily, if not exclusively,
  with the homeless youth but some have targeted
  the family
• Family conflict often cited as the cause of
  homelessness
• Homeless youth often return to their families
• Some evidence that youth who return home
  experience more positive outcomes--- but youth
  who return home may have fewer problems
• Effectiveness of family-focused interventions has
  not been demonstrated
• Family reunification is not always in a youths
  best interest (e.g., severely neglected or abused
  youth, homeless family)
• Alternatives include foster care placement and
  independent living

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Prevention and Prevention Research

• Interest in the prevention of youth homeless is a
  relatively recent development
• Strategies can be universal and seek to promote
  positive development among all youth or targeted
  toward youth thought to be at greatest risk
• Family-focused prevention programs reflect the
  fact that youth often cite family conflict as the
  main reason for their homelessness
• Programs include support groups for parents,
  parenting skills classes, and teaching conflict
  resolution skills
• Assumption that programs will lead to improved
  family functioning, and thus prevent youth from
  becoming homeless
• Example Project SAFE, operated by Cocoon House
  in Washington State provides three services to
  parents and other caretakers who are concerned
  about a youths behavior phone consultation,
  groups or workshops, and a resource library

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Preventing Homelessness among Youth Aging Out of
Foster Care

• Goal of federal policy
• Title IV-E Independent Living Program
• Funding to help states prepare foster youth for
  the transition to adulthood beginning in the late
  1980s
• Could be used to provide housing services (e.g.,
  help finding a place to live) but not for
  transitional housing or IL subsidies
• John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program
• Created as part of the Foster Care Independence
  Act of 1999
• Three provisions relevant to homelessness
  prevention
• Up to 30 of a states funds can be used to pay
  for the room and board of former foster youth
  ages 18 to 20
• Some funds must be used to provide after-care
  services
• States will soon be required to track the
  outcomes of current and former foster youth for
  the National Youth in Transition Database and
  homelessness is one of the outcomes they will be
  required to report

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Use of Chafee funds to assist youth with housing

• Massachusetts Discharge Support Program
• Helps with first months rent, security deposits
  and other assistance
• Must be employed and able to pay rent
• Connecticut's Community Housing Assistance
  Program
• Provides subsidy for rent and other living
  expenses
• Must at least 18 years old, working and enrolled
  in school
• Part of a continuum of housing options that
  includes group homes for 14 to16 year olds and
  transitional living apartments for 16 to 17 year
  olds
• Illinois Youth Housing Assistance Program
• Targets current and former foster youth ages 17.5
  to 21
• Provides housing advocacy services to help secure
  and maintain stable housing as well as cash
  assistance to help with security deposits,
  emergency rental assistance, temporary rental
  subsidies, and furniture or appliances

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Partnering to Address Housing Needs of Foster
Youth

• Federal legislation made youth aging out of
  foster care eligible for housing assistance under
  the HUDs Family Unification Program (FUP)
• Child welfare agencies collaborate with housing
  authorities and/or community-based organizations
  to provide foster youth with time-limited housing
  vouchers (18 months) as well as other services
• States with FUP programs for foster youth include
  New York, Colorado, Ohio and California
• Some localities, including New York City, give
  foster youth priority access to Section 8
  vouchers

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Programs Addressing the Housing Needs of Youthful
Offenders

• Some reentry programs for youthful offenders
  address housing needs
• Going Home Reentry Grant in Polk County, Iowa
• Young adult component targets 17.5 to 20 year
  olds leaving state training schools
• Community Transition Team develops individualized
  wrap-around plan that address housing and other
  service needs
• DOLs Youth Offender Demonstration Program
• Labor-focused reentry program for 14 to 24 year
  olds returning from detention or incarceration
• Some sites are working with nonprofit housing
  programs
• Housing needs also addressed by programs for
  other populations
• Lighthouse Youth Services in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Independent living program for foster youth and
  transitional living program for homeless young
  adults
• Youth move along housing continuum of more to
  less structured living arrangements based on the
  level of support
  and services they need

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Closing Thoughts

• Important to help homeless youth and those at
  risk for homelessness (such as youth exiting
  foster care/juvenile justice system) connect with
  family, where family is broadly defined
• Most research has focused on youth who are
  literally homeless---i.e., living in homeless
  shelters, on the streets, or other unconventional
  settings rather than the potentially larger group
  of youth who couch surf or are otherwise
  precariously housed
• Need methodologically sound studies of
  intervention programs for homeless youth and
  prevention programs for youth at risk of
  homelessness that include control/comparison
  groups and experimental/quasi-experimental
  designs
• Different groups may require different
  interventions (e.g., runaway vs. throwaway vs.
  systems youth street vs. shelter youth rural
  vs.urban youth) and some homeless youth are
  likely to have special needs (e.g., GLBT youth
  pregnant or parenting youth)