Homelessness: Research, Data, and Policy

his 2017 release of the 50-state profile project provides a snapshot of early childhood data available for children who are experiencing homelessness in each state, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

This fact sheet begins by highlighting several factors that have been found to promote positive outcomes for all vulnerable young children and their families. Subsequent sections provide data on specific populations of at risk children.

This bibliography includes a selection of resources that address the needs and educational rights of young children experiencing homelessness as well as strategies for working with these vulnerable children and their families in early childhood care and education programs.

IECAM’s mission is to provide comprehensive early childhood data and maps to local and state agencies and other stakeholders to improve outcomes for Illinois children. Developed in 2006, IECAM is funded by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS).

This site provides information, resources and research homelessness and includes interactive data tools.

This national organization is committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. The website provides statistics, webinars, training kits, and other resources related to homelessness.

This policy statement provides recommendations from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Education on how early childhood and housing providers at the local and, in some cases, state levels can collaborate to provide safe, stable, and nurturing environments for pregnant women and families with young children who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

This brief provides an overview of the effects of homelessness on young children, federal initiatives that have expanded access to early care and learning for young children experiencing homelessness, and how two states (Massachusetts and Oregon) have implemented policies to improve early childhood outcomes for young children experiencing homelessness.

This organization works to overcome homelessness through education, providing advocacy and technical assistance in partnership with early childhood programs, schools, higher education institutions, service providers, families, and youth.

This brief examines the well-being of young children 20 months after staying in emergency homeless shelters with their families. It draws comparisons between children who experienced homelessness and national norms for children of the same age. The brief also examines housing instability, child care instability, and enrollment in center-based care and Head Start, and associations between housing and child care stability and child well-being.

This article describes issues related to data collection surrounding homelessness.