Resources for Young Parents & Children Experiencing Homelessness
Young parents and their children make up a significant portion of families experiencing homelessness. About 17 percent of youth served in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Runaway and Homeless Youth Transitional Living Programs are pregnant/parenting,1 and about 27 percent of the families in emergency shelters in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Family Options Study were headed by someone under age 25.2 Furthermore, approximately half of the children in shelters are under age six.3 Early experiences of homelessness can lead to developmental delays, poor educational outcomes, and social and emotional difficulties among young children. Parenting youth experiencing homelessness often need developmental supports for both themselves and their young children, as well as resources for economic self-sufficiency.
Given the importance, magnitude, and vulnerability of young parents and their children experiencing homelessness, the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) developed a searchable list of resources to provide service providers and policymakers with information about ways to promote healthy development and wellbeing for this population. The database below focuses on key federal or federally sponsored resources about relevant federal programs, federal guidance, evidence-based and promising practices, early childhood supports, parenting supports, behavioral health (mental health and substance abuse), housing, employment, and education.
Resource
Healthy Start
This webpage provides information about the Healthy Start program, which invests in communities to improve health outcomes before, during, and after pregnancy. Local Healthy Start projects enroll women, their partners, infants, and children (up to 18 months) and tailor services to the needs of their communities to help reduce racial and ethnic differences in rates of infant death and adverse maternal health outcomes.
References
1 Mahathey, Brown, de Sousa, Loya, Thornton Walker, & Santucci, 2021
2 Gubits, Wood, McInnis, Brown, Spellman, & Bell, 2022
3 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development, 2016
Resource Database:
Education for Homeless Children and Youth Grants for State and Local Activities
This webpage provides information about the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program, which provides grants to State Education Agencies and subgrants to Local Education Agencies to help ensure that children experiencing homelessness, including preschoolers and youth, have equal access to a free and appropriate public education.
URL: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/homeless/index.html
Topic(s): Education, Federal programs
Audience: Service providers
Type of Resource: Webpage
Engaging Young Fathers: Strategies for Achieving Success
This webinar presents research on the characteristics of young fathers, identifies the unique needs of young fathers, describes strategies for engaging young fathers in programs, and provides links to additional resources to support working with young fathers.
URL: http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/snippets/508%20documents/paf_aca_webinar_slides.pdf
Topic(s): Fatherhood, Pregnant and parenting youth
Audience: Service providers
Type of Resource: Webinar
Expanding Early Care and Education for Homeless Children
This webpage provides resources for early care and education providers to strengthen their ability to serve young children experiencing homelessness. It includes links to resource guides, federal policies and guidance, webinars, blog posts, and relevant organizations.
URL: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd/interagency-projects/ece-services-for-homel…
Topic(s): Early childhood development, Federal programs, Homeless: families
Audience: Policy makers, Service providers
Type of Resource: Federal guidance, Webpage
Families on the Edge: Homeless Young Parents and their Welfare Experiences - A Survey of Homeless Youth and Service Providers
This report illustrates how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) can provide long-term stability for young parents, but also describes the difficulty homeless young families often experience accessing TANF programs and meeting eligibility requirements. Policy and practice recommendations are provided.
URL: http://www.clasp.org/resources-and-publications/archive/0114.pdf
Topic(s): Federal programs, Homeless: pregnant and parenting youth, Policy recommendations
Audience: Policy makers, Service providers
Type of Resource: Report
Family and Youth Services Bureau Fact Sheet
This fact sheet provides an overview of the services and assistance that FYSB provides around runaway and homeless youth (RHY) programs, Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program, and Family Violence Prevention and Services Program.
URL: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fysb/fysb_services_20150406.pdf
Topic(s): Federal programs, Homeless: youth, Housing
Audience: Service providers
Type of Resource: Fact sheet
Family Unification Program (FUP)
This webpage provides information about HUD’s Family Unification Program, a program in which Housing Choice Vouchers are provided to families for whom the lack of adequate housing is the primary reason for child welfare involvement or youth (18-21) who left foster care after age 16 and lack adequate housing.
URL: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/…
Topic(s): Federal programs, Homeless: families, Homeless: youth, Housing
Audience: Service providers
Type of Resource: Webpage
Five Things to Know About Teen Parents and How to Help Them
This web article describes five things service providers should know about teen parents and how to help them. It summarizes findings from a Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy study, highlighting issues of family conflict, abuse and neglect, homelessness, and trafficking among teen parents.
URL: http://ncfy.acf.hhs.gov/media-center/slideshows/five-things-know-about-teen-par…
Topic(s): Pregnant and parenting youth
Audience: Service providers
Type of Resource: Web article
Health Coverage for Homeless and At-Risk Youth
This fact sheet explores state-by-state eligibility for health care coverage, including through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), for key subpopulations of youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
URL: https://aspe.hhs.gov/pdf-report/health-coverage-homeless-and-risk-youth
Topic(s): Behavioral health (mental health and substance abuse), Federal programs, Health care, Homeless: families, Homeless: pregnant and parenting youth, Homeless: youth
Audience: Policy makers, Service providers
Type of Resource: Fact sheet, Federal guidance
Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness
This webpage provides a review of the home visiting research literature in order to determine which home visiting program models have been found to meet HHS criteria for evidence of effectiveness and are, therefore, determined to be “evidence-based.” This Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) review includes a list of evidence-based home visiting models with links to brief program descriptions and summary of results on program model effectiveness, details of the studies reviewed, and a summary of findings by outcome domain.
URL: http://homvee.acf.hhs.gov/Model/1/Attachment-and-Biobehavioral-Catch-Up--ABC--I…
Topic(s): Behavioral health (mental health and substance abuse), Early childhood development, Evidence-based programs or promising practices, Parenting supports
Audience: Service providers
Type of Resource: Webpage
Home Visiting for Women Experiencing Homelessness: A Look at Efforts in Boston and New York City
These case studies demonstrate how home visiting efforts can provide critical services that support maternal and infant health outcomes and family stability among women experiencing homelessness.
URL: http://www.design-consultants.com/Clients/birthtothree/miechv.april/april.2014…
Topic(s): Early childhood development, Evidence-based programs or promising practices, Federal programs, Homeless: pregnant and parenting youth
Audience: Service providers
Type of Resource: Case studies
