UNDERSTANDING Child and Family HOMELESSNESS
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Statistics on Homeless Children & Youth
· According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, 1.35 million U.S.children are homeless on any given night. (2000) · Families with children are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, accounting for almost 39% of the nation's homeless. (2005) · In 2003, children under the age of 18 accounted for 39% of the homeless population. · 42% of homeless children are under the age of five. · Poverty, underemployment and lack of affordable housing are the principal causes of family homelessness. · Today, 35.2% of persons living in poverty are children (2007). · Nearly 20% of homeless children lack a regular source of medical care. · Homeless children are hungry more than twice as often as other children. · Almost 1/3 of low-income families do not have enough money to prepare three meals a day. · 14% of homeless children are diagnosed with learning disabilities - double the rate of other children. · 21% of homeless children repeat a grade because of frequent absence from school. · Within a single school year, 41% of homeless students attend two different schools, 28% attend three or more. · For children and youth identified as homeless by State Departments of Education, 35% lived in shelters, 34% lived doubled up with family or friends and 23% lived in motels or other locations. (FY 2000) |
aired March 31, 2011
aired November 19, 2009
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