Tag Archives: Homelessness

Housing and Early Childhood Programs on the January 2017 Point-In-Time Count

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12/8/2016

About the Point-In-Time Count

The Point-in-Time (PIT) count is an annual count of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in the last 10 days in January. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires its Continuum of Care (CoC) grantees[1] to conduct an annual count of sheltered homeless persons. CoCs also must conduct a count of unsheltered homeless persons every other year (odd numbered years).[2] Each count is planned, coordinated, and carried out locally by service providers and trained volunteers. While many CoCs complete their count of unsheltered persons on the night designated for the count, given the additional challenges associated with counting people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, some CoCs conduct their unsheltered count over the seven days following the night of the count.[3] This “post-night” approach may be particularly useful for counting unsheltered families and youth with young children.

Early Childhood and Housing Working Together

Many children in the United States start life without a home: in 2013, over one million children under six were estimated to have experienced homelessness.[4]

Infants, toddlers and preschoolers who experience homelessness are at grave risk of developmental delays due to a variety of factors such as a lack of prenatal and early health care, crowded and unsanitary living conditions, poor nutrition, and the trauma caused by severe poverty and unstable living arrangements.[5]

Early childhood providers who are serving young children and families experiencing homelessness can support the CoC PIT count efforts, thereby ensuring that families with young children are more likely to be included in this important count.

Please see the new 2-page fact sheet entitled Housing and Early Childhood Programs on the January 2017 Point-In-Time Count, available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ecd/pit_count_2017ecefinal.pdf?nocache=1481234077 . This fact sheet, geared towards an early childhood audience, provides information about HUD’s annual Point-it-Time (PIT) count, and suggests strategies for how early childhood programs can help ensure the most comprehensive and effective count of families experiencing homelessness.

ECE involvement in PIT count planning can provide valuable insights into and help with

• selecting child/family-friendly count sites and creating a welcoming environment there,
• selecting child/family-friendly incentives[6] for count participation,
• recruiting volunteers, and
• suggesting other local service providers to assist with the count.

See the fact sheet https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ecd/pit_count_2017ecefinal.pdf?nocache=1481234077.

In addition, on October 31, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Education (ED) issued a joint Policy Statement on Meeting the Needs of Families with Young Children Experiencing and At Risk of Homelessness. The policy statement provides research and recommendations on ways in which early childhood and housing providers at the local and, in some cases, State levels can intentionally collaborate to provide safe, stable, and nurturing environments for pregnant women and families with young children who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. See the  Policy Statement on Meeting the Needs of Families with Young Children Experiencing and At Risk of Homelessness.

See also the new infographic that shows, in the United States, infancy is the age at which individuals are most likely to enter shelter or transitional housing, followed by ages one to five, and homelessness during pregnancy and in the early years is harmful to children’s development.

Ending family and early childhood homelessness in America will require the concerted efforts of all of us.

For more information on Early Care and Education for Children Experiencing Homelessness, see here..
Read The Family Room Blog Supporting Young Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness.

[1] Continuums of Care are local or regional planning bodies that coordinate housing and services for homeless individuals, families, and youth. Visit https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/coc/ for more information.
2 While only required by HUD during odd years, many CoCs conduct an unsheltered count every year.
3 CoCs using this approach must ensure that the persons counted are limited to people who were unsheltered on the night chosen for the PIT count and that the CoCs can properly deduplicate their data.
4  Early Childhood Homelessness in the United States: 50-State Profile. January 2016. Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
5 Perlman, S. (2015). Access to Early Childhood Programs for Young Children Experiencing Homelessness: A Survey Report. http://naehcy.org/sites/default/files/pdf/naehcy-survey-report.pdf
6 Many CoCs provide incentives to homeless people who participate in the PIT count. Incentives may include transit passes, meal gift cards, toiletries, backpacks, blankets, and items of clothing.

Source: The Administration for Children and Families

Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness: A Child Care Development Fund State Guide 

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10/2015

NAEHCY and the Ounce of Prevention Fund are pleased to announce a new guide intended to assist states in utilizing their Child Care and Development Fund state plan (“CCDF Plan”) as a vehicle for improving access to high-quality early care and education for children who experience homelessness. The guide provides background information on common barriers and challenges; best practices for serving homeless families; a summary of requirements of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-186) (“CCDBG Act”) related to homelessness; and a summary of some of the opportunities available through the state CCDF Plan to improve access.

As a companion to the guide, a self-assessment tool that can assist states in assessing their current policies and practices and identifying options to better support vulnerable children is included. We recommend reviewing the self-assessment tool prior to reading the guide.

Early care and education services, including child care, can help mitigate the impacts of homelessness on children. Research overwhelmingly shows high-quality educational experiences in the preschool years can have a positive effect and long-term benefit throughout a child’s education. Yet compared to poor housed parents, homeless parents are less likely to receive child care subsidies. At the same time, they are more likely to rely on informal child care arrangements and to report quitting jobs or school due to problems with child care. Homelessness presents barriers over and above what other poor families face, which are exacerbated by other factors, such as fragmentation of service systems, limited availability of services, lack of transportation, rigid program rules and the family’s mobility.

The new CCDBG offers an unprecedented opportunity to move states toward policies that make it easier for homeless families to access child care subsidies, and with new CCDF state plans due in March 2016, the time to act is NOW!

Please share this guide with your colleagues and partners at the local and state level, and please let us know how we can be helpful in your efforts.

Source: The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth

Available at: http://naehcy.org/educational-resources/supporting-children-and-families-experiencing-homelessness-child-care-development-fund-state

Expanding Early Care and Education for Homeless Children | Early Childhood Development | Administration for Children and Families

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8/2015

Ensuring the early learning and development of our country’s youngest children is essential to ACF’s work. Supporting the well-being of these young children and their families is an urgent task and one that is critical to improving the long-term educational outcomes of children nationwide.

Several federal policies and programs are in place to strengthen the ability of early care and education (ECE) providers to serve young children experiencing homelessness. Whether you are in a Head Start program, early childhood program, or work at the state level on early childhood systems and services, the resources listed below will assist you in ensuring that these young children are prioritized for services that support their learning and development.

Resource Guides

Policies and Guidance

Webinars

Related ACF Blog Posts

Additional Resources

Source: Administration for Children and Families

Available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd/interagency-projects/ece-services-for-homeless-children

Early Childhood and HUD Working Together to End Family Homelessness 

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3/3/2015

By Marsha Basloe, Senior Advisor for Early Childhood Development, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development

When my son was little, he had a favorite stuffed animal called “elephant.” Elephant went everywhere Benjy went! One of my favorite memories is standing in his bedroom doorway and watching him sleep in his “new big bed” with his arm wrapped around elephant under the covers. This memory was important to me last week as I attended the National Alliance to End Homelessness Family and Youth Conference to present on the Administration for Children and Families’ early childhood efforts to support young children experiencing homelessness.

There were multiple workshops sharing the amazing efforts of programs and communities across the country. Secretary Julian Castro spoke to a large audience about the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s work and HUD’s linking with partners including the Veterans Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services. He said that people need more than just housing; families don’t live in silos and it’s why the collaboration and coordination between HUD, VA and HHS is so important – from the federal level to the local level.

Secretary Castro was also clear that HUD had limits to what it could do. This was something I could understand. The Office of Child Care supports low-income working families through child care fee assistance (subsidies) for children age birth through 13 and promotes children’s learning by improving the quality of early care and education and afterschool programs. Through Child Care and Development Fund block grants to states, territories and tribes, nearly 500,000 child care providers serve 1.5 million low-income children who receive subsidies each month. And yet, we have limits as the CCDF funds only 17 percent of children.

Source: Administration for Children and Families

Available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/blog/2015/03/early-childhood-and-hud-working-together-to-end-family-homelessness

Access to Early Childhood Programs for Young Children Experiencing Homelessness: A Survey Report

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3/2015

The purpose of this brief is to share findings from a national survey focused on developing an understanding of the barriers and facilitators of access to early childhood services among young children and families experiencing homelessness.

Source: The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth

Available at: http://www.naehcy.org/sites/default/files/pdf/naehcy-survey-report.pdf

Early Childhood Self-Assessment Tool for Family Shelters 

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12/11/2014

The Early Childhood Self-Assessment Tool for Family Shelters is intended to help shelter staff ensure their facilities are safe and appropriate for the development of young children. Facilities and professionals that can use this tool include:Natural Disaster SheltersDomestic Violence SheltersMaternity Group HomesFamily SheltersContinuums of CareEarly Care and Learning ProvidersWays to Take ActionBuild relationships with your Local Shelter Board and local Continuum of Care to emphasize the need for homeless services that are tailored for young children.Share this tool with other emergency shelter providers in your area, either informally or through your community’s Local Shelter Board and Continuum of Care.Connect with your local Head Start program and Child Care Resources and Referral agency.Review recommended strategies for increasing early care and education services for homeless children.Resources Related to the Self-Assessment ToolGuide to Developmental and Behavioral Screening for housing and shelter providersIn Case of Emergency FormChildproofing ChecklistSpecial Care Plan

Source: Early Childhood Development, Administration for Children and Families

Available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd/interagency-projects/ece-services-for-homeless-children/self-assessment-tool-family-shelters

America’s Youngest Outcasts

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2014

America’s Youngest Outcasts documents the number of homeless children in every state, their well-being, their risk for child homelessness, and state level planning and policy efforts. Using findings from numerous sources that include well-established national data sets as well as our own research, we rank the states in four domains, and then develop a composite of these domains to rank the states from 1 (best) to 50 (worst). A page about the District of Columbia is also available.

By rolling over each of the states in the map below, you can open and download the state page from the report that displays some of the key data used in ranking each state.

Source: The National Center on Family Homelessness

Available at: http://www.homelesschildrenamerica.org