“…Over 500,000 youth are served each year in out-of-home care in the United States (Child Welfare League of America, 2002) and one can estimate that many of these youth visited a short-term facility while in the child welfare system. Some youth stay in short-term care for only a few hours to complete assessment activities, whereas others stay in short-term shelters for days, weeks, or even months awaiting a placement decision (e.g., Koehn, Thompson, Authier, & Bosco, 2001;Teare et al, , 1995. Within the child welfare services continuum, shelters are typically viewed as holding places for youth, with the primary goal of providing a safe haven for youth in transition (e.g., Litrownik, Taussig, Landsverk, & Garland, 1999;.…”