The U.S. Homeless Student Population: Homeless Youth Education, Review of Research Classifications and Typologies, and the U.S. Federal Legislative Response

Direct and Indirect Associations between Family Residential Mobility, Parent Functioning, and Adolescent Behavioral Health

“…Some research also identified family dysfunction characterized by little/no social support, domestic violence, and/or maltreatment as major causes of homelessness (Fisher et al, 2014 ). Despite the effects of personal or family risk factors on the pathway to homelessness, there has been a growing recognition that poor economic conditions and inadequate social services are leading social determinants in shaping family homelessness (Abdul Rahman et al, 2015 ; Gould & Williams, 2010 ). The lack of supportive policies and resources on housing and other determinants of health (e.g., education, employment, health care) may exacerbate the adverse situations among disadvantaged families (Gould & Williams, 2010 ).…”

Bridges and Barriers

“…Numbers continue to rise and each year there are more than 1.6 million children that are homeless (Haskett, Armstrong, & Tisdale, 2015). At a federal level, there are multiple agencies and departments that run programs to address the needs of homeless individuals; at a minimum, there are at least 27 different entities (Abdul Rahman, Turner, & Elbedour, 2015). Many of these entities have their own definition of homelessness, which impacts the number of people that are identified.…”

“…Each state sends their data to EdFacts, which is the system used by the USDoE to collect and analyze prekindergarten through 12 th grade data. Researchers can access this data to determine the number of homeless students' enrolled, as well as look at specific points of interest regarding homeless students, such as the graduation rate or academic achievement (Abdul Rahman, Turner, & Elbedour, 2015). This count is obtained via each Local Education Agency (LEA), which reports to the State Education Agency (SEA), and then finally to the USDoE.…”

“…McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and provides funding for coordinators.However, despite recent amendments, there are several issues that remain unresolved. For example, there is no evaluation tool in place to measure the effectiveness of these EHCY funded coordinators or to measure the ideal amount of time that coordinators should spend on activities related to homeless students and families (AbdulRahman, Turner, & Elbedour, 2015). In fact, many of these coordinators have positions that extend beyond this topic and they have reported varying degrees of time spent engaged with McKinney-Vento related activities.Shea, Zetlin, and Weinber (2010) report that in one study 92% of liaisons spent less than 25% of their time working on MVHAA activities.…”

“…This push will likely benefit homeless students and parents as districts comply with the new guidelines. Liaisons that have direct contact with homeless students and families are also more likely to understand their obligations under the MVHAA(Wilkins, Mullins, Mahan, & Canfield, 2015) Abdul Rahman, Turner, & Elbedour (2015). report that homeless youth programs that foster constructive, supportive interaction and provide links to support networks and services are known to improve student outcomes" (p. 695).…”