Given the extent to which our society values education, it is perplexing to learn that we continue to struggle to provide all children, especially homeless children, an adequate education. This troubling issue is the focus of this paper. Specifically, this paper will center around two basic questions; 1) what has the legal system done to ensure…

Dropouts from rural school districts have not received the same scrutiny as given to those from urban ones. The reasons behind this lack of knowledge about the experience of rural school districts with dropouts are unclear. The purpose of the present study was to begin to close this knowledge gap. A first major study of rural dropouts in the…

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is the main federal program concerning the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness. It provides federal funding to states, which then distribute the funds to their school districts through a competitive application process; the funds are used to ensure that children and youth…

This study investigated the main effects of social support measures and their stress-buffering effects in two samples of homeless adults (Ns =249 and 219) obtained in the same large county (surrounding Detroit) at different points in time over an 8-year period (1992-1994 and 2000-2002). The findings suggest that the construct of social support,…

This study compared two groups of adolescents seeking help at HIV prevention drop-in agencies. The first group attended agencies in low-income Hispanic neighborhoods which recruited within the locale. The second group of youth attended agencies that recruited based upon a specific population--they targeted homeless and LGBQ youth. We explored the…

Children and youth in homeless situations, particularly unaccompanied youth and survivors of domestic violence, are at a high risk for experiencing violence and victimization. Frequently, unaccompanied youth become homeless after leaving abusive or destructive home environments. In turn, their homelessness, which often involves "couch…

Children and youth in homeless situations, particularly unaccompanied youth and survivors of domestic violence, are at a high risk for experiencing violence and victimization. Frequently, unaccompanied youth become homeless after leaving abusive or destructive home environments. In turn, their homelessness, which often involves "couch…

Presented in this paper are the results of a qualitative analysis of the narratives of 208 homeless youth interviewed on streets and in agencies in New York City and Toronto. The interviews focused on the participants' stories about their struggles to survive and negotiate meaningful and healthy lives in coming to the streets, living on the…

Setting high expectations, promoting academic excellence, encouraging students to set their sights on postsecondary education--administrators and teachers are quite familiar with these ideas and their use within the school setting. Although each of these ideas is important to what secondary education is and should be, it is somehow hard to imagine…

Program evaluators need methods that can be used in a variety of situations to help gather data. Photolanguage is one such technique that uses black-and-white photographs to elicit responses from individuals. It is particularly useful in situations where the respondents may give restricted or only minimal data. This article provides the…

The present qualitative research focuses on homeless fathers living with their children in family shelters. Data were collected through semistructured, face-to-face interviews with homeless fathers (n = 9) and shelter directors (n = 3). Findings suggest that how fathers made meaning of their experiences in a homeless shelter was related to…

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act defines "homeless children and youths" as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." However, because the circumstances of homelessness vary with each family's or unaccompanied youth's situation, determining the extent to which the family or youth fits…

A personal account of a program of research on homelessness and poverty spanning the past 20 years is provided, with a focus on the many methodological, practical, and ethical difficulties encountered. Interesting discoveries and enjoyable aspects of the research process are also presented. Several role conflicts that arose for the researcher in…

Street children in Makutano, northwest Kenya, form strong, stable social groups. Group activity functions through a well-defined structure involving leadership and close personal and economic relationships. This article shows how group solidarity is maintained through the sharing of a common subculture of spatial understandings, games, activities,…

Ghana is witnessing an increasing number of 2nd generation street children (SGSC) living in the street of Accra, the capital city as a result of many factors including teenage pregnancy among street girls, ethnic conflicts and rural-urban migration. Street presents enormous risks to street children; they are excluded from safe-family environment,…