Consistent access to sufficient quantities and quality of food is highly important for a child's physical, mental, and emotional development, but children experiencing homelessness frequently face hunger as well as poor physical and behavioral health outcomes. Children who do not get enough food to eat may experience a variety of physical, mental,…

Worldwide, there are millions of children and youth living on the streets. While this is accepted as a sad reality when it comes to developing countries, many people are unaware that street youth also exist in Western countries, such as Germany. In both developing and developed countries young people on the streets face a plethora of challenges…

We used a life stress framework to examine linkages between distal or primary stressors (e.g., child abuse) and proximal or secondary stressors (e.g., street victimization) and their association with substance use among 150 youth experiencing homelessness in the Midwestern United States. Results revealed that numerous primary stressors such as…

Runaway behaviors among teenagers have been studied for some 40 years. Still, because runaway and homeless youths have often been confounded, little is known about what really defines a runaway adolescent. This study targets three objectives in a mixed-method design relying on data from official files and interviews: the descriptions of teenagers…

As trusted health care providers in the school setting, school nurses are positioned uniquely to identify children at risk for or victims of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Nevertheless, many victims go unrecognized and unaided due to inadequate provider education on victim identification. This review provides a comprehensive…

This Formative Evaluation Lessons Learned template captures the major findings and lessons learned from the formative evaluation of the Youth Transitions Partnership (YTP) program in Alameda County, California. The YTP program is an intervention built around the core components of intensive case management and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).…

Each year, between 1.5 and 1.6 million youth run away from home or are forced out of their homes by their parents. While many of these youth return home quickly, others remain separated from their families and live in homeless situations. Every local educational agency (LEA) has a designated homeless liaison, with the responsibility to identify…

Sexual minority youth are more likely to run away from home or experience homelessness, leaving them at increased risk of victimization and negative health outcomes. In this study, the authors use a developmental perspective that considers both vulnerable beginnings in families and the risky trajectories that follow to explore the connections…