This brief describes the relationship between placement stability and youth engagement in the Youth Transitions Partnership (YTP), a program developed and implemented by the Alameda County Social Services Agency (SSA) for 14- to 20-year-olds in foster care who have multiple risk factors for experiencing homelessness. The authors used program data…

The purpose of this study was to explore reasons why adolescent youth from foster care and in special education, including those who are newly emancipated from the foster care system, have difficulty transitioning into independent living. The study was guided by one research question: What difficulties do students who receive special education…

This narrative study is based on stories told by African American adolescents experiencing homelessness. It offers insights into their lived experiences and describes the challenges faced in negotiating the urban education system. African American youth are disproportionately represented in the adolescent homeless demographic. "Unheard and…

California has long been on the cutting edge of social and political change. This trendsetting continues today on issues from addressing climate change to supporting immigrant communities to ensuring equal rights for all. But, when reviewing the grades of this year's California Children's Report Card, it is difficult not to ask the question: why…

The 2020 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California is the comprehensive roadmap at the state level to ensure that all children have the necessary supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to tear down the structural barriers to all kids, especially kids of color, from growing up healthy, safe, and ready for college, career,…

The Risk Amplification and Abatement Model (RAAM) demonstrates that negative contact with socializing agents amplify risk, while positive contact abates risk for homeless adolescents. To test this model, the likelihood of exiting homelessness and returning to familial housing at 2 years and stably exiting over time are examined with longitudinal…

Homeless youth face many barriers that limit their ability to complete a high school diploma and transition to postsecondary education. The federal government passed the McKinney-Vento Act over 20 years ago to address issues of access to public education for homeless youth. The most recent reauthorization of the law expanded the definition of…

This study, focused on five transgender and gay youth of color from San Francisco, explored how family problems, poverty, homophobia, and transphobia propelled them into homelessness and made gay-friendly spaces and resources especially meaningful to them. These young people describe seeking support in San Francisco's well-known gay enclave, the…

Adolescence is a developmental period during which many youth experiment with risk practices. This paper examined the association of parental monitoring with a range of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use behaviors among high-risk youth, while controlling for other demographic and environmental variables previously found to be associated with AOD…

This report informs the public about the welfare of California's children. Measuring the effectiveness of the efforts of all Californians, not just those of government agencies or other organizations responsible for children, the report measures California's performance on 27 benchmarks that, taken together, provide a statistical portrait of the…

This report card and its supplement summarize the Kids Count data book for 1995, which profiled statewide trends in the well-being of California's children. The report card findings indicate that California ranks at the bottom among the 50 states in fostering the healthy development of children. The report card proposes the passage of the…

This report card and its supplement summarize the California Kids Count data book for 1996, which profiled statewide trends in the well-being of California's children. The report card focuses on the challenges that families face in the current economy and provides recommendations for the public and private sectors. The supplement begins with an…