Western Michigan University is building an innovative program to make welcome those students who were raised in foster care and to help them earn their diplomas without having to shoplift or trespass over the holidays. Many of the students have comfortable apartments on the campus, and a hall was kept open over the holiday break for dorm residents…

This article presents findings from an exploratory study of three programs using the Housing First approach to provide permanent supportive housing for single, homeless adults with serious mental illness and often co-occurring substance-related disorders. This approach provides direct, or nearly direct, access to housing that is intended to be…

The Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) is a special entity within the National League of Cities (NLC). The YEF Institute helps municipal leaders take action on behalf of the children, youth, and families in their communities. The YEF Institute's first-ever report on The State of City Leadership for Children and Families…

Middle and high school students experiencing homelessness often face challenges in accruing credits. Class offerings, methods of calculating credits, and graduation requirements can vary greatly among school districts. Students who change schools late in high school can find themselves suddenly in danger of not graduating due to differing class…

This article describes Heart to Heart Art, an after-school program developed for homeless children and youth at the YWCA in Spokane, Washington. Pre-service teacher candidates from a local university create meaningful activities that engage homeless students in visual art, music, drama, cooking, and community service. Heart to Heart Art was…

This report presents the deliberations of the Northwest Regional Advisory Committee (NW RAC), one of 10 RACs established under the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 to assess the educational needs of the region. The Northwest RAC accepted its charge to identify educational needs and to make recommendations, working collaboratively as…

This report reviews the effectiveness of Washington's HOPE Centers and Responsible Living Skills Programs (RLSPs) and reports findings and recommendations. In 1999, state legislators enacted the HOPE Act, which created these two services. HOPE Centers are temporary residential facilities where street youth can stay for 30 days while being…

Homelessness among adolescents is a growing concern, with 1 to 1.5 million youths in any given year spending some period of time in emergency shelters or on the streets. These vulnerable youth have been found to exhibit a host of emotional and behavioral problems including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic reactions, drug and alcohol abuse, and…

This report provides a cost-benefit analysis of a program that provides publicly-funded treatment and support for persons who are addicted to alcohol or other drugs and who are judged to be indigent, unemployable, and incapacitated due to their addiction. The study focused on two client outcomes: (1) determine employment outcomes during an 18…

Describes the Crosswalk program in Spokane, Washington, which provides teenage street mothers with housing, day care, and the opportunity to attend school. Discusses the development of the program, and describes the cases of several typical teenage mothers in the program. (MDM)

Objective: To examine family risk factors associated with dissociative symptoms among homeless and runaway youth. Method: Three hundred and twenty-eight homeless and runaway youth were interviewed using a systematic sampling strategy in metropolitan Seattle. Homeless young people were interviewed on the streets and in shelters by outreach workers…

The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services conducted a study to collect information about homeless families in the state who are relying on shelters. Information was obtained from census reports from all shelters in the state, from interviews with a parent from each of the 411 families living at the shelters, and from a review…

Washington's state plan for the education of homeless children is presented in compliance with provisions of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. The plan is comprised of a background statement, nine sections, and addenda. The first section presents facts on homelessness in Washington State. The second section describes the…