Homelessness among youth is a serious societal problem in the United States. Treatment efforts have approached the problem from a damage model that focuses on pathology and deficits instead of strengthening coping skills and resiliency. This study utilized both quantitative (N=212) and qualitative (n=3) measures to examine the function of…

While few studies have identified predictors of exiting homelessness among adults, even fewer studies have attempted to identify these predictors among homeless youth. The current study explored predictors of change in homelessness among 180 homeless youth between the ages of 14 and 22, recruited through an urban drop-in center. All youth were…

D. Wayne Osgood, E. Michael Foster, and Mark E. Courtney examine the transition to adulthood for youth involved in social service and justice systems during childhood and adolescence. They survey the challenges faced by youth in the mental health system, the foster care system, the juvenile justice system, the criminal justice system, and special…

The incidence and circumstances of young people carrying knives and dangerous implements was investigated through surveys conducted with 150 "street youth" and 184 "school youth" in Sydney. It was found that a significant proportion of both samples carry and use knives/dangerous implements and that these implements had been…

Published annually since 1997, Newark Kids Count tracks key trends in child health and well-being in New Jersey's largest city with the latest statistics available. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: the state of children and families, family economic security, affordable…

This study examines type-specific and cumulative experiences of violence among a vulnerable population of youth. Sixty high-risk, shelter-dwelling, urban youth were interviewed regarding their history of childhood maltreatment, exposure to community violence (ECV), and experience with intimate partner violence (IPV). Results show a high prevalence…

In this study, I compared the shifts in attitude of affluent high school seniors participating in a course on social justice issues to a control group of similar adolescents. In this course, participating adolescents learned about social justice issues such as homelessness, poverty, world hunger, and illegal immigration. An analysis of presurvey…

Providing stable housing for runaway and homeless youth is a major function of a transitional living program. This article introduces the focus of one program working with LGBTQ youth in New York City and discusses some issues to consider when working with this population. The article also presents data associated with young people's lives after…

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…

Major strides have been made in the field of youth development. However, youth transitioning into adulthood have not received similar attention. These older youth have frequently been overlooked by policymakers and practitioners who have been more focused on designing programs and services for adolescents and young children. Because older youth…

This study examines the effects of childhood-onset conduct disorder on later antisocial behavior and street victimization among a group of homeless and runaway adolescents. Four hundred twenty-eight homeless and runaway youth were interviewed directly on the streets and in shelters from four Midwestern states. Key findings include the following.…

There are two factors that limit our knowledge of the risk factors associated with homelessness among runaway adolescents, namely (1) the samples used are often composed of youth homeless service users and/or youths living on the streets (visible homelessness), whereas most adolescents in fact use ''private'' resources (hidden homelessness), and…

Objective: To reduce mental health symptoms and high-risk behaviors and increase social support and service utilization among street-living youth, the authors conducted a pilot study to assess the feasibility of the social enterprise intervention (SEI) at a homeless youth agency. Method: Convenience sampling was used to recruit 16 street-living…

Published annually since 1997, Newark Kids Count tracks key trends in child health and well-being in New Jersey's largest city with the latest statistics available. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: population and demographics, family economic security, affordable housing,…

Compared 22 glue sniffers and 22 nonsniffers from group of street children and adolescents living in supervised shelters. Found no statistically significant differences between groups on cognitive measures or biographical features. Shelter staff rated sniffers as significantly more disturbed in their relationships with others, although…