This packet presents educational materials to help teachers, students, and parents understand homelessness. Section 1, "America's Homeless Children: Educational Information for Students, Teachers, and Parents," discusses what it is like to be homeless, how many children are homeless, how homelessness is harmful, how children become homeless, and…

This glossy folder is intended for parents to keep important papers related to their children's school. On the inside flaps of the folder are written in Spanish: (1) a list of suggested school-related papers that parents could keep in the folder; (2) a space for parents to write information about the schools their child has most recently attended;…

This paper highlights the educational rights and needs of homeless children under both the McKinney Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Act. Section 1 explains the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, which included the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program mandating a free, appropriate public education for all…

The majority of European countries do not recognize working children as a cause of concern, but rather consider it a past and/or solved problem, or one present only in developing nations. This report presents the results of a questionnaire study, undertaken by the European Forum for Child Welfare (EFCW), which investigated at a grass roots level…

Over 750,000 U.S. school-age children are homeless. Schools can eliminate attendance and environmental barriers sabotaging these children's education by becoming communities of learning that provide specialized education for children, contextualized education for parents, and linkages to needed services. The Bronx's Brownstone School, Chicago's…

Discusses problems homeless families encounter in educating their children. Covers public policy issues regarding homeless children, such as accessibility to schools, accessibility to day care, and support for individualized educational programs.(RJC)

Focuses on the plight of homeless children, specifically as it relates to access to schooling. Discusses parallels with other groups that have experienced barriers to access; impediments to access for the homeless; and the legislative response to that concern. (MLF)

Describes new services offered by the Community Action Agency of Franklin County, New York, after carefully listening to Head Start families. The agency now operates programs that successfully address problems Head Start families and other members of the community are having with housing, nutrition, domestic violence, and emergency assistance.…

This article reports on research carried out with homeless children in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which sought to engage the fantasies of these children by telling them fairy tales that reflected their ordeal and by asking them to make up stories to tell puppets in distressing situations. The article contains a lengthy appendix with transcripts of…

This article summarizes the educational rights of homeless children and youth afforded by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act and describes the educational problems they confront, including academic underachievement and poor school attendance. Factors exacerbating the outcomes of homelessness are outlined. (SLD)

This paper considers opposing viewpoints on usefulness of the classification of "street children" in an international context and proposes a working compromise based on a hierarchy of street use, from minimal to total dependency on the streets. Different types of education/welfare intervention are needed at these different levels. (DB)

Interviews with homeless people in east Tennessee reveal how they came to be homeless and the problems encompassing homelessness. Most did not develop the sense of home that is formed early in life in stable families and that contributes to formation of self-concept. (LP)

Explores mothers' perceptions of how homelessness and shelter life affect their family relationships. Participants report increased closeness and interaction with their children, but disruption in disciplinary and provider/caretaker roles. Shelter conditions, mother's emotional state, child's emotional state, temperament, and behavior affect…

Gender differences among street children in Nairobi suggest familial function, and development and mental-health outcomes. Male children are taught coping skills by their mothers early on to take up street life to support their family. Female children, expected to remain at home and learn to become women, turn to street life as the result of…

Presents new paradigm for research with street children, using street researchers who act as novices in a new culture, taught by children, yet maintain professional integrity and identity. Discusses the transformed researcher role, countertransference, new conceptualizations of time and space, testing behaviors, value-based research, and…