Detroit has a long and complicated history with housing instability, and obtaining safe and stable housing is a significant challenge, particularly for low-income residents. For many renters, housing quality is poor, rents are high, and eviction is common. In 2017, 16% of households with children in Detroit reported being either evicted or forced…

While both the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and he U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) base their services and eligibility criteria on the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (hereafter referred to as "The McKinney-Vento Act"), each agency uses a different definition of "homeless" due to differences…

The Community Prevention Model, which reinforces competencies and strengths, promotes independent living and social mainstreaming, and utilizes emergency shelters as a last resort, is offered for discussion. It is argued that the federal continuum of care model does not adequately address prevention as the first line of offense against…

This report reviews the three-year funding levels for the major Federal programs that primarily benefited the homeless from fiscal year 1987 through fiscal year 1989. Most of these programs were enacted by the Stewart B. McKinney Act and began receiving appropriations in fiscal year 1987. The following programs are described: (1) Emergency Food…

This report presents information from a study on the needs of homeless people which (1) identified and described characteristics of federal programs targeted for homeless people and key nontargeted programs available to assist low income people generally; (2) identified amounts and types of funding for these programs in fiscal year 1997; and (3)…

This document comprises a report on the status of hunger and homelessness during 1989 in 27 major American cities. A survey was used to gather the following information: (1) demand for emergency food and shelter assistance and the capacity to meet the demand; (2) causes of hunger and homelessness and the demographics of the affected populations;…

The welfare of American families improved steadily for over 20 years after World War II. After the War on Poverty of the 1960s, the number of people living in poverty fell, reaching its lowest point in 1973. During the 1980s, homeless families, including those living in the streets, in cars, and in shelters seemingly appeared out of nowhere. As…

This testimony on federal assistance for homeless people is based on issued reports and testimony over recent years. It highlights: (1) the federal approach to assisting homeless people; (2) actions of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to overcome coordination and administrative challenges posed by its homelessness programs;…

This report describes how Title IV-A of the Social Security Act is being used to aid homeless families with children. The report reviews the history of the Emergency Assistance program (EA) and the special needs component of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (AFDC-Special Needs), discusses current policy and practice, examines…

This paper briefly discusses new housing programs for the homeless sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the funding provided by the 100th Congress, and two additional HUD programs to aid the homeless. The following four programs are discussed: (1) the Emergency Shelter Program; (2) the Transitional Housing Program,…

This report, based on a study by the Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations and Human Resources of the Committee on Government Operations examines the magnitude of the problem of homeless families. Its findings include the following: (1) causes of family homelessness include scarcity of low income housing, inadequate income or public…

According to Congressman Charles E. Schumer in his opening statement, the deqrease in Federal housing funds is inextricably linked to the increase in homelessness. Since 1981 the Reagan Administration has been systematically dismantling the nation's housing programs, leaving tens of thousands of low-income people homeless. In 1982 there were 1,088…

This report describes the activities and policies for the homeless of six states both before and after implementation of the Federal Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. The states covered are California, Connecticut, Georgia, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The following chapters are included: (1) "Introduction"; (2)…

Helping poor families increase their residential stability can have direct bearing on school stability and student academic achievement. Discusses the role of housing in child and family wellbeing; residential mobility and school performance; residential mobility and housing problems; housing affordability; (federal housing policy); homeownership;…

The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, passed in July 1987, authorized over $400 million for fiscal year 1987 in homeless assistance for several federal programs, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This report examines how funds appropriated to HUD and FEMA…