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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
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Results for homeless youth
15 results foundAuthor: O'Grady, Bill Title: Can I See Your ID? The Policing of Youth Homelessness in Toronto Summary: Homelessness, and its visibility, is back in the news in Toronto. Concerns about the scourge of panhandling have once again surfaced in local media with city councillors regularly weighing in on the ‘problem’. With little evidence that there is a dramatic increase in the numbers of people sleeping in parks or ‘aggressively’ panhandling on sidewalks, calls are once again being made for a law and order response to address this highly visible manifestation of urban poverty; to crack down on homelessness with tougher laws and stricter enforcement. All of this raises important questions about how we respond to homelessness in Canada. What does it say about Canadians when popular thought suggests that the appropriate way to address the problem of homelessness is through law enforcement? Is the use of police in dealing with people who are homeless as much a part of the Canadian response to homelessness as is the provision of shelter beds, soup kitchens and street outreach? And perhaps most importantly, what is the impact of a law and order approach to homelessness on the lives of people who experience such extreme poverty? This report sets out to document the criminalization of homelessness in Canada by exploring the relationship between homeless persons – in particular, street youth - and law enforcement officials (both the police and private security). Drawing from over 240 interviews with street youth in Toronto in 2009, as well as a review of official statistics on Ontario Safe Streets Act tickets in Toronto over the past 11 years, we explore the ways in which homelessness has been criminalized through a law and order agenda. Effective policy should be informed by research, not developed as a response to moral panics. Our research raises serious questions about the use of law enforcement as a strategy to address the visibility of homelessness in Canada. Details: Toronto: Justice for Children and Youth, and Homeless Hub Press, 2011. 96p. Source: Internet Resource: The Homeless Hub Research Report Series, Report #5: Accessed June 26, 2012 at: http://www.homelesshub.ca/ResourceFiles/CanISeeYourID_nov9.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Canada URL: http://www.homelesshub.ca/ResourceFiles/CanISeeYourID_nov9.pdf Shelf Number: 125405 Keywords: Homeless PersonsHomeless YouthHomelessness (Canada)PanhandlingPoverty |
Author: Jones, Jessica Title: Forced From Home: The Lost Boys and Girls of Central America Summary: Beginning as early as October 2011, an unprecedented increase in the number of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) from the Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras began migrating to the United States. During the first six months of fiscal year 2012, U.S. immigration agents apprehended almost double the number of children apprehended in previous years. The Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the agency tasked with the care and custody of these children, had a record number of 10,005 in its care by April 2012. In June 2012, the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) conducted field and desk research to look into possible reasons for the influx in the number of children migrating alone, and the government’s response, including conditions and policies affecting unaccompanied children. The WRC interviewed more than 150 detained children and met with government agencies tasked with responding to this influx, including the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ORR and the Department of Justice’s Executive Office of Immigration Review (DOJ/EOIR), as well as country experts, local service providers and facility staff. Our recommendations include both legislative and administrative solutions for the protection of UACs. Lost Boys and Girls of Central America Most of the children who have been apprehended as part of this influx are from three countries in Central America: Guatemala (35%), El Salvador (27%) and Honduras (25%). The majority of the children the WRC interviewed said that their flight northward had been necessitated by the dramatic and recent increases in violence and poverty in their home countries. The WRC’s independent research on the conditions in these countries corroborated the children’s reports. These increasingly desperate conditions reflect the culmination of several longstanding trends in Central America, including rising crime, systemic state corruption and entrenched economic inequality. Children from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador cited the growing influence of youth gangs and drug cartels as their primary reason for leaving. Not only are they subject to violent attacks by the gangs, they explained, they are also targeted by police, who assume out of hand that all children are gang-affiliated. Girls also face gender-based violence, as rape becomes increasingly a tool of control. Children from Guatemala cited rising poverty, poor harvests and continuing unemployment as reasons for migrating. Almost all of the children’s migration arose out of longstanding, complex problems in their home countries – problems that have no easy or short-term solutions. The title of this report, “The Lost Boys and Girls of Central America,” reflects that violence in Central America is generating “lost” children. Until conditions for children in these countries change substantially, we expect this trend will be the new norm. Details: New York: Women's Refugee Commission, 2012. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2012 at: http://wrc.ms/WuG8lM. Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://wrc.ms/WuG8lM. Shelf Number: 126814 Keywords: Homeless YouthImmigrantsImmigration DetentionJuvenile DetentionUnaccompanied Minors (U.S.) |
Author: Basi, Sandip Title: Housing Homeless Youth in Vancouver: Key Barriers and Strategic Responses Summary: The objective of this study − which was developed by master's students from Simon Fraser University's School of Public Policy for BC Housing − is to describe an effective strategy for tackling youth homelessness in Vancouver. Our approach focuses on four key deliverables: 1) a literature review on youth homelessness, 2) a summary of successful youth-homelessness programs and policies, 3) three case studies of programs that effectively address youth homelessness, and 4) an inventory of services for homeless youth in Vancouver. The process of selecting successful practices begins with a short review of the considerable literature on the subject. The literature reflects a general consensus on several important aspects of the problem, such as the diversity of the population, common causes and accepted strategies. Informed by these sources and by recommendations from policymakers and practitioners in the field, we selected several practices to review from different Canadian cities (notably Calgary and Toronto) and comparable countries (Australia, the U.K. and the United States). The study also includes a thorough review of the services available to homeless youth in Vancouver as well as input from Vancouver-area practitioners about what is working, what isn't and what still needs to be done. This data informs our final recommendations about what a strategy to address youth homelessness in Vancouver should include. (Our case studies and inventory of Vancouver services can be found in the appendices.) Ultimately, our findings show that what’s missing in Vancouver is not a specific service or policy, but a system-wide strategy to tackle youth homelessness. Our recommendations highlight three overarching principles that should guide such a strategy and a list of specific programs that would help deliver the objectives of each principle. Details: Burnaby, BC, Canada: BC Housing, 2012. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 26, 2012 at: http://homelesshub.ca/ResourceFiles/Housing%20Homeless%20Youth%20in%20Vancouver%20Key%20Barriers%20and%20Strategic%20Responses.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Canada URL: http://homelesshub.ca/ResourceFiles/Housing%20Homeless%20Youth%20in%20Vancouver%20Key%20Barriers%20and%20Strategic%20Responses.pdf Shelf Number: 127001 Keywords: At-risk YouthHomeless YouthHomelessness (Vancouver, Canada)Street Youth |
Author: Ryckmans, Jean-Christophe Title: The Street Children of Nepal: Anthroposociological Study of Social, Cultural and Communicational Practices Summary: This study is based on ten years of observation and intervened on with the street children and youth who are “isolated” on the street and excluded from all parental or family support. They are either plastic pickers, thieves, beggars or money collectors in public transportation on means. These youth, these children are living on the fringes of the Nepalese society with their own habits, dreams and perspectives… This book has been structured in the following way: first, an introduction which explains the general situation on of the street childhood in Nepal and, paradoxically, the huge difficulty to “theorize” or generalize it. This introduction will open up new paths that the following chapters will take. It will set out different points of view (seven) which we considered useful to understand the street child in the complexity of his identity and of his everyday life. Thus, seven chapters which will deal with several different ways of looking at the street child, at a street group or, in a utopian way, at the street childhood in Nepal. Details: Kathmandu, Nepal: CPCS International, 2012. 304p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 10, 2012 at: www.cpcs-int.org Year: 2012 Country: Nepal URL: Shelf Number: 127194 Keywords: BeggingHomeless YouthStreet Children (Nepal)Street Youth |
Author: Feeny, Thomas Title: In Best or Vested Interests? An Exploration of the Concept and Practice of Family Reunification for Street Children Summary: As the movement advocating children’s participation in their own life decisions gathered pace in the late 1990s and early 21st century, governments were left with increasingly few options given their continued antipathy to the presence of these children on the streets. NGOs had begun to take the initiative by offering non-formal education opportunities and vocational training to try and give children the skills to get themselves off the streets, but these efforts continued to struggle in the wider context of a society still very much averse to the mere existence of these children. The response taken by many was therefore to move towards preventive or ‘early’ intervention, spurred on by better understandings of the multiple factors both pushing and pulling children onto the streets. It was into this arena that family reunification programmes emerged – the main characteristics being (a) recognition of the family as the most sustainable partner with regard to the children’s welfare; (b) an acknowledgement that the original causes of family separation need addressing and resolving; and (b) a belief that this can be achieved through procedural and participatory counseling of the child and/or the family members concerned. To suggest that these ideas were completely new would be wrong – as noted earlier, the importance of the family environment had already been emphasised in both religious ideals and the legal provisions of the CRC. Rather, it was that the context proved more fertile to such programmes, with the touted high-profile success of reunification strategies targeting children affected by war, such as Rwanda in the late 1990s. Family-partnered interventions were also in tune with contemporary donor demands for sustainability and participation, while also allowing NGOs to claim such programmes as morally and ethically ‘correct’ and in the ‘best interests’ of the child. Unfortunately, the most important question of methodology – how this reunification process should best be performed – remains unclear. Whatever the motivation behind them, family reunification programmes are now rapidly taking off in many countries around the world, in spite of the inherent methodological uncertainty. Already, organisations have begun to proudly proclaim 80-90% success rates for their reunification programmes, and more and more of their fellow agencies are showing signs of interest. This study sets out to go ‘behind the scenes’ of family reunification programmes from a number of perspectives. In Part One, it will look at the conceptual theory that underpins this intervention, and examine how constructions of the ‘family’ and the ‘child’ have influenced policy making in this field. It will then reconsider these in light of contemporary research material on the social realities of street children’s lives. Part Two will then explore the practical issues relating to the entire process of reunification itself, from the early stages of identifying children on the streets to monitoring their welfare in the weeks and months after reunification with their family. A final Conclusion will then discuss the findings of the study and its implications for organisations operating or considering starting family reunification programmes with street children. Areas for future research are also highlighted. Details: London: Consortium for Street Children, 2005. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 3, 2013 at: http://www.streetchildren.org.uk/_uploads/Publications/In_Best_or_Vested_Interests.pdf Year: 2005 Country: International URL: http://www.streetchildren.org.uk/_uploads/Publications/In_Best_or_Vested_Interests.pdf Shelf Number: 128612 Keywords: Child ProtectionFamily Reunification ProgramsHomeless PersonsHomeless YouthRunawaysStreet Children |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "Where Do You Want Us to Go?" Abuses against Street Children in Uganda Summary: Over half of all Ugandans are under the age of 15 and children are the single largest demographic group living in poverty. Street children in Uganda's urban centers face the risk of violence, abuse, and discrimination at the hands of the police and the population at large. They lack basic necessities, including access to clean water, food, medical attention, shelter, and education. Based on interviews with over 130 current and former street children, "Where Do You Want Us to Go?" documents human rights violations against street children by the police, local government officials, older street children and adults, and members of the community. Police and other officials, such as those from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), have beaten, extorted money, and arbitrarily detained street children often in roundups. Although Uganda has put in place a legal framework designed to protect child rights, including those of street children, key state child protection agencies are failing to respond adequately or effectively to the needs of these children. Human Rights Watch calls on the government of Uganda to end to the roundups and abuses against street children and implement its child protection system. Those responsible for abuse, including police and officials, should be investigated and prosecuted. International partners should consider supporting civil society organizations involved in child protection and activities directly targeting street children throughout the country. Details: New York: HRW, 2014. 83p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 17, 2014 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/uganda0714_forinsert_ForUpload.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Uganda URL: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/uganda0714_forinsert_ForUpload.pdf Shelf Number: 132705 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionHomeless YouthPovertyStreet Children |
Author: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Title: Report to Congress on the Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Fiscal Years 2012 and 2013 Summary: Almost 40 years ago, the groundbreaking Runaway and Homeless Youth Act created the first line of defense for young people who had run away from home, become homeless, or been asked to leave home by their families. Congress recognized the precarious circumstances of young people who could not return home but did not yet have the financial, social, or emotional resources to live successfully on their own. Runaway and homeless youth have often been traumatized by violence and abuse at home or in their communities. They have never had, or have lost contact with, supportive adults who could provide guidance and model healthy decision‐making. Also, these young people often fail to develop the educational and job‐readiness skills that are so crucial to financial and housing stability in adulthood. Young people who live on the streets are at high risk of developing serious, life‐long health, behavioral, and emotional problems. They suffer from high rates of depression, substance abuse, and post‐traumatic stress disorder. They are often survivors of physical and sexual abuse. The longer they live on the streets, the more likely they are to fall victim to sexual exploitation and human trafficking. For all these reasons, programs that keep young people from being homeless - whether by providing preventive services or rapid, effective family reunification (if appropriate) or case management once youth are on the streets - are key components of the social safety net for our Nation's most vulnerable youth. Today, that safety net is woven by the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, most recently reauthorized by the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act of 2008, and administered by the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) within the Administration for Children & Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act authorizes the three Runaway and Homeless Youth Grant Programs that enable community‐based organizations and shelters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories to serve and protect runaway, homeless, missing, and sexually exploited youth. These three programs are: The Basic Center Program, authorized under Part A, provides emergency shelter. The Transitional Living Program, authorized under Part B, offers longer‐term care that helps prepare older youth for self‐sufficiency and adulthood. The Street Outreach Program, authorized under Part E of the Act, makes contact with youth on the streets, with the goal of connecting them to services. Bolstering these frontline services is a network of support, including: A National Communications System, which serves as a national hotline connecting young people to programs, services, and transportation back home, authorized under Part C; and FYSB's coordinating, training, research, and other activities, which provide the means through which the federal government can continually refine and improve its response to youth homelessness as well as the ability of the youth‐services field to assist young people in need, authorized under Part D of the Act. To ensure that the local programs FYSB funds effectively meet the needs of runaway and homeless youth, the Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Monitoring System assesses each program's services. This report documents the ways that FYSB, continuing its longtime commitment to combating youth homelessness, worked to create a range of services available to young people across the Nation, so that they had somewhere to turn in fiscal years (FYs) 2012 and 2013. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 18, 2014 at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fysb/rhy_report_to_congress_fy1213.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fysb/rhy_report_to_congress_fy1213.pdf Shelf Number: 133376 Keywords: Child ProtectionHomeless YouthHomelessnessRunaways (U.S.)Sexually Exploited Youth |
Author: Murphy, Laura T. Title: Trafficking and Exploitative Labor among Homeless Youth in New Orleans Summary: According to the Global Slavery Index, about 60,000 people are currently suffering under conditions of forced labor in the United States. But more detailed and systematic data are needed - especially about U.S. cities said to be "hubs for human trafficking." In Louisiana, official data are starting to be collected after a law was passed in 2014. Meanwhile, as part of a larger national effort, we have undertaken a study of trafficking among homeless youth in New Orleans. Located at the edge of the French Quarter, Covenant House New Orleans provides shelter and services to homeless, runaway, and at-risk youth ages 16 to 22, and to their children. In a replication and extension of a previous Covenant House study in New York, we interviewed 99 New Orleans clients, asking about various kinds of victimization and probing to see if their work experiences met federal legal criteria for sex trafficking, in which "a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud or coercion" or the person is under 18 years old; or for forced labor, defined as "the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery." Overall, our study revealed that 14% of respondents were identified as victims of some form of legally defined trafficking, with eleven who said they were trafficked for sex, five who reported being subject to other kinds of forced labor, and two reporting both kinds of exploitation. Covenant House New Orleans cares for about 615 youth aged 16 to 23 over the course of a year, and our results indicate that about 85 residents per year are likely to have been trafficking victims as currently legally defined. More broadly, almost a third of our respondents reported having been approached by strangers on the street to trade sex or to engage in other illegal or informal work. Most assumed they were being offered an opportunity to work in the sex trade. Recruitment into the drug trade happened very young, with one respondent starting at age nine and others in their teenage years. Our study also revealed that homeless youth are vulnerable to other kinds of exploitation - such as dangerous work conditions or wage theft. Experiences of Trafficking - Primarily for Sex We uncovered only five legally defined labor trafficking cases, and four of them were youth forced into drug dealing. Only one person reported being brought into factory labor via fraud in Mexico. Forced sexual labor was the main form of trafficking experienced by victims in our study, reported by eight females and three males. Three victims identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual. - Of the 11 people who were trafficked for sex, seven are considered trafficking victims by law because they were selling sex under age 18 either voluntarily or through force, and three of those seven continued to be coerced by pimps as young adults. Four older respondents reported situations of force, fraud, or coercion that compelled them to engage in sex work, so they too would be considered trafficked regardless of their age. Two young men who reported engaging in sex work as children indicated that they had not experienced any compulsion to participate. Sexual Labor and Sex for Survival One fourth of our respondents had been involved in sexual labor of some form. Thirteen respondents had worked as commercial sex workers, ten had worked in the sex industry as exotic dancers, and two had worked in the French Quarter as "shot girls" who use sexual flirtation to entice customers to buy drinks. - One third of all the young women we interviewed and almost a fifth of the men had engaged in sexual labor of some kind. In a typical year, therefore, Covenant House serves about 154 residents likely to have engaged in this kind of labor. - Fifteen respondents had engaged in "survival sex," performing a sex act in exchange for food, housing, or some other basic necessity they believed they had no other way to obtain. - Because there has been significant attention to survival sex prevalence among transgender youth, we analyzed that data and found that there were no clear cases of trafficking among the three transgender respondents. One reported resorting to survival sex on occasion for survival purposes. All three transgender respondents had experienced both sexual and physical abuse. Lessons and Policy Implications - Covenant House and similar shelters should increase beds and space for homeless youth, especially those involved in the sex trade. In cooperation with other providers, shelters should do more to help victims of sex trafficking, including young men as well as women. - Private and public agencies should improve work opportunities and training for young adults. - Currently, young adults "age out" of many legal protections and eligibility for foster care. Legislators should look for ways to ensure greater continuity into young adulthood. - The legislature and local police departments should fund and require programs to help law enforcement officers identify victims of trafficking; and community activists, legal professionals, and service providers should spread information about Louisiana's new law to vacate convictions for people who turn out to be trafficking victims. - To help communities cope, more research is needed on patterns of forced drug dealing. . Details: New Orleans: Loyola University, Modern Slavery Research Project and Covenant House, 2015. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2015 at: http://www.covenanthouseno.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Trafficking-Exploitative-Labor-Homeless-Youth-New-Orleans.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.covenanthouseno.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Trafficking-Exploitative-Labor-Homeless-Youth-New-Orleans.pdf Shelf Number: 135545 Keywords: Child LaborChild ProstitutionChild Sexual ExploitationChild Trafficking (New Orleans)Homeless YouthHuman TraffickingSex Trafficking |
Author: Owasanoye, Bolaji, ed. Title: Street Children and the Juvenile Justice System in Lagos State Summary: The findings of research carried out between the la te eighties and early nineties indicate that three categories of Nigerian children spend m o re tim e on the streets than their peers. These are street working or working street children, that is, child ren who are on the streets to work and regularly return to their f a m ilies af ter work. These incl ude hawkers, scavengers, car-washers/watchers. Secondly, those who are in the streets only to play gam e s such as football. The dram atic success of young footballers in FIFA Under 17 W o rld Ch am pionship in China in 1985 and in Japan 1993 which were accom p anied by generous gifts by the Federal and State Governm e nts has led to an increase in the num bers of these children and in the intensity of street gam e s of ten resulting in inform al and partial street closure. Thirdly, st reet children defined as those who actually live on the streets and sleep under bridge s, and flyovers as well as in cul-de-sacs , uncom pleted/dilapidated buildings, abandoned vehicles and m a rket stalls. Although children who spend m u ch tim e on the street s are autom a tically exposed to various types of risks and hazards, depending on the socio-econom ic characteristics of neighbourhood in which streets are located, those who sleep on the streets have been identified as contending with grave problem s com p ared to the other two categories of children m e ntioned earlier. The physical, social and psychological problem s of street children are truly daunting. They lack basic resources with which to sustain healthy living. Consequently, they suffered from preventable skin and parasitic diseases. Moreover, the violent environm ent of the street in which they reside aid their adoption of self -protective m echanism s , which f u rther lead to their stigm a tization by the public. The findings of a survey of Area Boys and Girls in Lagos State in 1993 revealed that street children tend to be exploited by drug peddlers who insist that they m u st buy hard-drugs in order to rem a in in particular niches on the streets. Som e tim es th ey are required to pay dues to persons who claim to be their 'landlords'. Occasionally they ar e expected to render som e m e nial and indecent services to those violent 'landlords'. Street children have com e to know that there are no free spaces even on the streets. In spite of the m e ntioned problem s of street ch ildren, they have not received m u ch research let alone intervention attention. It is in view of th e relative neglect of street children that one is delighted that this book has been written. Details: Human Development Initiatives, 2004. 134p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 4, 2016 at: http://www.eldis.org/vfile/upload/1/document/0708/DOC16855.pdf Year: 2004 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.eldis.org/vfile/upload/1/document/0708/DOC16855.pdf Shelf Number: 130045 Keywords: Homeless YouthJuvenile Justice SystemStreet Children |
Author: Great Britain. HM Inspectorate of Probation Title: Accommodation of Homeless: 16 and 17 Year Old Children Working with Youth Offending Teams Summary: In 2009, the House of Lords gave a landmark judgment clarifying the responsibilities of children's social care services for the provision of accommodation and support to homeless 16 and 17 year olds. With the impetus of the Southwark judgment , local authorities reviewed their procedures and (alongside others) produced new protocols, guidance and pathways. The prospects for homeless 16 and 17 year olds were improved as it paved the way for better access to accommodation and support services because of the judgment and the commitments that flowed from it. Six years on, this inspection revealed a mixed picture on the ground. Most distressingly, one in three 16 and 17 years olds in our inspection were housed in accommodation we considered unsuitable or unsafe. We were particularly concerned about the risks those sharing hostel or bed and breakfast accommodation with adult strangers were exposed to. No one local authority suggested to us that these shortcomings were because of a lack of funding. They appeared to stem more immediately from poor or incomplete assessment, a lack of joined-up working and recognition of children's wider needs, and a tendency to place children as though they were adults. Our inspection found that the range of suitable accommodation provision was limited and this resulted in some children being placed in accommodation that did not meet their needs. The children whose cases were reviewed had all suffered some form of trauma in their lives. Most had been previously known to children's social care services and some were subject to care orders. . They often exhibited difficult behaviour. All of those whom inspectors saw were not yet capable of successful independence and still needed some form of parenting and support. Again, we found a mixed picture on the ground. A minority received excellent support, whereas too many had been given a roof over their heads with little other than a few hours a week support from visiting professionals. An important factor in the successful transition of children to independent adulthood was the continued provision of support when they reached 18 years old. This was not available to all children, the deciding factor being whether they had become Looked After under the Children Act 1989, giving them rights as care leavers to support beyond the age of 18 years. It is not known how many 16 and 17 year olds find themselves alone and relying on their local authority for accommodation to avoid homelessness. The data and information collected locally and collated nationally3 is not sufficiently comprehensive or joined-up. In our inspection of six local authorities we saw no evidence of Local Safeguarding Children Boards exercising any scrutiny of the local situation. What is more, in areas where there were shortfalls, senior managers seemed tolerant and accepting of the state of affairs. Refreshingly, we found examples of excellent practice, and we set out specific examples in this report. In summary, two in three children were in suitable accommodation; one in three was not. The wider support they received was of variable quality - sometimes excellent, in other cases woefully inadequate. These differences are hard to comprehend, given the clear intentions of the Southwark judgment. Details: London: The Inspectorate, 2016. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 14, 2016 at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/09/Thematic-Report-Accommodation-of-Homeless-16-and-17-Year-Old-Children.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/09/Thematic-Report-Accommodation-of-Homeless-16-and-17-Year-Old-Children.pdf Shelf Number: 147846 Keywords: Homeless YouthHomelessnessJuvenile OffendersJuvenile ProbationSocial ServicesYouth Accommodation |
Author: Burwick, Andrew Title: Identifying and Serving LGBTQ Youth: Case Studies of Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Grantees Summary: Mathematica and our partners at the Williams Institute recently conducted a series of case studies of four local agencies receiving grants from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Runaway and Homeless Youth Program, focusing on services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Researchers learned about agencies' experiences collecting and using data on sexual orientation and gender identity, strategies for understanding and addressing the needs of LGBTQ youth, and potential areas for future research. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation in ACF, sponsored the case studies. Details: Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research, 2014. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 26, 2016 at: http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/safe-schools-and-youth/identifying-and-serving-lgbtq-youth-case-studies-of-runaway-and-homeless-youth-grantees/ Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/safe-schools-and-youth/identifying-and-serving-lgbtq-youth-case-studies-of-runaway-and-homeless-youth-grantees/ Shelf Number: 132001 Keywords: Homeless PersonsHomeless YouthLGBTQ YouthRunaways |
Author: Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L. Title: Runaway and Homeless Youth: Demographics and Programs Summary: This report discusses runaway and homeless youth, and the federal response to support this population. There is no single definition of the terms "runaway youth" or "homeless youth." However, both groups of youth share the risk of not having adequate shelter and other provisions, and may engage in harmful behaviors while away from a permanent home. These two groups also include "thrownaway" youth who are asked to leave their homes, and may include other vulnerable youth populations, such as current and former foster youth and youth with mental health or other issues. The term "unaccompanied youth" encompasses both runaways and homeless youth, and is used in national data counts of the population. Youth most often cite family conflict as the major reason for their homelessness or episodes of running away. A youth's sexual orientation, sexual activity, pregnancy, school problems, and alcohol and drug use are strong predictors of family discord. The precise number of homeless and runaway youth is unknown due to their residential mobility and overlap among the populations. Determining the number of these youth is further complicated by the lack of a standardized methodology for counting the population and inconsistent definitions of what it means to be homeless or a runaway. Estimates of the homeless youth exceed 1 million. Estimates of runaway youth - including "thrownaway" youth (youth asked or forced to leave their homes)are between 1 million and 1.7 million in a given year. From the early 20th century through the 1960s, the needs of runaway and homeless youth were handled locally through the child welfare agency, juvenile justice courts, or both. The 1970s marked a shift toward federal oversight of programs that help youth who had run afoul of the law, including those who committed status offenses (i.e., running away). Congress passed the Runaway Youth Act of 1974 as Title III of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (P.L. 93-415) to assist runaways through services specifically for this population. The federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Program (RHYP) has since been expanded through reauthorization laws enacted approximately every five years since the 1970s, most recently by the Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act (P.L. 110-378) in 2008. Funding authorization expired in FY2013, and Congress has continued to appropriate funding for the act: $119.1 million was appropriated for FY2016. The Runaway and Homeless Youth program is made up of three components: the Basic Center Program (BCP), Transitional Living Program (TLP), and Street Outreach Program (SOP). The Basic Center Program provides temporary shelter, counseling, and after care services to runaway and homeless youth under age 18 and their families. The BCP has served approximately 31,000 to 36,000 annually in recent years. The Transitional Living Program is targeted to older youth ages 16 through 22 (and sometimes an older age), and has served approximately 3,000 to 3,500 youth annually in recent years. Youth who use the TLP receive longer-term housing with supportive services. The SOP provides education, treatment, counseling, and referrals for runaway, homeless, and street youth who have been subjected to or are at risk of being subjected to sexual abuse, sex exploitation, and trafficking. Each year, the SOP makes hundreds of thousands of contacts with street youth (some of whom have multiple contacts). Related services authorized by the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act include a national communication system to facilitate communication between service providers, runaway youth, and their families; training and technical support for grantees; and evaluations of the programs, among other activities. The 2008 reauthorizing legislation expanded the program, requiring HHS to conduct an incidence and prevalence study of runaway and homeless youth. To date, this study has not been conducted; however, efforts are underway among multiple federal agencies to collect better information on these youth as part of a larger strategy to end youth homelessness by 2020. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Services, 2016. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: CRS Report RL33785: Accessed September 26, 2016 at: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33785.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33785.pdf Shelf Number: 146141 Keywords: Homeless PersonsHomeless YouthHomelessnessRunawaysStatus Offenders |
Author: LeCroy & Milligan Associates, Inc. Title: Youth On Their Own Final Evaluation Report Summary: Youth On Their Own (YOTO) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Tucson, Arizona that provides assistance to homeless unaccompanied youth in the 7th-12th grades so that they may graduate high school. The YOTO program includes three major components: 1) providing a monthly Student Living Expenses stipend of up to $140 to students that maintain passing grades and good attendance; 2) helping students meet their basic daily needs by providing items such as food, clothing, school supplies, and a bus pass; and 3) offering personal counseling and success coaching in-house and referrals to collaborating community agencies that provide medical, dental, and visions care, housing, and employment opportunities. LeCroy & Milligan Associates (LMA) began providing evaluation services to YOTO in March 2013. Among the evaluation activities conducted were developing a Theory of Change program map (identifying program outcomes and the interventions and preconditions needed to achieve them), developing and administering a survey to students twice during the school year (Student Survey), and developing and administering a survey three times during the school year to school staff that assist the program (School Liaison Survey). This final evaluation incorporates data from a variety of sources: YOTO's main student information spreadsheet (includes data students provide on the program application, graduation data, and stipend distribution records), two administrations of the Student Survey, and two focus groups. Findings from the three administrations of the School Liaison Survey were provided to YOTO in separate process evaluation reports. The following are the key findings of the final evaluation presented by report section. Details: Tucson, AZ: LeCroy & Milligan Associates, 2014. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 12, 2016 at: http://www.lecroymilligan.com/data/resources/yoto-final-evaluation-reportfinal-2.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.lecroymilligan.com/data/resources/yoto-final-evaluation-reportfinal-2.pdf Shelf Number: 145435 Keywords: At-Risk YouthEducation ProgramsHomeless Youth |
Author: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Title: Vulnerable Young People: Interactions across homelessness, youth justice and child protection Summary: This report reveals that individuals who experience multiple, cross-sector services in the specialist homelessness, protection or youth justice service areas are a particularly vulnerable group. Clients experiencing 2 or more of these services were more likely than specialist homelessness services-only clients: to report having substance use issues; to report having mental health issues; to have an over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; and to receive more days of support and more support periods from specialist homelessness services agencies. Details: Canberra: AIHW, 2016. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 13, 2016 at: http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129557799 Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129557799 Shelf Number: 146102 Keywords: At-Risk YouthChild ProtectionDisadvantaged YouthHomeless YouthHomelessnessMental Health ServicesMentally Ill Persons |
Author: Dank, Meredith Title: Pretesting a Human Trafficking Screening Tool in the Child Welfare and Runaway and Homeless Youth Systems Summary: Despite the fact that youth involved in the child welfare (CW) and runaway and homeless youth (RHY) systems are particularly vulnerable to being trafficked, there is no consensus screening tool to identify trafficking experiences among such youth. In order to better serve youth trafficking victims, this study developed a Human Trafficking Screening Tool (HTST) and pretested it with 617 RHY- and CW-involved youth. This research established that the screening tool is accessible to youth and easy to administer, and that both the full-length tool and a shorter version were effective in identifying youth who are trafficking victims in RHY and CW systems, though additional research with more youth is needed. Methodology The tool was pretested with 617 youth, ages 12 to 24, across 14 RHY and CW settings in New York, Texas, and Wisconsin from March to November 2016. The survey captured their trafficking experiences as well as demographic characteristics and other life experiences related to trafficking (e.g., running away, drug abuse). The 19-item HTST was embedded in a longer Life Experiences Survey, along with a 6- item short-form version called the HTST-SF. The full HTST took approximately two minutes to complete, while the HTST-SF took less than a minute. Most youth completed the survey in an anonymous self-administered electronic form. A random 25 percent were administered the survey by a practitioner, who also recorded their own perspective on the youth's trafficking status. Key Findings Overall, the HTST (which measures both lifetime and past-year experiences) and the HTST-SF performed equally well at capturing trafficking experiences for most youth. Sampled youth were mostly 18 to 24 years old and in RHY-system settings. - HTST covered the key dimensions of youth's trafficking experiences, according to Urban Institute researchers, members of the HHS study team, and RHY and CW youth helping on the study's youth advisory council. - HTST could be implemented and understood in RHY and CW settings. Practitioners assessed the tool as easy to administer and youth's responses as truthful and understanding HTST questions. Further, youth's inclination to respond was not affected by whether the tool was self- or practitioner administered. - Responses to the HTST were correlated to known trafficking risk factors and outcomes, including running away from home, being kicked out of one's home, abusing prescription or over-the-counter drugs, trading sex for something of value on their own (i.e., without the presence of a third-party exploiter), being arrested, and seeking help. - The HTST correctly predicted trafficking victimization. For approximately 6 in 10 youth, the HTST correctly predicted youth to be trafficking victims according to administrating practitioners' beliefs and observations. Additionally, the HTST correctly predicted 8 in 10 times which youth were not trafficking victims, according to practitioners' beliefs and observations. - The short form of HTST performed equally well as the full version, with regard to all measures of validity. Since the HTST-SF took less than a minute to administer, it would appear preferable when time is an issue, unless practitioners are interested in capturing more specific dimensions of youth's trafficking experiences. Table 3 on page 21 shows the long form of the tool, and Figure 2 on page 30 lists the questions from the short form. Conclusion Responses to the 19-item HTST and 6-item HTST-SF were correlated with several known risk factors and outcomes associated with trafficking victimization, including running away from home, being kicked out by parents/guardians, exchanging sex on their own for something of value, abusing over-thecounter drugs, and seeking help. Further, both tools correctly identified trafficking victims 6 in 10 times and nonvictims 8 in 10 times, based on practitioners' assessments of youth's trafficking experiences. Given that practitioners also provided positive feedback on the tools, which took two minutes or less to administer, this study concludes that both the HTST and HTST-SF are accessible, effective tools for screening youth for human trafficking in CW and RHY settings. Given limited samples of certain subpopulations, we recommend additional testing of youth under age 18 and youth in CW settings, in addition to further validation work with a nationally representative sample of youth. Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2017. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 20, 2018 at: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/93596/pretesting_tool_1.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/93596/pretesting_tool_1.pdf Shelf Number: 148890 Keywords: Child WelfareHomeless YouthHuman TraffickingRunaways |