downloadPlease join First Focus in an upcoming webinar:

Ending Family Homelessness Webinar: Identifying Effective Interventions 

Wednesday, June 18th
2pm EST – 3pm EST

Headlines are filled with indicators that our economy is improving, but the effects of the Great Recession continue to linger for millions of homeless children and families, with over 1.1 million children identified as homeless in the 2011-2012 school year.  In order to end child and family homelessness in the United States, policies need to be developed that address the root causes of family homelessness. A recent longitudinal study, Service and Housing Interventions for Families in Transition (SHIFT), sheds light on the situation of homeless children and families by examining the needs and characteristics of a group of homeless children and families over a year and a half. This study also analyzes the corresponding supports and services necessary to ensure residential stability among various subgroups of families.

Federal activity to address child and family homelessness includes the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)’s recently released Family Connection: Building Systems to End Family Homelessness, a resource designed to help communities and stakeholders build and implement an effective housing crisis response system for families and to prevent and end homelessness among children and families by 2020 as outlined in Opening Doors. USICH and Federal partners adopted a vision of an end to family homelessness to mean that no family will be without shelter and homelessness will be a rare and brief occurrence. To achieve this, Family Connection identifies key strategy areas for federal, state, and local action: coordinated assessment, tailored interventions and assistance, connection to mainstream resources, and the application of evidence-based practices for families and children experiencing homelessness.

This webinar will further detail the findings of the SHIFT study and USICH’s Family Connection plan, as well as provide additional policies that would improve outcomes for homeless children and families in the United States.

Register for this event.

Moderator:
Meghan Mack, Vice President, Nutrition, Housing, and State Partnerships, First Focus

Presenters:
Maureen Hayes, Senior Researcher, National Center on Family Homelessness, a practice area of American Institutes for Research’s Health and Social Development Program

Lindsay Knotts, Management and Program Analyst, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness

Cara Baldari, Senior Policy Director, Family Economics, First Focus