Early Educational Needs of Young
Children Experiencing Homelessness
Melissa Radey, Ph.D.
&
Nebi Salim Bakare, M.A., Ph.D. Student
Florida State University
Florida State University
College of Social Work
College of Education
How many US families and
children experience homelessness?
• Homeless families comprise roughly 34% of the total
homeless population.
• Approximately 1.35 million children will experience
homelessness over the course of a year including
200,000 on any given day.
• Homelessness disproportionately affects families with the
youngest children. Over one-half of homeless children
(51%) are under the age of six, compared to just 34% of
all American children.
Difficulties of Being a Child Experiencing
Homelessness
• Children experiencing homelessness are four times more
likely to show delayed development and twice as likely to
have learning disabilities.
• 20% of preschoolers experience emotional problems.
• 16% of homeless preschoolers have behavior problems
including severe aggression and hostility.
Early Education Enrollment
• Less than 16% of eligible homeless children are enrolled
in preschool programs compared to over 50% of lowincome preschool-age children.
Why are children under-enrolled?
• Myth:
• Moms experiencing homelessness do not want their
children enrolled in school or don’t see value in
early education.
Why are children under-enrolled?
• Stigma
• Mothers will have to admit to homelessness to
outsiders (e.g., school system, child’s teacher).
• Children will be labeled by their peers as “shelter
children.”
Why are children under-enrolled?
• Logistical obstacles
• Pre-school waiting lists
• Transportation (to arrange care and to attend
school)
• Unstable housing arrangements
Why are children under-enrolled?
• Fear
• Fear of losing their children due to their inability to
provide them with basic necessities
• Fear of proper care to their children
www.epacha.org
Child Welfare System & Homelessness:
What is Child Neglect?
• Federal Definition
• Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a
parent or caretaker which results in death,
serious physical or emotional harm, sexual
abuse or exploitation; OR
• An act or failure to act which presents an
imminent risk of serious harm.
Child Welfare System & Homelessness:
The Intersection
• Families experiencing homelessness often
encounter the child welfare system.
• 50% of foster children’s birth parents had a history of
homelessness.
• 26% of families whose children were in out-of-home
care experienced eviction, 42% reported living in a
doubled-up situation, and 29% reported experiencing
homelessness.
• Homeless parents who report a history of foster care
are almost twice as likely to have their own children
placed in foster care as homeless people who were
never in foster care.
Child Welfare System & Homelessness:
The Intersection
• Foster children experience higher rates of
homelessness than other children.
• 30% of children in the foster care system have a homeless
or unstably housed parent.
• 20% of child welfare cases indicated that the families' lack
of appropriate housing influenced the decision to remove
the child or delay in family reunification.
• 30% of children in foster care could be reunited with their
parents if safe and affordable housing were available.
Cycle of Homelessness and Foster Care
Single mother suffers abuse
and trauma.
Single mother struggles to
maintain family when
battling mental illness
and substance abuse.
Single mother go under
scrutiny of agencies and
children are removed from
their parents and placed into
foster care.
Developmental Domains Susceptible to Risk
• Motor/Physical
• Fine; Gross
• Social-Emotional
• Moral; Behavioral
• Cognitive
• Sensory/Perceptual; Thinking
• Communication/Language
• Verbal; Non-verbal
Discussion Question
Why are children experiencing
homelessness at risk of
developmental delays?
Risk Factors for Developmental Delays
• Lack of experiences
• Brain development is “activity dependent.”
• Lack of “serve and return” relationships
• Harsh parenting, maltreatment
• Insecure attachments
•
•
www.developingchild.harvard.edu
http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/brain-development/faqs-on-thebrain.html
Risk Factors for Developmental Delays
• Family disorganization; lack of supervision
• Parental conflict and/or substance abuse
• Exposure to toxins
• In utero
• Environment
Risk Factors for Developmental Delays
• Exposure to Violence
• Domestic
• Community
• Media
• School
Risk Factors for Developmental Delays
• High mobility
• Poor schools
• Childhood trauma
• Lack of adequate nutrition
Risk Factors for Developmental Delays
• Brain development and nutrition
• Most sensitive between mid-gestation and two
years of age
• Malnourished children have inadequate brain
growth.
• Reduced physical growth
• Lasting behavioral and cognitive deficits
http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/brain-development/faqs-on-thebrain.html:
Chronic or
extreme
adversity
Lack of access
to medical
care and
social services
Developmental
Delays
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/resources/brie
fs/inbrief_series/inbrief_the_impact_of_early_adversity/
Toxic Stress
• Stress Levels
• Positive, Tolerable, Toxic
• Toxic stress
• prolonged exposure to stress in the absence of protective
relationships
• Toxic stress damages brain architecture.
InBrief Series:
www.developingchild.harvard.edu
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/resources/
briefs/inbrief_series/inbrief_the_science_of_ecd/
“What homeless children need most of all is a
home…but while they are experiencing
homelessness, what they need most is to
remain in school. School is one of the few
stable, secure places in the lives of homeless
children and youth - a place where they can
acquire the skills they need to help them
escape poverty.”
National Coalition for the Homeless, 1998
Increasing Preschool Enrollment
• Link parents to a network of community
resources
• Provide transportation
• Priority enrollment
• Flexible policies
• Outreach efforts
Increasing Preschool Enrollment: Training
• Case workers; Shelter Personnel
• McKinney-Vento
• Preschools: Center directors and Teachers
• McKinney-Vento; School and classroom
strategies
• Parents
• Child development; Impact of risk factors on
brain development
HANDOUT:
SPECIFIC CLASSROOM PRACTICES:
Supporting Children and Families
Experiencing Homelessness
National Center for Homeless Education
• Tip Sheets
• An audience-specific overview of how to ensure
educational access and success for children and youth
experiencing homelessness.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
School Administrators
Guidance Counselors
School Nurses
Teachers
Secretaries and Enrollment Personnel
Parents
Pupil Transportation Directors
www.center.serve.org/nche/downloads/toolkit/app_l.pdf
Mechanisms to Assist Young Children and
Families Experiencing Homelessness
• Stable housing
• Continuity of care
• Support mothers to support their families (e.g., provide
parenting skills)
• Early intervention
Resources
• National Center for Homeless Education
• www.serve.org/nche
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and
Families
• www.zerotothree.org
• Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University
• www.developingchild.harvard.edu
• National Association for the Education of Homeless
Children and Youth
• www.naehcy.org