The California Homeless Youth Project

DECEMBER NEWSLETTER

CA State Action Plan to End Youth Homelessness Join us for the Official Release
We are proud to announce the release of More than a Roof: How California Can End Youth Homelessness, a plan for state action. Please join us on Tuesday, January 8th in Room 3191 at the Capitol for a press conference held by Senator Liu's office to discuss the report, and hear about plans from the Senator to introduce legislation in the upcoming session. We will also be screening our documentary, Voices from the Street: Homeless Youth Speak Out on State Policy, accompanied by discussion with current and formerly homeless youth. Please join us there!

ABOUT US

The California Homeless Youth Project (HYP) is a non-partisan research and policy initiative of the California Research Bureau that highlights the issues and challenges faced by young people who are homeless or lack stable housing. For more information, please see our website.
HYP VIDEO WALL

2012 Research Round-Up

2012 marks our 3rd annual Research Roundup, an annual installment showcasing research that draws attention to the needs of unaccompanied homeless youth in California and throughout the US. The following list is intended to highlight the most important research and resources developed on homeless youth in the last year. Please read and share! Reports are listed in chronological order: 1. Research to Action: Sexually Exploited Minors Needs and Strengths 2. Sexual Exploitation and Homeless Youth in California: What Policymakers Need to Know 3. A Toolkit for Counting Homeless Youth 4. Serving Our Youth: Findings from a National Survey of Service Providers Working with LGBT Youth Who Are Homeless or Are At Risk for Becoming Homeless 5. Family Intervention: Youth Services of Tulsa 6. Los Angeles Convening on Youth Homelessness 7. Counting Homeless Youth: Developing Key Partnerships 8. Supporting Homeless Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Youth 9. A Shared Vision for Youth: Common Outcomes and Indicators 10. The National Research Agenda: Priorities for Advancing Our Understanding of Homelessness 11. Best Practices in Interagency Collaboration: Access to Food for Homeless and Highly Mobile Students 12. Its a Data Driven World: Making the Most of the 2013 Youth-Inclusive PIT Count 13. A History of Runaway and Homeless Youth Act Funding 14. Housing and Outreach Strategies for

Check out our video wall featuring interviews with young people who have experienced homelessness, highlighting their experiences, aspirations, and ideas for change.
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Rural Youth: Best Practices from the Rural Youth Survey 15. Comparing White and African American Homeless Youth in San Francisco: Research Findings and Policy Implications
1. Research to Action: Sexually Exploited Minors Needs and Strengths, By West Coast Childrens Clinic (2012)

This study illustrates practice recommendations to best serve sexually exploited minors (SEM), and offers policy recommendations for systems of care. West Coast Childrens Clinic had a 2-year collaborative training and research study aimed at better understanding the clinical issues faced by SEM in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. The West Coast Childrens Clinic and partner agencies designed and implemented the first SEM mental health assessment tool (CANS-CSE), which was used to determine clinical interventions by developing a profile of SEM.
2. Sexual Exploitation and Homeless Youth in California: What Policymakers Need to Know, By Shahera Hyatt and Kathryn Spuur (May 2012)

This HYP special topic report explores the intersection of youth homelessness with sexual exploitation, highlights legislation in California aimed at addressing the problem, and reviews efforts underway in Alameda County, and offers multi-level recommendations to assist policymakers in responding to this population.
3. A Toolkit for Counting Homeless Y o u t h, By Mark Silverbush and Shahera Hyatt (June 2012)

This Toolkit provides best practices for conducting an effective homeless youth count. It includes a proposed definition of homeless youth, principles for successfully finding and counting youth, recommendations on how to mobilize for support, and examples of the experiences of the Continuum of Care in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
4. Serving Our Youth: Findings from a National Survey of Service Providers Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth Who Are Homeless or Are At Risk for Becoming Homeless, By The Williams Institute, The Palette Fund, and True Colors Fund (July 2012)

This report discusses the findings from a survey administered to providers serving LGBT homeless youth. The purpose of the survey was to assess: 1) the prevalence of LGBT homeless youth receiving services and 2) the service experience of LGBT homeless youth. Findings indicate a high prevalence of LGBT youth experiencing homelessness due to family rejection of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Strategies to improve delivery of service to LGBT youth experiencing homelessness are discussed.
5. Family Intervention: Youth Services of Tulsa, By The National Alliance to End

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Homelessness (July 2012)

This report highlights family intervention services (i.e. family reunification, family connecting, and family support services) that Youth Services of Tulsa (YST) provides to families of runaway and homeless youth. YST provides family intervention services within a continuum of service options and a family oriented atmosphere at the shelter. YST uses a strength-based and solution-focused approach when working families with a focus on providing youth with opportunities for permanent connections. Incredibly, 98% of youth served by YST transitioned to a safe place (i.e. reunification, a transitional living program, Job Corps, or another program) after completing the program. Recently, Youth Services of Tulsa participated in a webinar to discuss opportunities and challenges of providing intervention services to families and how the organization reduces barriers to these services.
6. Los Angeles Convening on Youth Homelessness, By the National Alliance to End Homelessness (July 2012)

Representatives from over 25 organizations in California came together to discuss youth homelessness in Los Angeles and identify progress that can be made to end youth homelessness at the local, state and federal levels. Short- and long-term strategies are highlighted. Organizations overviewed reports based on services provided to homeless youth, which discussed progress and challenges of PIT counts, demographics of youth served in Los Angeles, experiences of homelessness, gaps in strategies, and emerging and promising practices.
7. Counting Homeless Youth: Developing Key Partnerships, By the National Alliance to End Homelessness and The National Network for Youth. (September 2012)

This report recognizes the development of key partnerships among social service providers as a vital first step to conduct effective local Point in Time (PIT) counts in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements. It is imperative that key partners, such as youth experiencing homelessness, are part of the planning and execution of the PIT count in order to best accurately depict the prevalence of homelessness. Data from PIT counts can frame the types of interventions needed (i.e. housing and services) and inform systemic planning and funding.
8. Supporting Homeless Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Youth, By the National Alliance to End Homelessness. (September 2012)

This report emphasizes a need to competently serve transgender and gender nonconforming homeless youth, who are often misunderstood and underserved when seeking services, in order to support these youth. In addition, NAEH highlights common challenges and

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provides recommendations for providers working with this population.

9. A Shared Vision for Youth: Common Outcomes and Indicators, By the National Collaboration for Youth Research Group and the Forum for Youth Investment. (Sep/Oct 2012)

This report identifies desirable outcomes for youth and discusses a lack of a common understanding of definitions among the multiple systems, which contributes to overlooked collaboration opportunities. This framework is built on Ready by 21 principles, including the target of making sure youth are healthy, safe, connected, and productive.
10. The National Research Agenda: Priorities for Advancing Our Understanding of Homelessness, By The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (October 2012)

The purpose of this agenda is to meet the goals of the USICH report, Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. The agenda outlines the priority areas of federal, local, and private funders for future research in eight key domains: affordable and supportive housing, cost offsets/cost effectiveness, homeless crisis responses, homelessness prevalence and risk and protective factors, Improving health, wellbeing, and stability, justice linkages, accessing mainstream benefits, and pathways to employment.
11. Best Practices in Interagency Collaboration: Access to Food for Homeless and Highly Mobile Students, By National Center for Homeless Education at the SERVE Center (October 2012)

This report is part of the National Center for Homeless Education's Best Practices in Interagency Collaboration series, which is intended for state and local child nutrition program administrators, cafeteria managers, State Coordinators for Homeless Education, and local homeless education liaisons. This brief report explains the U.S. Department of Agricultures Child Nutrition Division policies regarding eligibility for free school meals for certain homeless, migrant, runaway, and foster students. This report also overviews frequently asked questions about implementing these policies to best ensure students can access free food during school and outside of school.
12. It's a Data Driven World: Making the Most of the 2013 Youth-Inclusive PIT Count, By the National Alliance to End Homelessness (October 2012)

This webinar focuses on strategies used to assess the prevalence of youth homelessness, based on a study in Washington, DC, San Jose, CA, and southern Nevada. It is intended for youth providers, advocates, and other partners in Continuums of Care (CoCs) to ensure a successful youth-inclusive Point-In-Time (PIT) count in 2013. Speakers discuss how to include youth in the planning and

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implementing process of the PIT count.

13. A History of Runaway and Homeless Youth Act Funding, By The National Alliance to End Homelessness (October 2012)

This policy brief examines the funding history of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) since the 2001 fiscal year. The brief breaks down the historical funding of each of the three programs under RHYA: street outreach, basic centers, and transitional living programs. The fiscal breakdown demonstrates the programsinability to meet the demand of services and reflects that more funding is needed.
14. Housing and Outreach Strategies for Rural Youth: Best Practices from the Rural Youth Survey, By The National Alliance to End Homelessness (October 2012)

This brief provides an overview of how to serve rural youth by using host homes as a model that can be tailored to meet their needs and includes outreach strategies for service providers. This report finds that needs and asset assessments are needed to determine the most efficient use of money and planning for any local community.
15. Comparing White and African American Homeless Youth in San Francisco: Research Findings and Policy Implications, By Colette Auerswald and Ginny Puddefoot (October 2012)

This brief examines research from the UCSF School of Medicine and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, which focuses on racial disparities between white and African American homeless youth in San Francisco. This report offers recommendations for policymakers and incorporates the youth voice.

CA HOMELESS YOUTH PROJECT - 900 N ST., SACRAMENTO, CA 95814. PH (916) 653-7843

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