New Report: Philadelphia Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness

Posted by on September 17, 2010

Child homelessness up by 4% in city

According to a new report the number of homeless children under the age of 17 in Philadelphia grew from 3,433 in 2008 to 3,582 in 2009 — a four percent increase.

The report also noted that there was a marked increase — 12% — in the number of very young children (age four and under) who were homeless in Philadelphia between 2008 and 2009 (from 1,493 to 1,668 children).  In total, 46% of the approximately 5,000 children served in emergency and transitional housing in 2009 were under the age of five.

In addition, 6.9 percent of homeless children had high-lead levels. This is more than twice the rate of high lead levels of all children tested in Philadelphia.

The primary reason for the increase in homeless young people is that mothers between the ages of 18 to 24 saw the single highest rate of increase in homelessness, 13.9 percent.  This age group is also the largest group of all homeless mothers.

According to the report, Philadelphia Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness: Practical Strategies for Action, the vast majority of families who entered emergency housing in FY2009 had been asked to leave their prior residence. Some had been “evicted” by family or friends, while others had been evicted from their own housing because of late or missed rental or mortgage payments.

http://www.pec-cares.org/clientfolders/pdf/long_philadelphia_childrenand_youth_aug_10.pdf

On average, children who experience homelessness reside in emergency housing for 143 days, while those who reside in transitional housing stay for 330 days.

The report makes five recommendations, some of which the City of Philadelphia and the provider community have already addressed.  For instance, the City now requires shelter providers to assure that all children age five and under are screened for lead exposure and have a completed Ages and Stages Questionnaire within 60 days of placement.  The expected result is that some 20 agencies will serve more than 1,500 children under the age of 5 with the ASQ, and helping their parents understand if their child has a developmental or emotional delay.

An executive summary of the report is available here.

http://www.pec-cares.org/clientfolders/pdf/phila_children_youth_report_08_10.pdf

To download the full report, go here.

http://www.pec-cares.org/clientfolders/pdf/long_philadelphia_childrenand_youth_aug_10.pdf

The report was developed by the Children’s Working Group of the Public Private Task Force on Homelessness.