Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Youth homelessness is a national challenge with services frequently unable to meet the level of need and studies consistently showing high levels of vulnerability among this population. Yet much of the population has remained hidden and understudied. This leaves significant gaps in evidence needed to inform policy and practice. Voices of Youth Count (VoYC) is a national, multicomponent policy research initiative designed to deliver actionable evidence on youth homelessness.

This paper will report findings primarily from one component—the first national survey on youth homelessness among adolescents and young people (ages 13-25). The survey is based on a nationally representative sample of 13,113 adults living in households with youth, ages 13-25, in the last 12 months or who are themselves young adults, ages 18-25. The survey was phone-based, with random digital dial sampling including both landline and mobile phones. Additional interviews were conducted for further insights on youth characteristics, homelessness experiences, and access to services with a subsample of respondents reporting any youth homelessness or housing instability in the last 12 months.

Results include prevalence and incidence of youth homelessness and housing instability, which reveal a largely hidden population that is substantially underestimated by typical homelessness counting approaches that rely on point-in-time counts or administrative data alone. Our 12-month prevalence rates of youth experiencing homelessness over a 12-month period suggest a much broader and more hidden challenge than has been captured by point-in-time counts and data collected by schools or service systems data. While rates of homelessness and housing instability are high for both age groups (13-17 and 18-25), rates increase substantially for young adults. Moreover, we find substantial levels of “cycling into” poverty with incidence rates approximately half as high as 12-month prevalence rates.

The paper will present analysis on characteristics of youth homelessness and housing instability, including more detailed information on levels of vulnerability and duration and frequency of episodes contained within the overall prevalence estimates. Moreover, based on multivariate analysis, the paper will identify youth-level and household-level factors that are associated with youth homelessness. Finally, the paper will contextualize the findings with reference to additional insights from other VoYC components, including qualitative research and policy analysis, to inform policy and practice implications.