Child Care

The Scope of Childhood Homelessness

Homeless families are defined here as those with no permanent place to live; instead, they may live in shelters or other transitional programs, in motels or welfare hotels, in campgrounds or cars, or doubled up with relatives or friends. This definition is not limited to those dependent on government support. There are approximately one million children in the United States who are homeless each night (Helburn and Howes 1996, 5). In Massachusetts, according to Department of Transitional Assistance statistics, as of March 2003 there were 1,700 families homeless each night in congregate shelters, scattered site shelters, and motels—this represents 60 percent of all the homeless in the state. More than half of the children of these families were under school age. These families tend to lead nomadic lives that take them from one homeless venue to another. A 1997 study indicated that homeless children have an average of 2.8 such temporary addresses each year, a rate sixteen times greater than the relocation rate of an average American family (Bartlett 1997, 122). Homelessness is often compounded by other family problems. Not only the lack of affordable housing, but other issues such as substance abuse, mental health problems, and domestic violence are often related to homelessness in the United States. These factors can be found in combination, doubling or tripling the potential for a slide into homelessness and increasing the negative effects on children.

The Impact of Homelessness on Children

Compared with their housed counterparts, homeless children experience more developmental delays, emotional problems such as anxiety and depression, and behavioral problems, as well as a myriad of school-related troubles. All children require stability and consistency, individual attention, appropriate stimulation, protection from harm, and structure and routine in order to grow and develop normally. These conditions also allow a child to develop resiliency and gain appropriate skills for later success. All of these desirables are compromised by homelessness.

Living in automobiles, in welfare motels or hotels, or in shelters or transitional housing can create in children certain behaviors that are a response to their environment. Infants growing up in these circumstances can display slower motor development because they are not allowed the time or space to learn to grasp and crawl. Shelter rules may hinder a toddler's freedom to run, hop, and climb. Homeless infants cry more than their housed peers, and are less apt to receive the proper amount of stimulation and attention. Given the stressed nature of their parents’ lives, these children often have scarce adult interaction, which in turn limits their sensory development. Lacking a consistent environment, homeless children may have difficulty focusing and paying attention. They also may be slower to develop language skills, and the inability to come up with words might result in negative behavior, such as biting instead of saying the word “mine.” Lack of routine may make [Page 63]the primary caregiver seem unreliable, creating a mistrust that can lead to later emotional problems.

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