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The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between youth homelessness, human trafficking, and IEPs or 504 Plans. A case series analysis was conducted utilizing agency data to [...]

Could anything epitomize a more negative outcome for foster youth than experiencing homelessness after exiting the foster care system? Each year, more than 20,000 youth age out of foster care, [...]

OBJECTIVES: Street-involved youth are highly vulnerable to violence. While involvement in income-generating activities within illicit drug scenes is recognized as shaping youths' vulnerability to violence, the relative contributions of different income-generating activities remain understudied. We sought to examine the independent effects of drug dealing and sex work on experiencing violence among street-involved youth. METHODS: Data were derived from a prospective cohort of street-involved youth aged 14-26 who used drugs in Vancouver, British Columbia, between September 2005 and May 2014. Multivariable generalized estimating equations were used to examine the impact of involvement in drug dealing and sex work on experiencing violence. RESULTS: Among 1,152 participants, including 364 (31.6%) women, 740 (64.2%) reported having experienced violence at some point during the study period. In multivariable analysis, involvement in drug dealing but not sex work remained independently associated with experiencing violence among females (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-1.90) and males (AOR: 1.50; 95% CI: 1.25- 1.80), while involvement in sex work only was not associated with violence among females (AOR: 1.15; 95% CI: 0.76-1.74) or males (AOR: 1.42; 95% CI: 0.81-2.48). CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that involvement in drug dealing is a major factor associated with experiencing violence among our sample. In addition to conventional interventions, such as addiction treatment, novel approaches are needed to reduce the risk of violence for drug-using youth who are actively engaged in drug dealing. The potential for low-threshold employment and decriminalization of drug use to mitigate violence warrants further study. KEY WORDS: Drug abuse; drug trafficking; sex workers; violence; homeless youth OBJECTIFS : Les jeunes de la rue sont tres vulnerables a la violence. On reconnait que la participation a des activites generatrices de revenus dans le monde de la drogue influence la vulnerabilite des jeunes a la violence, mais la contribution relative de diverses activites generatrices de revenus demeure sous-etudiee. Nous avons voulu examiner les effets independants du trafic de stupefiants et du travail du sexe sur l'experience de la violence chez les jeunes de la rue. METHODE : Nos donnees ont ete obtenues aupres d'une cohorte prospective de jeunes de la rue de 14 a 26 ans consommant de la drogue a Vancouver (Colombie-Britannique) entre septembre 2005 et mai 2014. Des equations d'estimation generalisees multivariees ont servi a examiner l'impact de la participation au trafic de stupefiants et au travail du sexe sur l'experience de la violence. RESULTATS : Sur les 1 152 participants, dont 364 femmes (31,6%), 740 (64,2%) ont declare avoir connu la violence durant la periode de l'etude. Selon l'analyse multivariee, la participation au trafic de stupefiants mais non au travail du sexe restait independamment associee a l'experience de la violence chez les femmes (rapport de cotes ajuste [RCa] : 1,43; intervalle de confiance de 95% [IC] : 1,08-1,90) et les hommes (RCa : 1,50; IC de 95% : 1,25-1,80), tandis que la participation au travail du sexe seulement n'etait associee a la violence ni chez les femmes (RCa : 1,15; IC de 95% : 0,76-1,74), ni chez les hommes (RCa : 1,42; IC de 95% : 0,81-2,48). CONCLUSION : Ces constatations indiquent que la participation au trafic de stupefiants est un important facteur associe a l'experience de la violence dans notre echantillon. En plus d'interventions classiques comme le traitement des toxicomanies, il faudrait des approches novatrices pour reduire le risque de violence chez les jeunes qui consomment de la drogue et qui sont activement impliques dans le trafic des stupefiants. La possibilite que les emplois faiblement qualifies et la decriminalisation de la consommation de drogue attenuent la violence meriterait d'etre etudiee davantage. MOTS CLES : abus de drogue; trafic de stupefiants; travailleuses ou travailleurs du sexe; violence; jeunes sans abri La traduction du resume se trouve a la fin de l'article. Can J Public Health 2016;107(1):e88-e93 doi: 10.17269/CJPH.107.5219, Typically unstably housed, street-involved youth are vulnerable to an array of health-related harms, including violence and the associated adverse health consequences. (1) The number of street-involved youth in Canada has [...]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.07.011 Byline: Kiaras Gharabaghi, Carol Stuart Keywords: Homeless youth; Shelter services; Child and youth care practice; System collaboration; Mental health; Informal service provision Abstract: As a result of its focus on transitionally-aged youth (16-24), the homeless youth service sector finds itself on the periphery of both the children's service sectors, represented by children's mental health, child welfare, education and youth justice, and the adult service sectors that seek to address the varying needs of adults for social assistance and mental health services. Based on an extensive literature review and a series of interviews with service providers, stakeholders and youth within this sector, in the Central East Service Region of the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services, the authors synthesize core themes and issues that help to situate the current prospects and challenges facing this sector. Feedback from informants positioned the concept of 'relationship' as a central feature of both service provision and service use on the part of youth. The Central East Region is a mixed urban, suburban and semi-rural region situated in close proximity to Canada's largest urban centre, Toronto. With a population of nearly 2million, the Region is often perceived as diverse, encompassing a series of highly affluent commuter communities, relatively isolated rural and small town communities and urban working class communities. While social issues such as homelessness and poverty have long been recognized in urban communities, they have only recently been acknowledged as community concerns in the geographically large suburban areas of this region. Author Affiliation: School of Child & Youth Care, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5B 2K3 Article History: Received 10 April 2010; Revised 19 July 2010; Accepted 22 July 2010

This is one article in a three part series in this issue of The Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health documenting the proceedings from the workshop 'The Psychiatric Needs of the Transgender Homeless Population' at the 2009 American Psychiatric Association's Institute on Psychiatric Services Conference in New York City. In the United States, transgender youth are overrepresented among the homeless. The stigma and discrimination that causes and maintains homelessness among transgender people is also prevalent in the streets and at programs that serve homeless people. This makes life for transgender people in foster care, at shelters, and in transitional housing difficult and even dangerous. Shelter policies have been created and adopted to address safety concerns of transgender people. In addition, transitional housing and other services exclusively serving sexual/gender minorities have also been developed to provide safe shelter for this population. KEYWORDS homeless persons, transgender, transsexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, LGBTQ, shelters, housing, youth, policy DOI: 10.1080/19359705.2010.504476

This qualitative study used data from the Social Enterprise Intervention (SEI) pilot study, a comprehensive vocational training program with integrated clinical services for homeless youth. In-depth interviews were conducted with 28 homeless youth participating in the SEI study to explore their perceptions of family environment characteristics and abuse experiences. The constant comparative method was used to analyze transcripts from in-depth interviews with the youth participants. Emergent themes related to family characteristics include home instability, abandonment, and caregiver substance abuse. Abuse-related subthemes include intrafamilial abuse, caregiver abuse, rejection, and deprecation by caregivers. Grounded theory is used to interpret findings and develop working hypotheses to guide future studies of multitype maltreatment among homeless youth. Keywords: qualitative; child abuse; multitype maltreatment; family environment; homeless youth 10.1177/0886260508325490

Parent-adolescent violence (i.e., violence between parents and adolescents) is an important pathway to homelessness and predicts poor behavioral health outcomes among youth. However, few studies have examined links between parent violence and outcomes among youth who are homeless. Existing research has also tended to ignore adolescent violence toward parents, despite evidence that mutual violence is common. The current study examines prospective links of parent-adolescent violence to outcomes among youth who were homeless and demographically matched youth, through two complementary substudies: (a) an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of items measuring parent and adolescent violence combined in the same analysis; and (b) an examination of predictive relationships between the factors identified in the EFA and behavioral health problems, including mental health and alcohol abuse problems. Predictive relationships were examined in the overall sample and by gender, ethnic, and housing status subgroups. Results of the EFA suggested that parent-adolescent violence includes intraindividual (i.e., separate parent and adolescent) physical components and a shared psychological component. Each of these components contributed uniquely to predicting later youth behavioral health. Implications for research and practice with youth who are homeless are discussed. Keywords: adolescent homelessness, physical abuse, emotional abuse, adolescent psychopathology, adolescent substance abuse DOI: 10.1037/a0017212

In a qualitative study, 302 homeless young people (aged 12 to 20 years) were asked to discuss their reasons for leaving home. Some 103 youth cited physical violence by a parent or stepparent, and of these, 39 cited their mother's or stepmother's violence as the reason for leaving home. Females were more likely than males to report being the target of violence by their mother; however, the converse was true for stepmothers. Several discrete reasons for maternal violence were identified, including maternal personal characteristics and behaviors, issues associated with blended families, or young people's own behavior. In some cases, young people reported violence by both parents. Their attributions of maternal violence centered on a single dimension of the mother/stepmother or her relationship with a partner. They rarely discussed the contribution that they had made to the conflict or acknowledged the social context that may have been a catalyst for violence. Keywords: homeless youth; maternal violence; family conflict; pathways

Objective: Building upon prior research that reveals an elevated risk of abuse to children in blended households, the study considers whether risk of abuse varies by the type of non-related parent figure (i.e., stepparent, adoptive parent, or cohabiting adult) in residence. Method: A sample of 40,000 youths that sought services from runaway and homeless youth shelters in the US was examined. Holding constant the presence of a natural parent, the study evaluated the risk of abuse by the presence and type of an additional parent figure in the home. Results: Compared with other household types, an elevated risk of sexual and physical abuse was observed for youths from homes with a non-related parent figure in residence. Among youths from blended homes, the risk of abuse was not found to vary as a function of the type of non-related parent figure in the home. Conclusions: The study results are consistent with prior research that shows the presence of a non-related parent figure in a household is associated with a greater than expected risk of sexual or physical abuse to children. However, the findings suggest that the particular role or status of non-related parents may not be a meaningful risk factor when considering intervention strategies in suspected cases of abuse in blended households. The sample probably represents family conditions that are significantly worse for children than what would be found in the general population, and thus the results of this study should not be generalized to the population at large.

Shelter-based studies have documented risks to homeless children's development, but scant information is available about children residing in family supportive housing, a key strategy for preventing long-term homelessness. This study assessed the psychosocial and health status of 454 formerly homeless children living with their families in 17 supportive housing communities. Findings indicated that children had good access to physical health care. However, children faced significant psychosocial risks and manifested behavioral, emotional, and school challenges. Housing agencies lacked infrastructure or expertise in children's mental health. The authors propose that supportive housing provides a valuable but hitherto underused opportunity to support children's psychosocial functioning. Keywords: homelessness; supportive housing; children; adjustment; families

Drawing on in-depth interviews with 30 homeless youth, this study depicts a unique aspect of homeless youth street culture--the formation of 'street families.' This article examines youth's motivations for creating street families, their organization and maintenance, and the role gender plays in adopting familial identities. Although many homeless adolescents come from dysfunctional families, street family members often recreate traditional family roles. Membership often mitigates the demands of street life, yet intragroup violence/victimization is common. The findings highlight the unique nature of street families and implications for research, policy, and practice, including the need for involving peers in intervention efforts. Keywords: homeless youth; street families; social networks; youth street culture

This article presents lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates and comorbidity for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among a sample of 428 homeless and runaway adolescents. Data are from baseline interviews of a longitudinal diagnostic study of 428 (187 males; 241 females) homeless and runaway adolescents aged 16-19 years (mean age = 17.4 years, SD = 1.05). The data were collected by full-time street interviewers on the streets and in shelters in eight Midwesteru cities of various populations. About one-third (35.5%) of the runaways met lifetime criteria for PTSD and 16.1% met 12-month criteria for the disorder. More than 90% of the adolescents who met criteria for PTSD met criteria for at least one of the other four diagnoses. Multivariate analyses indicated that correlates of PTSD were age of adolescent, being female, having experienced serious physical abuse and/or sexual abuse from an adult caretaker, and having been assaulted or injured by weapon when on the street. The multiplicative interaction between sexual abuse by caretaker and sexual assault when the adolescents were on their own was statistically significant, indicating that rape victims were highly likely to meet criteria for PTSD regardless of early sexual abuse. At very high levels of early sexual abuse, the probability of meeting criteria for PTSD converges with that for sexual assault victims. Keywords: homeless adolescents; runaways; victimization; posttraumatic stress

The peer relationships of homeless youths in the U.S. and South Korea are discussed that draw upon the conceptual framework of individualism versus collectivism. Street peers play a very critical role in shaping homeless youths' attitude towards society and life in general.

This research examined outcomes and use of specific types of services 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months post-discharge for a large sample of runaway/homeless youth using crisis shelter services. Data were collected for 371 runaway/homeless youth using emergency shelter and crisis services at eleven agencies across a four-state midwestern region. Outcomes were assessed for runaway behavior, family relationships, substance use, school behavior, employment, sexual behavior, and self-esteem. Additionally, the impact of services on outcomes was assessed. Findings indicated that although youth achieved a wide variety of positive outcomes 6 weeks post-discharge, there were signs of attenuation of certain outcomes by the 6 month follow-up. Service use after discharge did not demonstrate a strong impact on maintaining outcomes. The substantive findings reported here present encouraging evidence for providers of services for runaway/homeless youth. Crisis shelter services appear to facilitate broad-based short-term gains, but do not appear sufficient to maintain these gains over an extended period. Keywords Homeless/runaway youth * Youth shelters * Services * Longitudinal methods * Service use

Using intensive qualitative interviews with 40 homeless youth, this study examined their early family histories for abuse, neglect, and other family problems and the number and types of transitions that youth experienced. Multiple forms of child maltreatment, family alcoholism, drug use, and criminal activity characterized early family histories of many youth. Leaving home because of either running away or being removed by child protective services often resulted in multiple transitions, which regularly included moving from foster care homes to a group home, back to their parents, and then again returning to the streets. Although having experienced family disorganization set youth on trajectories for early independence, there were many unique paths that youth traveled prior to ending up on the streets. Keywords: child maltreatment; family histories; homeless youth

This study examined the circumstances surrounding a homeless youth's 'decision' to trade sex for food, money, shelter, or drugs. Forty homeless youth in 4 Midwestern states participated in individual, in-depth qualitative interviews. Interviewers recruited youth through both service agencies and street outreach. The findings revealed that approximately one third of the sample had some experience with trading sex, whether it was in the form of having traded sex, having been propositioned to trade sex but having refused, or having friends or acquaintances that had traded sex. Young people's reports indicated that they had traded sex for things they deemed necessary in order to survive (i.e., food, shelter, money, or drugs) and that they did not want to trade sex, but did so because they were desperate and lacked alternatives. Additionally, others were coerced, manipulated, or forced to do so, indicating that the decision to trade sex is not always voluntary. We discuss the implications of these findings in terms of cumulative effects on youths' later development. Directions for future research among this population are also discussed., Many homeless youth engage in delinquent activities to survive, given their limited resources and lack of opportunities (Hagan & McCarthy, 1997; Whitbeck & Hoyt, 1999). These deviant subsistence strategies may [...]

Objective: To describe the reasons homeless young people leave home and differences between males and females. Methods: Homeless young people between the ages of 12 and 20 years (n=692) completed surveys conducted by trained interviewers using Questionnaire Delivery System on laptop computers as part of a large study. Participants indicated the importance of each of 22 reasons for leaving home on a four-point scale, from 'not important' (1) to 'very important' (4). Results: Conflict with parents was the only reason reported as important by at least two-thirds of respondents. Desire for independence and/or adventure was rated as important by nearly one-half of young men and women. Eighteen reasons were rated as 'not or somewhat important' by most young people. These included issues associated with school, sexuality, sexual abuse and trouble with the law. Young women were more likely than young men to report that sexual abuse. anxiety/depression, and/or pregnancy were important reasons for leaving home. The converse held for personal alcohol and drug abuse, trouble with the police, and breach of community order or parole. With few exceptions, importance ratings of the 22 reasons were not highly correlated. Conclusions and Implications: Service providers should consider how the diverse elements of family environment contribute to homelessness. A focus on familial problems may lead to other important reasons being overlooked, namely a desire for independence and adventure. Services and supports need to take into account whether young people leave home because of a life crisis or because they seek independence.

Cross-national comparisons of homeless youth in Melbourne, Australia, and Los Angeles, CA, United States were conducted. Newly (n = 427) and experienced (n = 864) homeless youth were recruited from each site. Compared to Australia, homeless youth in the United States were younger, more likely to be in school or jail, demonstrated fewer sexual and substance use risk acts, fewer suicidal acts, and reported less need for social services. Across sites, experienced homeless youth were more likely to be older, male, engage in sexual and substance use, report greater need for social services, and make greater use of work, substance use, and health-related services. Homeless youth have different behavioral profiles in Australia and the United States, reflecting differences in the effectiveness of service systems in the two countries in keeping youth with fewer problems out of homelessness. KEY WORDS: Homelessness; Australia; homeless shelters; social policy; youth risk behavior.

This article examines the development of juvenile vagrancy and the methods employed by the colonial state to control the phenomenon in Nairobi, Kenya from 1901 until 1952. It argues that juvenile vagrancy originated from a convergence of rural labour crises and urban inadequacies. The growing population of underemployed youths in Nairobi became a source of anxiety for officials and non-African urban residents who believed their presence confirmed African 'de-tribalization', rural impoverishment and participation in urban crime. Colonial legislation and discourse regarding juvenile vagrancy provided the state with substantial authority to arrest and punish juvenile vagrants. However, colonial incapacity created a sharp divide between state policy and practice. The state developed a series of myopic strategies, specifically removal and repatriation, which circumvented its incapacity, provided a semblance of urban order and ultimately failed to eliminate juvenile vagrancy in Nairobi.

This paper presents lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates and comorbidity data for substance abuse disorders among homeless and runaway adolescents. Data are from baseline interviews of a longitudinal diagnostic study of 428 (187 males and 241 females) homeless and runaway adolescents aged 16 to 19 years (mean age = 17.4 year, SD = 1.05). The data were collected by full-time interviewers on the streets and in shelters in eight Midwestern cities of various populations. About two thirds (60.5%) of the runaways met lifetime criteria for at least one of three substance disorders (alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, drug abuse), and nearly one half (48.1%) met 12-month criteria for at least one of the disorders. Nearly all of the adolescents (93%) who met criteria for a substance disorder met criteria for at least one other mental disorder. Those factors most predictive of meeting lifetime criteria include parenting practices, experience of abuse, and association with deviant peers.

This article provides a case study of a drop-in center serving homeless youth, focusing on staff-client conflict. It is the result of approximately 200 hours of ethnographic research and in-depth interviews with staff members. This article explores how and why staff actively utilize the exclusionary practices of withdrawal, nonengagement, and silencing. Second, it examines how these practices, which are meant to be therapeutic and prevent conflict, paradoxically create, sustain, and escalate much of the staff-client conflict within the center, forcing staff to rely heavily on expulsion to maintain control of clients. A closing example is offered as evidence. Keywords: homelessness; service institutions; exclusion; conflict

ABSTRACT/RESUME Unaccompanied minors are young refugees under the age of eighteen who have been separated from their parents and who arrive in Canada unaccompanied by a legal guardian. In Quebec, [...]

Runaway and homeless youth are at high risk for substance abuse and unsafe sexual behavior. Our study describes the personal social networks of these youth and examines network characteristics associated with risky behaviors. In 1995 and 1996, we interviewed a purposive sample of youth aged 14 through 21 who were living in Washington, DC and were identified on the streets or through shelters or other service agencies (N = 327). Although we found that most youth reported current social relationships, a significant minority (26%) did not. Youth without a social network were significantly more likely to report current illicit drug use, multiple sex partners, and survival sex than youth with a network. For youth with a network, the networks were small, strong in affective and supportive qualifies, comprised primarily of friends, typically included an alcohol or illicit drug user, and usually were not a source of pressure for risky behaviors. Our results indicate that networks had risk-enhancing and risk-decreasing properties in that network characteristics were associated in both positive and negative directions with risky behaviors.

The word 'homelessness' is not a useful term to explain housing problems experienced by high school-aged youths. The term 'housing distress' is preferable because it includes both teenagers who are homeless and those who are at risk of homelessness. Many teenagers feel that they have no place where they belong and seek alternative living arrangements for a variety of reasons. Housing distress is a problem for schools because students have difficulties achieving academic success when they have no consistent, safe place to live. To understand how much or how little housing distress is experienced by high school-aged youths, 3,676 high school-aged teenagers were surveyed in nine communities along the seacoast of New Hampshire and southwestern Maine. Between 5 percent and 10 percent of the teenagers surveyed reported that they had been homeless sometime during the past year. Up to 20 percent of the high school students lived in arrangements that could be considered to be distressing and to put them at risk of becoming homeless. Key words: adolescents; homelessness; housing distress; school; youths, Although the term 'homelessness' is a routine word in the vocabulary of Americans, it is difficult for most people to determine exactly who is and who is not 'homeless.' There [...]

The problem of street children prevalent in the 19th century is equivalent to the present day problem of homelessness and youth violence. Children engage themselves in criminal activities to support themselves and join criminal gangs which threaten the stability of the economy. An understanding of the origins of both these social problems and the child welfare response is essential to avoid the mistakes of the past and to develop effective welfare programs.

THEIR lives have been depicted in books such as John Rechy's City of Night (1963) and Iceberg Slim's Black Widow Mama (1996) and in movies like Johns (1996) and Paris [...]