Shelters for Runaway and Homeless Youths: Capacity and Occupancy.

The article focuses on issues related to shelters for runaway and homeless youths in the U.S. Data for runaway and homeless youths were analyzed to determine shelter capacity, occupancy, and occupancy ratios. The number of youths who run away or are homeless in the U.S. is estimated from 450,000 to around 2.8 million every year. In 1974, the U.S. Congress enacted the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, which provides support for shelters and Transitional Living Programs (TLPs). These shelters and TLPs offers various services including temporary housing, counseling, crisis intervention, and aftercare and outreach. Federally funded shelters and TLPs constitute only a portion of the youth shelters. The remaining shelters are funded from state and local governments and private sources.