The Cycle of Family Homelessness: A Social Policy Reader.

Research on homeless children and families carried out by the Institute for Children and Poverty over the last 6 years is compiled in this document. The contents range from programmatic solutions and policy recommendations to simple "snapshots" of homeless families. Much of the research is based on the experiences of Homes for the Homeless, which operates transitional housing facilities, and the more than 530 families who reside daily in the American Family Inns in New York (New York). Anecdotal evidence, other research, and a forthcoming report from the Institute on family homelessness in 10 cities across the country indicate that this New York-based research has wide application nationwide. The following reports are reprinted: (1) "The New Poverty: A Generation of Homeless Families"; (2) "Access to Success: Meeting the Educational Needs of Homeless Children and Families"; (3) "Homelessness: The Foster Care Connection"; (4) "Job Readiness: Crossing the Threshold from Homelessness to Employment"; (5) "An American Family Myth: Every Child at Risk"; (6) "A Tale of Two Nations: The Creation of American Poverty Nomads"; (7) "The Age of Confusion: Why Teens Are Getting Pregnant, Turning to Welfare and Ending Up Homeless"; (8) "Common Sense: Why Jobs and Training Alone Won't End Welfare for Homeless Families"; (9) "For Whom the Bell Tolls: The Institutionalization of Homeless Families in America"; (10) "Day to Day...Parent to Child: The Future of Family Violence Among Homeless Children in America"; and (11) "Homeless Families Today: Our Challenge Tomorrow." Appendixes contain two case studies, "The Dollars and Sense of Welfare: Why Welfare Alone Won't Work" and "A Trail of Tears: Trapped in a Cycle of Violence and Homelessness," and "The American Family Inn Model." (Contains 43 figures and 17 tables.) (SLD)