As practitioners and scholars working at a university-based training institute, the authors believe that adults working in youth development programs and helping youth gain an ethical understanding of the world must themselves adopt some principles of ethical practice and use them to practice three habits in their professional work: personal…

The goals of this study were to (a) assess the outcomes of former foster care youth using transitional living programs and (b) compare outcomes achieved by former foster care youth who participated in an employment training program with similar youth who did not. The study sampled 23 former foster care youth using transitional living services in…

This study examined incarceration histories and shelter use patterns of 7,022 persons staying in public shelters in New York City. Through matching administrative shelter records with data on releases from New York State prisons and New York City jails, 23.1% of a point-prevalent shelter population was identified as having had an incarceration…

The public educates children because of our common interest in ensuring that children become responsible and productive adults and to provide an opportunity to every child to achieve their potential. Unfortunately, several national studies show that we aren't doing a good job educating foster children. Foster children have lower test scores, lower…

The curricula and instructional approaches often used in elementary school classrooms, which too often avoid difficult issues, may restrict the social development needed to promote societal well-being. This problem is exacerbated in the early grades, where the discussion of controversial social issues seemingly contradicts the goal of maintaining…

Traditionally, university-level general education courses in English focus on the appreciation of literature. A fundamental premise of this approach is that literate people enjoy reading because they can talk about books with friends, which makes the classroom a sort of modern-day coffee house. Contributing to this pedagogical philosophy is the…

With genuine love and substantive support, educators can help the estimated 200,000 to 500,000 homeless young people in the United States enrich their personal and academic lives. After securing district office staff approval, the building principal and interested faculty can discuss homeless students' needs with the director of the local shelter…

The Adult Education for the Homeless (AEH) program was initiated with funds provided through the McKinney Act of 1987. During its first 4 years, the AEH program served over 100,000 homeless adults. In 1991, 34,000 adults participated in AEH programs in 31 states; nearly half were women. Approximately 60% of those served were between the ages of 25…

The number of poor children in the United States is high, and estimates suggest that poverty among Indiana's children is increasing at twice the national rate. Presently, Indiana does not have readily available, comprehensive information about the state's children and adolescents. There are few ways to link Indiana's poverty data to other…

Ten years after passage of the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, homelessness was studied in 11 urban, rural, and suburban communities and 4 states. The first section of the report examines the findings of detailed research on homelessness in these locations. The second section draws conclusions and outlines future directions for efforts to…

Demographic trends indicate that the American family has changed in significant ways during the past several decades. Specifically, less parental supervision is occurring, and this basic phenomenon is placing children at greater risk of succumbing to the negative influences in the social environment. Educators must reach out to large numbers of…

These 11 reports focus on policy responses to the needs of very young children who are part of a homeless family, and older young people who are homeless but on their own. The following chapters are included: (1) J. M. Molnar's introduction to the relationship between chronic poverty and homelessness; (2) "Beyond the Numbers: Homeless…

Homelessness is growing among the elderly as it is among every other age cohort in America, but the elderly appear to be underrepresented. This underrepresentation is puzzling, since the elderly appear to have unique vulnerabilities to homelessness. This study explored the connection between the growing shortage of low rent housing, the unique…

This guide to Colorado education consultants was compiled for parent educators from local education agencies, shelters for the homeless, volunteer organizations, and the Colorado Department of Education. The guide is a directory of individuals available as speakers or instructors for meetings, conferences, workshops, seminars, and inservice…

The objectives of this study were to determine the following: (1) what actions Federal agencies have taken to reduce or eliminate barriers to obtaining and using funds provided by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act; (2) the adequacy of Federal program oversight; and (3) the status of program expenditure rates. The programs reviewed…