Interviews with 372 homeless and runaway adolescents found one-half reported being physically abused and almost one-third experienced sexual abuse. Females experienced significantly higher rates of sexual abuse. Sexual minority youth experienced more physical and sexual abuse compared to heterosexual youth. Nonfamily members most often perpetrated…

Provides a historical survey on the plight of homeless children, focusing on how the former Soviet Union dealt with this problem. States that the system of social protection for orphaned children, created by the Soviet Union, was not able to deal with the growing problem. (CMK)

Examines the victimization of runaways using a sample of 84 adolescents in a midwestern city of about 250,000 people. Finds that these youth, like runaways in larger cities, are doubly victimized by abusive family situations and by life on the streets. Sex differences in the processes that influence victimization are discussed. (FMW)

Grim statistics on poor children, homeless families, and child abuse belie our civic leaders' public assertions of love and concern for children. Children are often not well-served in their relationships with adults. Educators need to cooperate with others to create social policy that treats children as valued persons, not commodities. Includes…

Discusses areas of disagreement between the Institute of Medicine's report, "Homelessness, Health and Human Needs," and the controversial supplementary statement, "Health Care for the Homeless," issued separately by 10 of the authors. (FMW)

Discusses social science research methodologies and reviews domestic and foreign research on homelessness. Concludes that additional research would make only a marginal contribution to solving what has been identified as an economic and political problem. (FMW)

Outlines a high school campaign to increase community awareness of the problems of homeless people. Describes student efforts to research the facts and circulate their findings through flyers, posters, letters, speeches, and radio spots. Offers cautionary suggestions for teachers supervising similar projects. (SV)

Examines how educators can bring just and caring education to homeless students. Discusses early intervention, early childhood programs, generation of public awareness, and development of educator training programs that genuinely confront homelessness issues. Stresses the importance of social support, coordination within schools, and collaboration…

A multicausal model of adolescent homelessness was tested in 54 homeless adolescents and 58 controls. The homeless adolescents were found to be significantly more deprived emotionally, socially, and culturally than the controls. Subjects reported a lack of parental warmth, care, and support; unstimulating family environments; high levels of family…

Interviewed 145 adolescent street youth in Toronto, Canada, to examine association of depression with alcohol and drug use and related problems, social supports, self-esteem, family background, and alcohol and drug use among family members. Results indicated that best predictors of depression among street youth were self-esteem and length of time…

A theory of group development is used to organize a social work course teaching the task force approach to community policy formation. An advanced course on homelessness illustrates the method. It is suggested that some courses can incorporate both substantive content and innovative group methods to satisfy two requirements. (MSE)

Examines the problem of safety and security for homeless children and their families, and discusses the responsibility of schools to educate and assist homeless children. Describes specific programs that school districts have implemented to educate, feed, and care for homeless children. (MDM)

Describes research on the prevalence of alcohol, drug, and mental (ADM) disorders and the characteristics of homeless substance abusers and persons with mental illnesses. Reviews methodological problems. Finds prevalence rates of ADM disorders, extreme poverty, isolation from support network, and contact with correctional agencies higher in…

A telephone survey of relevant agencies in each county resulted in estimates of the number and location of homeless children (age 0-21) in Alabama. Over 17,000 homeless youth were located. Community denial and misconceptions about homelessness were cited as barriers to service coordination. The responsibility of schools, agencies, and society to…

A study with follow-up interviews of services for homeless and mentally ill persons (original sample of 163) had a very high success rate of over 70% in tracking this difficult to locate population. Techniques for locating clients are presented, as identified by a focus group of five researchers. (SLD)