Homelessness creates intense challenges and barriers for children and youth, such as hindering their ability to find academic, social, and financial success. Children can exhibit various academic or social difficulties that result from the trauma of homelessness, mobility, and the lack of security.
Children who experience homelessness are at an increased risk of frequent hunger, chronic and acute illnesses, traumatic stress, criminal victimization, and sex trafficking and exploitation.
Homelessness can dramatically decrease a young adult’s chances of graduating high school, enrolling in, and completing postsecondary education, finding stable employment, and earning family-sustaining wages.
In 2020-2021, the Indiana Department of Education identified 14,182 students as homeless.
How can we support children and youth experiencing homelessness? The National Center for Homeless Education put together resources and tools to help:
Learn about the ways to identify children and youth in homeless situations
Understand potential warning signs of homelessness
Training and identification tools for school staff
Procedures for identifying homeless students and families
Creating access to identification and needs assessment form
To access resources and tools, click here. > https://nche.ed.gov/identifying/
To reach Indiana's State Coordinator for Homeless Education, contact:
Flora Jones - Director of Student Pathways & Opportunities - Indiana Department of Education
100 N. Senate Ave Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: (317) 232-9166
Email: mckinneyventopoc@doe.in.gov
