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A Review on Homelessness In American Children Angela Hutchinson

Sociology 111 Jane Ann Breen

4 A Review on Homelessness In American Children The states selected for this assignment are Alabama !lorida Indiana and South "a#ota$ The most sur%rising information is none of these states give %riority to homeless children when it comes to distributing childcare vouchers$ The ma&ority of families that use the childcare vouchers are for em%loyment although some of the vouchers are used for training and educational %ur%oses$ Indiana has the highest annual cost of childcare at '( )*+ while Alabama has the least annual cost at ', *1-$ That is why it was sur%rising to learn that Indiana and Alabama have the lowest state minimum wage at '-$(( %er hour while South "a#ota and !lorida.s state minimum wage is only slightly higher at '-$/0 %er hour$ Indiana is the only state that has the 1arned Income Ta2 Credit for children and it is refundable$ It was also sur%rising that the largest %ercentages of homeless children are of the white ethnicity e2ce%t in Alabama where the African3American ethnicity has the highest %ercentage$ The total amount of homeless children within the four states selected was +- --0 in 4**0$ The amount of education the homeless children receive and the health issues they have is not sur%rising$ The allocated funding for homeless education %er child for each state is5 Alabama ')4 !lorida '(- Indiana '+( and South "a#ota '11( none of these states have dedicated state funding for homeless education$ In all four states the difference in lifetime earnings with a high school education verses without a high school education is '4** *** and net lifetime contribution to society is '14/ *** with a high school education$ The graduation rate is twenty3five %ercent in all four states$ !lorida has the highest earning and contribution losses and South "a#ota has the fewest amount of loss in the selected states$ The health issues of homeless children are higher than that of the middle class children$ The homeless children are less li#ely to

, have medical insurance and if they do the doctors that %rovide them with services are only going to %rovide them with what is absolutely necessary$ !lorida has the highest uninsured rate at 10$( %ercent while Indiana has the least uninsured rate at -$/ %ercent$ South "a#ota has the highest amount of total 6edicaid e2%enditures at 4)$( %ercent and !lorida has the least in e2%enditures at 1($- %ercent$ 1motional disturbance is the highest medical %roblems of homeless children followed by overall health asthma and traumatic stress$ In South "a#ota the middle class children have a higher rate of getting asthma than a homeless child7 this is the only area where a medical %roblem is higher amongst the middle class$ It is interesting that each state has an interagency council on homelessness although the state %lanning and %olicies to reduce homelessness in Alabama Indiana and South "a#ota are in the inade8uate %lanning stage and !lorida is in the moderate %lanning stage$ Alabama has a blue%rint develo%ed for a Ten39ear %lan and !lorida has %ro%osed %olices to hel% reduce homelessness over the ne2t ten years the other two states have no %lans for a reduction at that time$ 1ach state has emergency shelter transitional housing and %ermanent su%%ortive housing units$ The total ca%acities differ in each state !lorida has the most at , )+/ units and South "a#ota has the least at 4), units$ The only state that the %ermanent su%%ortive housing is higher than emergency and transitional shelter is Alabama$ "omestic violence and homelessness has %references for Section + in Alabama and !lorida while :ublic Housing allows %references in Alabama Indiana and !lorida$ South "a#ota has no data for domestic violence or homelessness %references in the states housing units$ Indiana and !lorida have a state housing trust fund while Alabama and South "a#ota does not have a trust fund$ The ran#s are calculated by the amount of homeless children wages;income food securities education health housing %olicies and %lanning %rocedures for each state$ Alabama

) is ran#ed ,4 and has an average of 44 44- homeless children$ Contributing factors in Alabama may include low %roficiency in reading mathematic and housing availabilities to homeless families$ !lorida is ran#ed ), and has an average of )0 ++- homeless children which is the highest of all four states$ Contributing factors in !lorida may include e2tremely high cost of housing and the waiting list %riorities for housing$ Alabama and !lorida may also be unusually high due to the hurricanes that occurred in 4**($ Indiana is ran#ed ,* and has an average of 1, *14 homeless children$ Contributing factors in Indiana may include a 0* %ercent wait on Section + housing for e2tremely low3income families and a high childcare costs$ South "a#ota is ran#ed 14 and has the least amount of homeless children averaging at 1 ()( children and the educational allocated funding is higher %er child these factors could be the most significant reasons for this states low rating$ The ma&or factors that affect all four states include a combination of the high amount of childcare s%ending and the amount of income that is re8uired to obtain housing$

( Bibliogra%hy <ewton 6$ =4**0>$ America's Youngest Outcast ?State Re%ort Card@$ Retrieved 4**0 from The <ational Center on !amily Homelessness website5 htt%5;;; www$homelesschildrenamerica$org;