Child Welfare Involvement among Children in Homeless Families

Jung Min Park, University of Pennsylvania
Stephen Metraux, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
Gabriel Broadbar, Dartington-i
Dennis P. Culhane, University of Pennsylvania

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Reprinted from Child Welfare, Volume 83, Issue 5, October 2004, pages 423-436. Publisher URL: http://www.cwla.org/

Abstract

An analysis of 8,251 homeless children in New York City found that 18% of them received child welfare services over the five-year period following their first shelter admission, and an additional 6% had a history of having received such services before their first shelter admission. Recurrent use of public shelters, exposure to domestic violence, older age at first episode of homelessness, and larger number of children in a household were associated with an increased risk of child welfare involvement. The high rate of crossover between homelessness and the child welfare system suggests the need for service coordination for children in homeless families.