Public housing agency preferences for the homeless as a policy lever: Examining county-level housing subsidy receipt and maltreatment rates

This study examines the relationship between county Public Housing Agency (PHA) practices that prioritize families experiencing homelessness and county-level child maltreatment rates. Using data from a survey of PHAs and the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) with a sample of 534 counties, we find that policies which give preference to homeless households for housing assistance are associated with reduced victimization and substantiation rates, while policies that reduce barriers to assistance eligibility are associated with reporting rates. Our findings suggest that beyond prioritizing homeless families for housing assistance as a means of ending homelessness, providing families with more expedient access to a valuable public subsidy may have important positive externalities, such as reduced CPS involvement. Additional partnerships between child welfare agencies and housing providers, particularly those that provide housing subsidies, may be worthy of additional investment and evaluation.     

Disentangling over-representation of parents with disabilities in the child welfare system: Exploring child maltreatment risk factors of parents with disabilities

The study explores the risk factors for child maltreatment and self-reported child maltreatment among a population-based sample of parents with disabilities. Drawing on a nationally-representative, population-based data file that oversampled people of color, income-adjusted odds ratio tests were conducted to establish population differences among parents with and without limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs). Results suggest that parents with disabilities were more likely to report many of the risk factors associated with child maltreatment than parents without disabilities, including witnessing interpersonal violence as a child; experiencing violence, neglect or a foster care stay as a child; mood or substance use disorders; and engaging in or receiving interpersonal violence as an adult. Before controlling for income, parents with disabilities had only a negligibly higher rate of engaging in violence against their children. After controlling for income, parents with disabilities were 2.5 times more likely to engage in violence against their children. Parents with disabilities who did engage in violence against their children had greater amounts of some of the child maltreatment risk factors in comparison to parents with disabilities who did not engage in violence, particularly their own childhood experiences of maltreatment, witnessing of interpersonal violence as a child, childhood stays in foster care, and experiences with interpersonal violence as an adult. Findings add to the understanding of the risk factors for child maltreatment that are related to the collateral effects of having a disability, and through the use of income-adjusted data, help disentangle why parents with disabilities are over-represented in the child welfare system. The findings highlight the need for the child welfare system to increase its disability competence in working with both children and parents with disabilities.     

Characteristics of Homeless Jail Inmates: Implications for Social Work

This study set out to validate the hypothesis (belief) that homeless people were likely to commit minor offenses as solutions to their conditions. Jails, and maybe prisons, would provide three meals a day, a place to sleep, and minimal health care-especially during the winter months. Instead, the data did not support the hypothesis. Contrary to the reported practices of some homeless people in Colorado who are described as committing non-serious but timed offenses to go to jail, it found a homeless population in jail who give a literal interpretation to the political phrase “the invisible people.” They were not in jail because they were homeless, but instead they were in jail for serious crimes (murder, rape, drugs, robbery) and their homelessness was a side fact Since it was not likely that this group would seek to address or resolve their homelessness, it was recommended that jail social workers identify their needs to them, track them into social welfare networks, with a designated contact person, prior to their release.     

The invisibility of disability for homeless youth

A largely unexplored complexity in the lives of youth who have experienced homeless is the presence of intellectual, developmental and/or learning disabilities. Although emerging research shows that youth with cognitive disabilities are more likely to become homeless and that rates of cognitive disabilities are higher among the homeless population than the population in general, exploring the intersection of disability and homelessness for youth has not been a priority. In this study, a critical disability and systems failure lens is brought to bear on the vulnerability of youth who experience this intersection. Based on interviews with key informants in the disability, homelessness, education, employment and child welfare sectors in three sites in Ontario, Canada, the invisibility of disability among homeless youth is brought to light. We explore the ways youth with a disability in the homelessness sector are made vulnerable, the insurmountable barriers to getting access to the requisite assessment for disability services and the siloed nature of the homelessness and disability service sectors. An argument is made that “working outside the box” to assist youth to navigate significant system disjunctures is insufficient.     

Sociodemographic and Health-Related Risk Factors Among African-American,Caucasian and Hispanic Homeless Men: A Comparative Study

Data from a 1989-1990 cross-sectional survey of homeless adults in California were stratified by ethnicity to examine whether adverse childhood events and adult medical disorders preceding homelessness differed between 269 African-American, 599 Caucasian, 201 foreign-born Hispanic, and 136 native-born Hispanic men. Although African-Americans were overrepresented (21%) compared with their presence in local (3%) and state (7%) populations, within the homeless they were better educated and more likely to have held white collar jobs than Caucasians or Hispanics. In addition, despite being more likely to grow up in poverty, African-Americans reporled lower prevalences of alcohol and drug abuse, overnight psychiatric hospitalizations, placement in foster care, and physical or sexual abuse than Caucasians. Foreign-born Hispanics were the most likely to have low levels of education and job skills, but were least impaired by adult medical disorders. Native-born Hispanics reported lower rates of adverse childhood events, illegal drug use, and psychiatric hospitalizations than Caucasians, but were most likely among the three ethnic groups to suffer from alcohol abuse. The lower prevalences of adverse childhood events, addictive disorders, and psychiatric hospitalizations among homeless African-Americans, despite their higher representation in absolute numbers, suggests that factors such as childhood poverty may play a disproportionate role in homelessness among this ethnic minority group.     

Sociodemographic and health-related risk factors among African-American,Caucasian and Hispanic homeless men: A comparative study

Data from a 1989–1990 cross-sectional survey of homeless adults in California were stratified by ethnicity to examine whether adverse childhood events and adult medical disorders preceding homelessness differed between 269 African-American, 599 Caucasian, 201 foreign-born Hispanic, and 136 native-born Hispanic men. Although African-Americans were overrepresented (21%) compared with their presence in local (3%) and state (7%) populations, within the homeless they were better educated and more likely to have held white collar jobs than Caucasians or Hispanics. In addition, despite being more likely to grow up in poverty, African-Americans reported lower prevalences of alcohol and drug abuse, overnight psychiatric hospitalizations, placement in foster care, and physical or sexual abuse than Caucasians. Foreign-born Hispanics were the most likely to have low levels of education and job skills, but were least impaired by adult medical disorders. Native-born Hispanics reported lower rates of adverse childhood events, illegal drug use, and psychiatric hospitalizations than Caucasians, but were most likely among the three ethnic groups to suffer from alcohol abuse. The lower prevalences of adverse childhood events, addictive disorders, and psychiatric hospitalizations among homeless African-Americans, despite their higher representation in absolute numbers, suggests that factors such as childhood poverty may play a disproportionate role in homelessness among this ethnic minority group.     

Child maltreatment, revictimization, and violent behavior

The study investigates the cumulative impact of child maltreatment and victimization in adolescence on violent behavior in young adulthood in a nonclinical high-risk sample. The sample consists of 1,526 incarcerated young men (14 to 24 years) who were interviewed with standardized instruments during their prison term. Violent and nonviolent offenders with and without repeated victimization experiences throughout the life cycle were compared. Results show that child maltreatment doubles the risk for violent victimization in adolescence. Repeated victimization experiences in adolescence heighten the risk for later violent offending. This is the case for officially registered violence and self-reported violent behavior. In addition, child maltreatment increased the probability of self-reported violence as well. However, the interaction effect of victimization in childhood and victimization in early adolescence counteracted the main effects. Being repeatedly victimized throughout the early life cycle slightly reduced the probability of being a frequent offender.     

Cold-related injuries in a cohort of homeless adults

People experiencing homelessness have an increased risk of cold-related injuries. This study determined the rate of emergency department (ED) visits for cold-related injuries among homeless adults and low-income controls in Toronto, Canada. Homeless individuals were recruited at shelters and meal programs. Age- and sex-matched controls living in low-income neighborhoods were selected. ED utilization was ascertained over 4-years of follow-up (2005–9) using administrative databases. A total of 16 ED visits for cold-related injuries were observed among 587 homeless men and 296 homeless women. The rate of ED visits was 6.7 (95% CI, 4.2–12.4) per 1000 person-years of observation among homeless men and 0.9 (95% CI, 0.03–5.6) among homeless women. ED visit rates were significantly higher among homeless men compared to low-income men (P?<?0.001) and significantly higher among homeless men compared to homeless women (P?=?0.03). Targeted public health interventions are needed to reduce the risk of cold-related injuries among people experiencing homelessness.     

Characteristics of homeless jail inmates: Implications for social work

This study set out to validate the hypothesis (belief) that homeless people were likely to commit minor offenses as solutions to their conditions. Jails, and maybe prisons, would provide three meals a day, a place to sleep, and minimal health care-especially during the winter months. Instead, the data did not support the hypothesis. Contrary to the reported practices of some homeless people in Colorado who are described as committing non-serious but timed offenses to go to jail, it found a homeless population in jail who give a literal interpretation to the political phrase the invisible people. They were not in jail because they were homeless, but instead they were in jail for serious crimes (murder, rape, drugs, robbery) and their homelessness was a side fact. Since it was not likely that this group would seek to address or resolve their homelessness, it was recommended that jail social workers identify their needs to them, track them into social welfare networks, with a designated contact person, prior to their release.     

The effects of child maltreatment on violent offending among institutionalized youth

While prior literature generally supports the connection between child maltreatment and violent offending in adolescence and early adulthood for general population samples, less is known about the relationship between child maltreatment and the frequency of violent offending among serious juvenile offenders. As a result, few studies have examined whether the effects of child maltreatment on the frequency of violent offending are mediated by other social processes, as developmental models of aggression and violence would suggest. To examine this issue, self-report data on child maltreatment, general delinquency risk factors, and violent offending were collected from 3,694 juveniles confined to 48 correctional institutions. Results from a series of negative binomial regression models indicated that the relationship between child maltreatment and the frequency of violent offending was mediated by social risk factors. The implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.     

Somewhere to be permanent for a minute: Time and space perceptions of older adult men experiencing chronic homelessness in Detroit

Within the landscape of postwar era Detroit, space is vast, but places are hard to find. As people tumble down the side of Maslow’s pyramid into abject homelessness, they attempt to anchor themselves in locations that suspend the otherwise situational free fall. This article analyzes how time and space are perceived by people experiencing chronic homelessness and how those individual perceptions are informed by the objective time and space urban environment. We conducted our community-based participatory research into the experiences of chronic homelessness both from perspectives of chronically homeless older adult men and from front-line service providers. Themes that emerged are as follows: (1) temporary permanence, (2) permanent temporariness, and (3) lostness. The article concludes with policy implications regarding the procedures for measuring the extent of homelessness and the needs of those who live it.     

Changing Attitudes Toward the Homeless: The Effects of Prosocial Communication With the Homeless

One hundred, thirty-four undergraduate students participated in afield experiment designed to examine the effects of extended, prosocial communication with homeless persons, upon attitudes toward the homeless problem, of behavioral intentions towards the homeless, and of causal attributions about homelessness. It was expected that prosocial interaction with the homeless would produce shifts in attitudes and behavioral intentions toward the homeless and homelessness and result in greater attributions of external causes to explain homelessness. Nineteen experimental participants worked 15 hours at a local homeless shelter. Their responses to a posttestquestionnaire that measured a range of attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward the homeless were compared with control participants who did not work at the shelter. Subsequent analyses furnished strong evidence of positive changes in attitudes and intentions toward homelessness among the shelter workers. These participants evaluated homeless people as less blameworthy and more socially attractive than did control participants; moreover, shelter workers indicated more personal responsibility and behavioral commitment to helping the homeless than control participants. They also perceived the homeless problem to be more serious and were more likely to attribute homelessness to bad luck than control participants. However, the two groups were equally likely to attribute homelessness to various external causes such as the economy, housing costs, and governmental policies. The results are interpreted as having policy implications for volunteer service.     

Changing Attitudes Toward the Homeless: The Effects of Prosocial Communication With the Homeless

One hundred, thirty-four undergraduate students participated in a field experiment designed to examine the effects of extended, prosocial communication with homeless persons, upon attitudes toward the homeless problem, of behavioral intentions towards the homeless, and of causal attributions about homelessness. It was expected that prosocial interaction with the homeless would produce shifts in attitudes and behavioral intentions toward the homeless and homelessness and result in greater attributions of external causes to explain homelessness. Nineteen experimental participants worked 15 hours at a local homeless shelter. Their responses to a posttest questionnaire that measured a range of attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward the homeless were compared with control participants who did not work at the shelter. Subsequent analyses furnished strong evidence of positive changes in attitudes and intentions toward homelessness among the shelter workers. These participants evaluated homeless people as less blameworthy and more socially attractive than did control participants; moreover, shelter workers indicated more personal responsibility and behavioral commitment to helping the homeless than control participants. They also perceived the homeless problem to be more serious and were more likely to attribute homelessness to bad luck than control participants. However, the two groups were equally likely to attribute homelessness to various external causes such as the economy, housing costs, and governmental policies. The results are interpreted as having policy implications for volunteer service.     

The within poverty differences in the occurrence of physical neglect

This secondary data analysis examined the risk and protective factor(s) associated with physical neglect within a sample of impoverished children. We conducted a multivariate logistic regression analysis to examine the associations among maternal age, child gender, caregiver depression, caregiver history of maltreatment, income-to-needs ratio, number of children in the home, marital status, neighborhood quality, and physical neglect. Social support was explored as a potential moderator. Among this impoverished sample, children whose caregivers had depression were 2.03 times as likely to experience physical neglect as children whose caregivers were not depressed (95% CI 1.25, 3.30; p = 0.004). Children whose caregivers reported experiencing child maltreatment were 1.81 times as likely to experience physical neglect as children whose caregivers did not experience maltreatment as a child (95% CI 1.17, 2.81; p = 0.008). Children who live in higher quality neighborhoods were 0.74 times as likely to experience physical neglect as children who live in lower quality neighborhoods (95% CI 0.57, 0.96; p = 0.03). No other significant relationships were found.     

Predictors of the Characteristics of Parent-Adult Child Relationships and Adult Child Functioning in a College Student Sample

Abstract

The responses of college student participants who were in the process of transitioning through emerging adulthood were examined so that the relationships among the characteristics of their families, their relationships with their parents, the perceptions that they hold currently about their parents, and their current functioning could be described. Results of this study suggested that particular characteristics of families are related highly to characteristics of the parent-adult child relationship during emerging adulthood. Further, the findings of this study suggested that different outcomes for adult children during emerging adulthood were predicted by characteristics of the parent-adult child relationship. Such findings may allow clinicians to remediate poor relationships and to encourage more fulfilling relationships between adult children and their parents.     

Victimization and Violence: An Exploration of the Relationship Between Child Sexual Abuse,Violence, and Delinquency

Child sexual abuse (CSA) continues to be a major public health issue with significant short- and long-term consequences. However, little contemporary research has examined the relationship between CSA and delinquent and violent behavior in adolescence. Children who have been sexually abused experience a unique form of victimization compared to children who have endured other forms of maltreatment, as CSA can result in feelings of shame, powerlessness and boundary violations. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of CSA on delinquent and violent behavior in adolescence. We examined self-report data at the age 18 interview from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) on measures of sexual abuse experience, and engagement in delinquent and violent behavior in the past year. All participants reported either a history of maltreatment or were identified at-risk based on demographic risk factors. Participants included 368 males and 445 females who self-reported experiences of CSA and delinquent and violent behavior (N = 813). Findings indicated that, when controlling for gender and race, the odds of engagement in delinquent and violent behavior for those who have experienced CSA are 1.7 times higher than for those who have not. Additionally, female victims of CSA were .52 times less likely to engage in violent and delinquent behavior compared to their male counterparts. Further efforts are needed to examine the effects of CSA on violent and delinquent behavior to better guide treatment efforts that prevent juvenile justice involvement.     

Homelessness and aging out of foster care: A national comparison of child welfare-involved adolescents

The present study represents the first large-scale, prospective comparison to test whether aging out of foster care contributes to homelessness risk in emerging adulthood. A nationally representative sample of adolescents investigated by the child welfare system in 2008 to 2009 from the second cohort of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being Study (NSCAW II) reported experiences of housing problems at 18- and 36-month follow-ups. Latent class analyses identified subtypes of housing problems, including literal homelessness, housing instability, and stable housing. Regressions predicted subgroup membership based on aging out experiences, receipt of foster care services, and youth and county characteristics. Youth who reunified after out-of-home placement in adolescence exhibited the lowest probability of literal homelessness, while youth who aged out experienced similar rates of literal homelessness as youth investigated by child welfare but never placed out of home. No differences existed between groups on prevalence of unstable housing. Exposure to independent living services and extended foster care did not relate with homelessness prevention. Findings emphasize the developmental importance of families in promoting housing stability in the transition to adulthood, while questioning child welfare current focus on preparing foster youth to live.     

Homelessness as One Component of Housing Instability and Its Impact on the Development of Children in Poverty

The number offamilies with children living in poverty and experiencing housing instability and homelessness has increased dramatically over the last two decades. Current public policy decisions will lead to further increases. Understanding the impact of this instability on the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive development of children is imperative. Few studies cn'tically examine the effects ofinstability on both domiciled and homeless children. This research examined the effects of homelessness and housing instability on 133 children 8 to 12 years of age living in poverty. Results indicate that whether a child is currently homeless is not as significant as overall stability which may have a long ranging effect on a child's future development.     

A new look at the health and homeless experience of a cohort of five-year olds

Homelessness is increasing and health workers and others need to be ever vigilant about the risk that this has on children's health. What is that risk and what are children's experiences of homelessness? A retrospective case note study was carried out to compare the health of a group of five-year olds who had experienced homelessness and compare them with matched ‘non-homeless’ controls. A home interview questionnaire was used to give a profile of the children's housing experience and the health issues faced during their time in temporary accommodation. Fifty-three cases when compared with 41 controls showed a statistically greater prevalence of child protection issues and an increased number of health needs identified at the school nurse health appraisal. The housing profile identified that the case children moved homes many times (37 per cent more than five times), were homeless much longer than the officially registered period (67 per cent more than 12 months) and 61 per cent were made homeless through domestic violence. The study reinforces the need for us to acknowledge important environmental stress and to continue to advocate for this group of disadvantaged children.