| Abstract: | Family homelessness continues to be one of the most misunderstood and inadequately addressed public policy issues in America today. One reason is the scarcity of quantitative data available on the subject. In response, Columbia Universitys Graduate School of International and Public Affairs and the Institute for Children and Poverty designed and implemented an extensive survey on the demographics of homeless families in the New York City region. Data on more than 140 variables was collected from 743 homeless heads-of-household during the spring of 1997. The parents who were interviewed resided in fourteen emergency and transitional family shelters located throughout New York City and northern New Jersey. The following report summarizes the key elements of this research. |
