National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C. Vol. 31, No. 17 * September 13, 1999
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 Finding Homes for America’s Future
Never in the history of our country have so many women and children been homeless, according to a new report published by The Better Homes Fund. In a time of prosperity and growth for most of the country, more and more women and children have found themselves in the streets of our nation. The new face of the homeless is that of a young child, not that of an older lonely man as in the past.
What is causing this new phenomenon? Several factors have contributed to the increase in homeless children. The first is the dramatic increase in the number of families headed by single mothers, who are among the poorest in the country.
More than a third of these female-headed households are below the poverty line. For female-headed families of African American or Hispanic descent, the number below poverty is 50 percent. Poverty is growing faster because of the increasing disparities between the incomes of the richest and the poorest in our society.
The second cause of homelessness is the continuing cutbacks in benefits, and escalating growth in the housing market and the scarcity of low-income housing. Welfare reform in the ’90s and other cutbacks in the ’80s have contributed to the continuing upward trend.
Homelessness occurs most frequently when parents cannot bridge the gap between their incomes and the cost of median rents in their communities. If the demand for affordable housing outstrips the supply, it drives up the cost of housing without a corresponding increase in the wages of the most needy. The poorest are the ones left out of housing.
For the first time since the Depression, the number of homeless families has increased steadily.
Today, families, largely women and children, comprise nearly 40 percent of the homeless population. Researchers in the field believe that there are nearly 1.2 million who are homeless on any night.
The U.S. Department of Education reports that in 1998 more than 400,000 homeless children were served by the country’s schools. Experts also state that the vast majority of homeless children are below school age, translating to more than 800,000 homeless children below the age of six.
Researchers in this field predict that because of tight housing markets and decreasing cash benefits due to welfare reform, there will be a continuing increase in homelessness among children, based on several risk factors developed by the Better Homes Fund, including:
- the percentage of children in households 50 percent or more below poverty level
- the number of children in foster care
- families 50 percent or more below poverty level who must pay more than 50 percent of income for rent
- number of female-headed households
- housing vacancy rate
- homeless school-age children
- decrease in TANF caseloads
The five states with the lowest risk factors for children becoming homeless are:
The 10 states with the greatest risk factors for children becoming homeless are:
Louisiana
Michigan
West Virginia
Georgia
Oklahoma
Mississippi
Arizona
Alabama
Oregon
Florida
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31 percent
29 percent
28 percent
28 percent
27 percent
27 percent
27 percent
27 percent
26 percent
26 percent
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A recent Washington Post article cited a study completed by the center on Budget and Policy Priorities, that says the actual income of the poorest households in the nation declined by $810 between 1995 and 1997.
(Research News is written by Jacqueline Byers, research director.)
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