Home Is Where the Heart Is: the Crisis of Homeless Children and Families in New York City
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 304 228 PS 017 830 AUTHOR Mr,lnar, Janice; And Others TITLE Home Is Where the Heart Is: The Crisis of Homeless Children and Families in New York City. A Report to the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. INSTITUTION Bank Street Coll. of Education, New York, N.Y. SI-ONS AGENCY Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, New York, N.Y. PUB DATE Mar 88 NOTE 141p. AVAILABLE FROMBank Street College of Education, 610 West 112th Street, New York, NY 10025 ($14.45, plus $2.40 handling). PUB TYPE Reports - Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC06 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Childhood Needs; *Delivery Systems; Education; *Family Problems; Futures (of Society); *Health; *Homeless People; *Nutrition; Preschool Children; Welfare Services IDENTIFIERS *New York (New York); Transitional Shelter System ABSTRACT This report on homeless children between infancy and 5 years of age highlights issues facing the 11,000 homeless children and their families living in emergency temporary housing in New York City. The rising incidence of homelessness among families is considered in national and local contexts. There follows an overview of the transitional shelter system in New York City and themany agencies serving homeless children and their families. Subsequent sections profile what is known about the health, nutrition, educatt-4, and child and family welfare of homeless chilndre. This discussion is followed by developmental descriptions of young children observed during a 6-month period at the American Red Cross Emergency Family Center. Concluding sections highlight key issues that need to be addressed if homeless children and their familiesare to have a better future. Appendices provide related material, suchas a summary of a research and policy roundtable discussion on homeless children and families that focused on: (1) what is known about the impact of homelessness on children and families; (2) strategies most effective for supporting at-risk families; (3) most effective ways of measuring child development and family functioning; and (4) suggestions for future agendas and advocacy efforts. (RH) ***** ***** ********************* ***** ************** ***** **************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the ort inal document. ******* ****** ***** * ***** ********* ***** ********************************* U DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Offr Ce Of Educational R Search and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document hal been reproduced as received Iron' the person or organization it Wm", changes have been nude to Imp,Ove N PrOduCtiOr Points Owe*, Or Opin.0n5 stated n 11,5 dOCu went do not necessarily....present official O OERI position or policy re\ O Home Is Where the Heart Is: The Crisis of Homeless Children and Families in New York City A Report to the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation by Janice Molnar, Ph.D. With the Assistance of Tovah Klein Special Advisor Jane Knitzer, Ed.D. Research Consultant Blanca Ortiz-Torres "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Cir1 no`nog TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Bank Street College of Education March, 1988 HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS: THE CRISIS OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN NEW YORK CITY A Report to the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation by Janice Molnar, Ph.D. With the Assistance of Tovah Klein Special Advisor Jane Knitzer, Ed.D. Research Consultant Blanca Ortiz-Torres Bank Street College of Education March, 1988 ,-, I) LOOKING I want out. A home to call my own. Where can I go? Who can help me? What must I do? When will this stopover in a sort of hell ever end? I've been here. I've been there. Only to be told "SORRY, TOO LATE. Take this address and go there. I wish you luck." Luck. Ha! If that's what it takes, then I am doomed to live a lifeless life, My children and I in homeless homes, never knowing for how long. Laura Lee Nash From: The Women of the Regent Hotel, a collection of poetry and photography produced by participants in a poetry workshop run by the Child Development Center of the Jewish Board of Family & Children's Services, Inc. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation for its support of our beginning efforts in understanding the context of homeless families and their children in New York City. We drew on the knowle _Ige and expertise of many individuals in the city, including agency staff, program providers, advocates, parents, and children.In particular, we appreciated the insights that program providers shared with us; we were inspired by their commitment to improving conditions for homeless children and their families. Principles of confidentiality prevent us from acknowledging by name all those who contributed to this document. But we thank you. We also wish to thank the "behind-the-scenes" people whose support of our work helped to move it forward:Peter Derrick and Anne Mitchell for their editorial assistance and all- around support, Annelie Hartmann and Naomi Hupert for their patient and cheerful help with producing this report, Joan Auclair for designing the cover, and most especially Liz Westfall---who went the extra mile in putting it all together---for her endless energy and commitment to the project. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements iii List of Tables vii Executive Summary ix Introduction to the Report 1 Who's In Charge? 2 Methodology 3 Overview of the Report 6 Introduction to the Children 8 The National Context 10 Homeless in New York City: The Local Context 16 It's a Nice Place to Visit But 16 Who Are New York City's Families? 19 Why Are They Homeless? 20 How Long Are They Homeless? 21 Sorting Out The Maze: Serving Homeless Families 24 The Process 24 Types of Shelters 25 Where Do Homeless Families Come From and Where Do They Go To? 29 The Cost of Shelter 31 Agencies Serving Homeless Children and Their Families 33 Health Care for Homeless Children 36 Infants At-Risk 37 Health Problems in Homeless Children 41 Health Care Providers 43 Special Initiatives 45 Nutrition 48 Supplemental Food Programs 49 Hungry Children 53 Educational Programs for Children 56 School-Aged Children 56 Preschool-Aged Children 59 Child and Family Welfare 70 The Mental Health Status of Homeless Families 70 Access to and Eligibility for Services 71 A Special Look at Preschoolers 75 Observational Data 76 v G I I Children's Strengths 79 Assessment Issues 81 Impact of Inadequate Family Supports on Child Development 82 Parting Snapshot 86 I Issues and Challenges for the Future 88 The Setting: Its Influences on Parents and Children 88 I Service Delivery Challenges 92 Issues for the Future 100 I References 108 Appendices 113 1 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Families in Emergency Shelter in New York City 27 Table 2 Location of Emergency Shelter in Relation to Families' Borough of Last Residence 30 Table 3 Average Costs of Sheltering Homeless Families in New York City 32 Table 4 Early Childhood Programs for Homeless Children 62 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report is the product of a six-month effort supported by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. It highlights some of the issues facing the 11,000 homeless children and their families living in emergency temporary housing in New York City.Throughout the report our prime focus is on the youngest homeless children ages birth to 5.This emphasis results from our belief that there is a need for immediate action to halt the potentially damaging effects of homelessness on young children. Although the most basic problem is inadequate housing, there is no doubt that this will not be solved soon. As solutions and strategies are debated, young children are living their lives. They are not waiting. Something must be done now to assure theirwell- behig. The Context of Homelessness: National and Local Perspectives Homelessness in New York City is not a sudden ci:sis but is a predictable outcomeofsomeveryintentionalfederalpolicies,aggravatedby unaccommodating local conditions.Nationwide, there may be as many as 3 million homeless people, one-third of whom are families with children. Across the country, and no less true in New York City, families are the largest growing segment of the homeless population.National trends contributing to the exploding numbers of homeless families include: the movement of the federal government out of the low-income housing market; decreased federal support of social programs serving the poor; a growing service and information-based economy that is squeezing out the least educated segme-d. of the labor pool;and changing demographic trends. Locally, the context from which New York City's homeless families come is an extraordinarily tight housing market which has been particularly hard hit by federal housing cuts. At the lowest income levels, there is a citywide vacancy rate of only 1%, and a wait for public housing up to 18 years long. Aswith the C)ix national picture, it is more than housing that is the problem.It is also family economics. Almost one-third of New York City families with children live below the poverty level, making them least able to compete in a very competit've market. Homeless Families in New York City On Thanksgiving Day, 1987 there were 5,116 homeless families in emergency shelters in New York City. This included 6,737 adults and 10,945 children, half of whom were under age 5. Families had an average of two to three children. Ninety-five percent of the families were Black or Hispanic; 86% were headed by women; 11% had household heads under age 21.Prior to applying for emergency sheltei, half of the families had shared living arrangements with relatives or friends. By the time they sought the City's help, they had exhausted all personal and family resources. Systems and Services for Homeless Children and Their Families in Transitional Shelters Families are homeless for an average of 13 months before being re-located to permanent housing.