Child and Family Well-Being and Homelessness: Integrating Research into Practice and Policy PDF
Preview Child and Family Well-Being and Homelessness: Integrating Research into Practice and Policy
SPRINGER BRIEFS IN PSYCHOLOGY ADVANCES IN CHILD AND FAMILY POLICY AND PRACTICE Mary E. Haskett Editor Child and Family Well-Being and Homelessness Integrating Research into Practice and Policy SpringerBriefs in Psychology Advances in Child and Family Policy and Practice Editorinchief BarbaraH.Fiese,UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign,Urbana,IL,USA Moreinformationabout thisseries athttp://www.springer.com/series/10143 Mary E. Haskett Editor Child and Family Well-Being and Homelessness Integrating Research into Practice and Policy Editor MaryE.Haskett DepartmentofPsychology NorthCarolinaStateUniversity Raleigh,NC,USA ISSN2192-8363 ISSN2192-8371 (electronic) SpringerBriefsinPsychology ISBN978-3-319-50885-6 ISBN978-3-319-50886-3 (eBook) DOI10.1007/978-3-319-50886-3 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017931313 ©SpringerInternationalPublishingAG2017 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthis book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained hereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade. Printedonacid-freepaper ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland Executive Summary: Enhancing Public Policy to Promote Well-Being of Parents and Children Experiencing Homelessness This summary of policy recommendations focuses on three areas: (1) the integra- tion of policies and practices for families experiencing homelessness; (2) the promotionofhealthyfamilies;and(3)buildingtheevidencebasetoguideeffective policy.Thisisnotanexhaustivelist;rather,theserecommendationsaredrawnfrom resultsoftheinnovativestudiesinthismonographofAdvancesinChildandFamily Policy and Practice. Broader policy recommendations are available from the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the Bassuk Center on Homeless and Vulnerable Children & Youth, The U.S. DHHS Administration for Children and Families (see especially the new Policy Statement on Meeting the Needs of Families with Young Children Experiencing and At Risk of Homelessness), and theU.S.InteragencyCouncilonHomelessness. Integrate Policies and Practices • Require and Support Coordinated Policies Across Sectors. Policies and fundingsourcesmustbelinkedmorecloselyacrossagenciesthatservehomeless children and families. To illustrate, the National Center on Early Head Start- Child Care Partnerships (jointly funded by the Office of Head Start and the Office ofChildCare)encouragesdevelopmentofformalpartnershipsbetween EarlyHeadStartandchildcareprograms.Partnershipsshouldexpandtoinclude McKinney-VentoCoordinatorsforEducationofHomelessChildrenandYouths, IDEAPartC(EarlyIntervention)programs,andCCDFservices.Fundingshould be allocated for technical assistance for implementing and sustaining the coor- dinatedpolicies. • Integrate Coordinated Cross-System Support Services with Housing Support. Availability of affordable housing and sufficient federal and state funding for housing vouchers for all eligible families are essential for ending v vi ExecutiveSummary familyhomelessness,butthereisalsoacriticalroleforpsychosocialservicesin stabilizationofvulnerablefamilies.TheBassukCenter’sServicesMatterreport (www.bassukcenter.org)delineateseightessentialcomponentsofacomprehen- sivetwo-generationalresponsetofamilyhomelessnessthatinvolvescoordinat- ingdeliveryofservicestosupporttheentirefamily. Promote Healthy Families • MandateUseofTwo-GenerationalFamily-CenteredAssessmentProcesses. Familieswithouthomesareaheterogeneousgroup,thoughtheysharecommon risk factors. Given variability across families, a comprehensive screening and assessment process is vital toidentifyneeds of all family members and reduce wasteful“one-size-fits-all”approaches. • Increase Access to Early Care and Education. Given the disproportionate number of families with very young children who are homeless and the many barriers faced by families seeking care for their children, there is a clear and compelling need for increased access to high-quality early care and education forthesefamilies.ProvisionsinthereauthorizedChildCareDevelopmentBlock Grant(CCDBG)haveincorporatedMcKinney-Ventoconceptsintothepolicies of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Head Start. Pending adequate funding, the CCDBG may provide additional resources to homeless services providers to help their clients access early childhood resources. Further, the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007mandatedtheprioritizationofchildrenexperiencinghomelessness;unfor- tunately, waitlists persist, so adequate appropriation of funds must follow mandates. • Prioritize Parenting Resources to Families Experiencing Homelessness. Positive parenting promotes resilience of children who face the loss of their home. Like all parents, those experiencing homelessness are eager to receive parenting support. In the face of enormous stress and adversity, parents experiencing homelessness require greater accesstoparentingsupport. Priori- tizing families without homes for federally funded programs such as those supported by the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, as well as Early Head Start and Head Start programs, couldpromotepositiveparenting andreduce early social-emotional-behavioral challengesofyounghomelesschildrenandpreventlatermentalhealthproblems. ExecutiveSummary vii Build the Evidence Base to Guide Effective Policy • Improve Data Collection and Fund Research on Family Homelessness. Effective policies to end family homelessness must be driven by high-quality data. In the absence of consistent and comprehensive data, policies are ill informedatbestorineffectiveatworst.Currently,theevidencebaseforeffec- tivehousingandservicestoaddressfamilyhomelessnessisnotwelldeveloped. Thepace ofknowledgedevelopment mustaccelerate at apace thatreflects the rapidly growing number of homeless families and the complex nature of their needs. Improved data collection on parent and child functioning and services delivered by individual programs (IDEA Part C, CCDF, etc.) and through HUD’s Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) would provide criticalinformationtodevelopappropriatepolicyresponses. • Shape Research Funding. In addition to enhancing existing data collection systems, public and private research grants should be made available at higher levels for investigations of family homelessness, specifically in the following areas: (a) Fund research to examine implementation and effects of evidence-based programsdeliveredinhousingprogramstopromotepositiveparentingand reduceriskforchildmaltreatmentandtotreatparentandchildmentalhealth challenges. Studies should be funded at a level that will ensure they are sufficientlypoweredtodeterminenotonlywhatworksbutalsoforwhomthe interventionworks,underwhatconditionstheinterventioniseffective,and whenandatwhatdosageitshouldbedelivered. (b) Develop and replicate innovative systems changes, including models of collaboration as recommended by experts and as described in this Brief. Investigations are needed toidentify factors that (a) promote such collabo- ration, (b) ensure consistency, fidelity, and sustainability of collaborative models,and(c)facilitatecapacityforscalingthemodels.Therelativelynew areaofimplementationsciencecaninformtheseinvestigations. (c) Fundinvestigationsinresiliencesciencetogainagreaterunderstandingof the sources ofresilience that enable some vulnerable children and families withouthomestoadjustandeventhrive.Thesestudiesshouldbedesignedto assess predictors of parent and child functioning over time, from the time theyexperiencetheirfirstepisodeofhousinginstabilitythroughtheprocess ofobtainingpermanentlivingsituations. (d) Fund pilot programs to develop evidence-based methods to improve early childhood outcomes for vulnerable young children who are homeless and unstablyhoused.Earlychildhoodisacriticaldevelopmentalperiod;failure to fully support the developmental needs of infants, toddlers, and pre- schoolers without homes is unacceptable. For example, funding is needed to ascertain effects on child outcomes of new tools such as the Early ChildhoodSelf-AssessmentToolforEmergencySheltersdevelopedbythe USDHHSAdministrationforChildrenandFamilies. viii ExecutiveSummary Conclusion Family homelessness must be addressed by a comprehensive, integrated set of policy and practice strategies and public and private funding for a purposeful research agenda to build the evidence base. Family’s needs must be at the center of decision-making and policy-building. Solutions are within reach, but greater politicalandpubliccommitmentiscriticaltoreducehomelessnessandaidparents withouthomesinadvancingtheirlivesandsupportingtheirchildren’sfutures. Contents 1 UnderstandingandMeetingtheNeedsofFamilies ExperiencingHomelessness:Introduction totheBrief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 MaryE.Haskett 2 MentalHealthandAdaptationofChildrenExperiencing FamilyHomelessness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 JanetteE.Herbers,J.J.Cutuli,LyuboslavaKolarova, AmandaAlbu,andLaurenA.Sparks 3 ObservedParentinginFamiliesExposedtoHomelessness: ChildandParentCharacteristicsasPredictorsofResponse totheEarlyRisersIntervention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 KendalHoltrop,TimothyF.Piehler,AbigailH.Gewirtz, andGeraldJ.August 4 AssessmentofFamiliesExperiencingHomelessness: AnalysisofCurrentPractice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 CarmelaJ.DeCandia,EllenL.Bassuk,andMollyRichard 5 AccesstoEarlyChildhoodServicesforYoungChildren ExperiencingHomelessness. . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . .. 65 StaciM.Perlman,SaraH.Shaw,CharlesH.Kieffer, Grace-AnnC.Whitney,andCarieBires 6 InteragencyCollaborationtoPromoteMentalHealth andDevelopmentofChildrenExperiencingHomelessness. . . . . . . . 83 MaryE.Haskett,JenniferTisdale,andAmyLeonardClay ix x Contents 7 ASafe,StablePlacetoCallHome:PolicyImplications andNextStepstoAddressFamilyHomelessness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 PrestonA.BritnerandAnneF.Farrell Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
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