A staggering 2.5 million children are now homeless each year in America. This historic high represents one in every 30 children in the United States.

The latest version of America’s Youngest Outcasts, released in November 2014 to raise awareness of the current state of child homelessness in the United States, documents the number of homeless children in every state, their well-being, their risk for child homelessness, and state level planning and policy efforts.

Child homelessness increased in 31 states and the District of Columbia from 2012 to 2013. Children are homeless in every city, county, and state throughout our country.

Using findings from numerous sources that include well-established national data sets and our own research, we rank states in four domains from 1 (high) to 50 (low). The report was funded by the Oak Foundation and the Marie C. and Joseph C. Wilson Foundation.  Read the complete report.

About NCFH

For more than 25 years, NCFH has been at the forefront of national efforts to understand and respond to homelessness, trauma, poverty and the need for social services and supports to mitigate the impact of homelessness on children, youth, and families. 

Through research, programs, trainings, and partnerships with the homeless service system, NCFH provides accessible trainings, technical assistance, and reports addressing the causes, correlates, and consequences of homelessness to inform local, state, and national efforts to prevent and end homelessness.

In 2013 the National Center merged with American Institutes for Research (AIR), and continues to inform policy-makers and practitioners about the conditions of homeless families.  As part of AIR’s Health and Social Development Program, NCFH

• develops and conducts evidence-based strategies and resources to prevent and address homelessness and trauma;
• assesses and trains social service systems on trauma-informed care;
• identifies and develops best practices that are culturally competent, consumer-informed, and based on research, evaluation, and clinical expertise; and
• develops and disseminates products and findings.