News

Washington PostBy Lisa ReinNew figures released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Thursday show that 564,708 people were homeless on a night in January of this year, a 2 percent drop from 2014.HUD officials said the decline, of a total of 11 percent since 2007, is an encouraging sign that the Obama administration is succeeding in its five-year-old goal of preventing and ending homelessness and ending what the government calls chronic homelessness by 2017...Read more

Washington – First Focus Campaign for Children today applauded the introduction of a U.S. Senate bill that would expand eligibility of the earned income tax credit (EITC) for former foster youth.The Foster EITC Act, introduced today by Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), would lower the age that former foster youth can claim the EITC from 25 to 18. Among other things, the bill would also expand eligibility to all childless adults over age 21.The EITC is a tax credit for low-and moderate-income working individuals and families. It is one the largest federal anti-poverty programs...

NBC PhiladelphiaBy Morgan ZalotThe results of a 2015 count of homeless people across the United States revealed major strides in decreasing homelessness in America -- but also some persistent challenges facing certain vulnerable populations. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Thursday released and discussed the new data on homelessness in America based on January 2015 point-in-time counts of sheltered and unsheltered homeless people...Read more

Washington – Advocates for homeless children and youth say the annual count of homeless children and youth released today by the Department of Housing and Urban Development is problematic and underestimates family and youth homelessness.HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report Part I reported 127,787 homeless children under age 18 in the United States in January, a 5.8 percent decrease from 2014.HUD’s “point-in-time” (PIT) count is intended to give an estimate of how many homeless Americans there are on one particular night. It includes families staying in homeless shelters, as well as families identified by volunteers who survey streets, parks, light rail...

Education WeekBy Evie BladThe U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that there were 127,787 homeless children in the United States in 2015, a 5.8 percent drop from 2014. But other agencies and youth advocates dispute that figure.In HUD's 2015 point-in-time homeless count, 23 percent of all homeless people were children under the age of 18, the agency reported Thursday. That includes 4,667 unaccompanied youths under 18. Overall, the nation saw a 2 percent drop in homelessness, according to...

Deseret NewsBy Marjorie CortezThe numbers of chronically homeless Utahns are so low, service providers and government officials know them by name. And family homelessness is down 10 percent from a year ago, a new state report says.But the report also indicates the number of homeless Utah schoolchildren increased slightly from a year ago and notes a wide disparity between the homeless counts led by the state Department of Workforce Services and that of the Utah State Office of Education...Read more

Danbury Daily VoiceFAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- The First Focus Campaign for Children, a national bipartisan children’s advocacy group, recognized Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (D- Danbury, Newtown) for her leadership on issues important to children during the 114th Congress (2014-2015)...Read more

The Bergen Dispatch11/5/2015Advocates for homeless children and youth say the annual estimate of homelessness in the United States released November 5th by the Department of Housing and Urban Development is misleading and underestimates family and youth homelessness.Read more

Washington – Advocates for homeless children and youth say the annual estimate of homelessness in the United States released today by the Department of Housing and Urban Development is misleading and underestimates family and youth homelessness.HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report Part II, an estimate and description of homeless Americans presented each year to Congress, reported 517,416 sheltered families with children (including both children and adults) in 2014, a 9.3 percent increase from 2007.In contrast, the Department of Education identified 1,360,747 homeless children and youth in the 2013-2014 school year, a 100.2 percent increase from the 2006-2007 school year.HUD’s estimates...

Cleveland Plain DealerBy Sandy OxleyChildren face real challenges today, in Ohio and nationwide. One-fifth of all children live below the poverty line, schools are underinvesting and overtesting, and there's a record number of students in the state's public schools. Little wonder a recent poll found two-thirds of voters are pessimistic about children's futures...Read more