The Problem
Safe, stable housing and reliable, nurturing care are at the core of healthy child development. Families experiencing housing instability and homelessness are at increased risk for child welfare involvement and relatively poor child welfare outcomes.
And foster care placement is the last thing anyone wants. Among families in the child welfare system, rates of trauma, substance use, mental and physical health concerns are far too high. Families with or at risk for child welfare involvement have high rates of housing and economic insecurity, including frequent moves, shelter stays, substandard housing, and homelessness1.
Housing instability compromises family unity and delays family reunification. For youth who spend time in child welfare, consequences can be lasting. This experience has lasting, often negative consequences on children as they grow into adults. Children in foster care often do not graduate from high school, have greater rates of adolescent pregnancy and homelessness, and frequently suffer from the same substance use and mental health conditions their parents did. We must break the cycle of trauma and poverty that is perpetuated by family homelessness and housing instability.
The Solution
The overall vision for the One Roof campaign is to transform the lives of children and their parents and change how child welfare and housing agencies collaboratively support these vulnerable families, as well as youth exiting foster care. Through increased awareness, policy and advocacy activities, and programmatic support, housing opportunities for families and youth caught at the intersection of homelessness and child welfare involvement will expand across the country.
How You Can Help
1 Courtney, M., McMurtry, S., & Zinn, A. (2004). Housing problems experienced by recipients of child welfare services. Child Welfare, 83, 389–392; Dhillon, A. (2005). Keeping families together and safe: A primer on the child protection–housing connection. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America.