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 disproportionately 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 trauma 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. Through increased awareness, policy and advocacy activities, and programmatic support, supportive housing for families caught at the intersection of homelessness and child welfare involvement will expand across the country.
How You Can Help
Actions to consider as an Individual supporting One Roof:
- Send an e-mail or text to spread the word about One Roof and opportunities to better support children, youth and families at the intersection of child welfare and housing instability.
- Sign up for information and use when sharing your interest in advancing One Roof goals with others in your state or community, such as elected officials.
- Join us on Facebook and Twitter and share posts with your social network.
- Donate here to support One Roof activities.
Actions to consider as an Organization supporting the One Roof:
- Engage staff, consumers, and partners in One Roof by sharing www.1rooffamilies.org website and by including child welfare and housing topics within upcoming meeting agendas.
- Use the CSH Supportive Housing Need Assessment and Racial Disparities and Disproportionality Index available at www.csh.org/data to assess and understand the needs in your state.
- Sign up that you can use to develop or expand housing and services for families and youth and use to educate others such as elected officials.
- Join us on Facebook and Twitter and share posts with your social network.
- Share campaign articles and success stories related to child welfare and housing in newsletters and list serve publications.
- Host a cross-system conversation to promote further collaboration between child welfare, housing, and other service systems. Click here to connect with CSH for planning ideas and support opportunities through One Roof partners.
Actions to consider as a Funding Partner supporting the One Roof:
- Engage staff, partners and funding recipients in One Roof by sharing www.1rooffamilies.org website and by including child welfare and housing topics within upcoming meeting agendas.
- Sign up for information that you can use to develop funding priorities that will expand housing and services for families and youth.
- Join us on Facebook and Twitter and share posts with your social network.
- Invest in national One Roof partner activities.
- Invest in local efforts to create housing aligned with supportive services for families and youth.
- Share articles and success stories related to child welfare and housing in newsletters and list serve publications.
- Host or sponsor a cross-system conversation to promote further collaboration between child welfare, housing, and other service systems. Click here to connect with CSH for planning ideas and support opportunities through One Roof partners.
Actions to consider as Government Agency supporting the One Roof:
- Engage staff, consumers, and partners in One Roof by sharing www.1rooffamilies.org website and including child welfare and housing topics within upcoming meeting agendas.
- Use the CSH Supportive Housing Need Assessment and Racial Disparities and Disproportionality Index available at www.csh.org/data to assess and understand the needs in your state.
- Sign up to stay current on upcoming opportunities and new resources.
- Join us on Facebook and Twitter and share posts with your social network.
- Share articles and success stories related to child welfare and housing in newsletters and list serve publications.
- Host a cross-system conversation to promote further collaboration between child welfare, housing, and other service systems. Click here to connect with CSH for planning ideas and support opportunities through One Roof partners.
- Commit resources (funding, services, housing resources, staffing) to local efforts to create housing aligned with supportive services for families and youth.
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.