Facts In Action

When homeless children access high quality early care and education opportunities, many of the developmental risks associated with homelessness are reduced and their parents are able to secure jobs and housing more efficiently. Due to the high number of homeless children living in state-funded emergency housing shelters in 2003 -- 2,864, ages birth to 18 -- Horizons for Homeless Children conducted a survey of shelters in Massachusetts. Their study assessed the percentage of homeless children participating in early care and education programs.

They found that, overall:

• 44% of homeless children in MA attend a formal early care or education program
• 56% of homeless children have no formal care arrangement.
• Children in domestic violence shelters, teen living programs, and transitional shelter programs, on average, attended early care and education programs at higher rates than children living in congregate family shelters or scattered site family shelters.

Compared to statewide averages,

• 52% of shelter children stay with a parent during the day, compared to only 24% of housed children.
• 38% of homeless children attend a Head Start, Early Head Start or center based program, whereas 56% of children statewide attend these programs.
• Overall, 44% of homeless children participate in a formal care program compared to 68% of all Massachusetts children.

In order to sustain the current good work and focus the field on next steps, Horizons offers recommendations including:

• Increase contracted child care slots for homeless children;
• Strengthen partnerships between the family shelter system and the early childhood care and education field; and
• Collect data to further document and benchmark progress.

Ultimately, homeless children's access rate of early care and education is yet another dynamic of the economics of child care discussion.

Cameron, E. & Heilman, S. (2004) Bridging the Gap: Early Care and Education for Massachusetts Young Homeless Children. http://www.horizonsforhomelesschildren.org

Facts in Action, July 2004