background preloader

Homelessness

Facebook Twitter

Kevin Marks. The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. Setting the Context Compared with permanently housed children in poverty, young children experiencing homelessness have more developmental delays, health problems, and other challenges.

The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth

Yet homeless children face unique barriers to enrolling and participating in preschool. This is especially troubling in light of the fact that over 40% of children living in homeless shelters are under the age of five, and therefore at an age where early childhood education can have a significant positive impact on their development and future academic achievement. This page provides resources on laws, policies, and other materials relevant to early childhood education and young homeless children. NAEHCY Resources. National Center for Homeless Education. NCHE Resources.

National Center for Homeless Education

Home - Children's Health Watch. Horizons for Homeless Children Horizons for Homeless Children. Homeless Children's Playtime Project. While it is well-documented that homelessness causes physical, emotional, and developmental harm to children, the resources that serve them are shrinking and largely inaccessible.

Homeless Children's Playtime Project

Children are often left to manage the trauma of homelessness on their own, and consequently, a disproportionate number of children in shelters suffer from emotional, behavioral, and learning problems. These children generally enter school without the basic skills they need to succeed and are often lagging years behind. A Harvard Medical School study found that: History. The National Center on Family Homelessness is the nation's foremost authority on family homelessness.

history

We conduct state-of-the-art research and develop innovative solutions to end family homelessness in America and give every child a chance. The National Center was founded in 1988 by Ellen Bassuk, MD, and David Jordan, then editor-in-chief of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It's About the Children by Pat Van Doren. The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. Learn the Signs. Act Early. You spend your day working with, playing with, and watching children, and you are already familiar with many milestones – such as pointing at objects, smiling, and playing with others – that mark a child’s development.

Learn the Signs. Act Early

All children are unique, but sooner or later, you will see a child who is not developing as they should. You are a valuable resource to parents! They look to you for information on their child, and they trust you. The “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” campaign has created a series of resources to help you educate parents on the full range of child development. Learn the Signs. Act Early. Share with Your Friends Share information about autism spectrum disorder with your family, friends, or co-workers.

Learn the Signs. Act Early.

Click on a link below. "Children with autism spectrum disorder are not being diagnosed as early as they could be. Learn the signs of autism and get help if you’re concerned. " Early Childhood Development. Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive!

Early Childhood Development

Is a coordinated federal effort to encourage healthy child development, universal developmental and behavioral screening for children, and support for the families and providers who care for them. Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! Will help families and providers: Celebrate milestones. The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. Improving the nutrition status of homeless children: Guidelines for homeless family shelters. Www.childrenshealthfund.org/sites/default/files/publications/RMIUrgentNeedSpecialistCarePoster.pdf. Www.childrenshealthfund.org/sites/default/files/publications/HealthStatusofHomelessChildrenRevisited.pdf. Children's Health Fund - Health Care and Advocacy for America's Most Vulnerable Children. Griffin Furlong: Homeless Valedictorian Graduates with 4.65 GPA. By Nate Jones 05/29/2014 at 09:50 AM EDT High school is difficult for nearly everyone, but few have had a harder four years than Griffin Furlong.

Griffin Furlong: Homeless Valedictorian Graduates with 4.65 GPA

Tragedy struck the Jacksonville student when he was just a child. When he was 6, his mother died of leukemia. Shortly thereafter, he became homeless. Furlong lived alongside his father and brother in a shelter in Kentucky before moving to Florida, where they were kept financially afloat – barely – thanks to contributions from their extended family. "A kid shouldn't have to go through that," Furlong told local news station WPTV.

Throughout his struggle, Griffin worked hard in the classroom, and never missed a day of school. Unfortunately, more bad luck struck: In April, Furlong became homeless once again. He will graduate on June 4, at the top of his class – without a home. Furlong will attend Florida State University in the fall, but he has not yet received the scholarships needed to be able to afford it. American Children in Chronic Poverty: Complex Risks, Benefit-Cost Analyses, and Untangling the Knot. Building Adult Capabilities to Improve Child Outcomes: A Theory of Change. Working Paper #3: Excessive Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing Brain. InBrief: The Science of Neglect. Toxic Stress. The future of any society depends on its ability to foster the healthy development of the next generation.

Toxic Stress

Extensive research on the biology of stress now shows that healthy development can be derailed by excessive or prolonged activation of stress response systems in the body (especially the brain), with damaging effects on learning, behavior, and health across the lifespan. Learning how to cope with adversity is an important part of healthy child development. When we are threatened, our bodies prepare us to respond by increasing our heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormones, such as cortisol. When a young child’s stress response systems are activated within an environment of supportive relationships with adults, these physiological effects are buffered and brought back down to baseline. The result is the development of healthy stress response systems.

Rich Man, Poor Man: Socioeconomic Adversity and Brain Development. The human brain has been called “the most complex three pounds in the universe.”[ 1]Indeed, this characterization does not seem hyperbolic when we consider that we are born with 100 billion neurons at birth,[ 2] and that an additional 250,000 to 500,000 new neurons are formed every minute in the first few months of an infant’s life.[ 3]Further,it is not just the number of neurons, but the number of synapses, or connections between neurons, that is extraordinary.

Rich Man, Poor Man: Socioeconomic Adversity and Brain Development

Synaptic connections become increasingly complex in the first few years of life, and children have 1,000 trillion connections by age three.[ 4]Early experiences are critical in shaping this process.In the brain, neural circuits that are used repeatedly tend to strengthen, whereas those that are not used are dropped, or pruned. The most vigorous growth and pruning of these connections occur in the first three to four years of life,[ 5]meaning that the brain is most plastic, or able to make new connections, early in childhood. Www.familyhomelessness.org/media/173.pdf.

Video: Faces without Places. Harlem Children Enjoy First Bright Space Center Dedicated Play and Learning Environment. The Bright Horizons Foundation for Children, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC), and Community Playthings today cut ribbons to officially open Harlem’s first Bright Space center for homeless children at Abyssinian House, a Tier II transitional residence serving the families of Harlem.

Bright Space centers are designed to provide homeless children with a dedicated warm, enriching area to play and learn. “We are inspired and energized by this partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Abyssinian Development Corporation, and Community Playthings, which will provide some of Harlem’s neediest children with engaging educational places to play, learn, and find security and warmth,” said David Lissy, CEO, Bright Horizons Family Solutions and Member of the Board of the Bright Horizons Foundation for Children. “It is our mission to raise the bar for the quality of care and early education for young children across this country. Bright Beginnings. Bronfenbrenner's Theory. Www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/The_Impact_of_Family_Involvement_FR.pdf. Www.nber.org/papers/w19656.pdf?new_window=1. Invisible Child: Dasani’s Homeless Life. Family Promise of Northern Kentucky.

Head Start and Housing (In)stability: Examining the School Readiness of Children Experiencing Homelessness. Family Promise. Family Promise of Northern Kentucky. SafetyNet Alliance. Playtimeproject.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/rights-of-the-child-in-child-friendly-language.pdf. Www.playtimeproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/National-Family-Homelessness-Fact-Sheet.pdf. Horizons for Homeless Children - Official Website. Www.homelesschildrenamerica.org. Www.homelesschildrenamerica.org. Www.familyhomelessness.org. National Child Traumatic Stress Network - Child Trauma Home. IPAUSA.ORG. Why Play? - Homeless Children's Playtime Project. Love for Learning in Children Experiencing Homelessness. Today, like every Thursday, is my play day – I spend an enriching two hours at a shelter for families who are experiencing homelessness through the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project. As an early childhood enthusiast and former preschool teacher, I was already familiar with the benefits of learning through play.

What I wasn’t familiar with was the effects of homelessness on young children. The more I’ve interacted with children and families in my local community, the more curious I’ve become about the national landscape. How many young children in the US experiences homelessness? Head Start and Housing (In)stability: Examining the School Readiness of Children Experiencing Homelessness. What We Do - Homeless Children's Playtime Project. We believe that play is a human right that all children deserve, regardless of housing status.

We seek to help create a city that provides every opportunity for homeless children to succeed by advocating for affordable housing and safe shelters for all families. Since 2003, our trained and screened volunteers have provided weekly activities, healthy snacks, and opportunities to play and learn for the children at emergency shelter and transitional housing sites in the District of Columbia. In the past ten years, Playtime volunteers have served thousands of children at 7 different sites throughout the city. Part C - Homeless Education. This part may be cited as the 'McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001'. Subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: The following is the policy of the Congress: (1) Each State educational agency shall ensure that each child of a homeless individual and each homeless youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as provided to other children and youths.

(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY- The Secretary is authorized to make grants to States in accordance with the provisions of this section to enable such States to carry out the activities described in subsections (d) through (g). The Reality That Homeless Children Live — Told By Mark, 10 Years Old. The State of Homelessness in America 2013. Report | April 8, 2013.