News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — SchoolHouse Connection, in partnership with the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions initiative, today announced the launch of new, updated interactive data profiles examining child and youth homelessness across the United States. These profiles organize and analyze federal data over a four-year period.

“Child and youth homelessness is largely invisible in our communities and in our schools,” said Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection. “These data profiles help shine a light on these students, the harmful impact of homelessness on their school attendance and achievement, and where progress can be made.”

The interactive dashboard allows users to explore homelessness trends across multiple geographic areas – from national and state levels to local communities, U.S. Congressional districts, and state legislative districts. New features help school districts assess whether they may be under-identifying students experiencing homelessness and highlight districts that are categorized as “severely underfunded” – those that have identified students experiencing homelessness but do not receive McKinney-Vento subgrants to serve them. Users can also compare educational outcomes between homeless students and their housed peers through critical indicators such as chronic absenteeism and graduation rates.

Jennifer Erb-Downward

“The data profiles make information on children experiencing homelessness easily accessible to decision makers at local, state, and national levels,” said Jennifer Erb-Downward, director of housing stability programs and policy initiatives at Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan. “This is the kind of information that is needed if we are going to come together to truly prevent and solve homelessness.”

Join Us for a Deep Dive into the Data

SchoolHouse Connection and Poverty Solutions will host a webinar today, January 29, at 12PM Eastern to demonstrate the features of the new data profiles and discuss key findings. Participants will learn how to:

• Navigate the interactive dashboard
• Interpret trends and patterns in the data
• Use this information to inform local and state policy

To register for the webinar, click here. The recording will be available here within 1-2 business days. The data profiles are now available at https://schoolhouseconnection.org/article/data-profiles