The Health of Homeless Children Revisited

Homelessness in America steadily declined through the 1950s and 1960s and ceased to be viewed as a problem during the 1970s [1]. It then began to re-emerge and, based on a finding that homelessness could no longer be ignored, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act was passed by Congress and signed into law in July 1987 [2]. This legislation protects access to health care and a free, appropriate public education for the homeless. McKinney-Vento defines the term homeless as applying to individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and have a primary nighttime residence in a supervised shelter or other transitional housing situa-tion or a public place not designed as sleeping accommodations [3]. This defi-nition excludes as homeless individuals or families who have children who do not have a fixed residence, ie, a home, but who are able to find accommoda-tions in someone else’s home. As such, this definition severely undercounts the extent of family homelessness and contributes to confusion about the actual number of homeless people in the United States [4]