Back to School Edition

Greetings!

An estimated 1.2 million children under six years old experience homelessness in the United States every year. This back-to-school season, we're all-in for improving early education and childcare services for the youngest learners and their families. In fact, our most recent report, Leaps and Hurdles: Early Education and Care in New York City: History, Challenges, and Implications for Homeless Children focuses on just that.

Through examining the history of the early education system and how it intersects with family homelessness today, we stand to gain valuable insights that can be used by educators, service providers, and policymakers to advance their work toward ensuring children experiencing homelessness have access to early education.

Check out our report

View the Timeline of Early Education & Childcare and Family Homelessness in NYC.

View the timeline

Additional Resources

We’ve noticed that the education of students experiencing homelessness is on your minds, too. Whether they are in shelter or doubled-up, in childcare and early education settings, or prepping for college, we’ve compiled some great resources from New York City and beyond.

From: Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York

An analysis from CCC's New York City Budget recommendations earlier this summer sheds light on a concerning issue: childcare costs in the city are simply too high for many families to afford, with some families spending over one-third of their income on childcare.

Find a summary of their analysis here.

From: National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth

This year’s NAEHCY conference will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana from November 11 to 14. You'll have the chance to attend keynote speeches, participate in breakout sessions, and connect with others focused on the education of children experiencing homelessness.

From: SchoolHouse Connection

Attention school staff! SchoolHouse Connection has recently released its updated and expanded Awareness & Training Resources that can assist in identifying and serving students experiencing homelessness. These free tools, templates, and resources are available to help improve community understanding and support for children.

Find the sources here.

From: Yay Babies!

Yay Babies! – Resilience and Adversity is a digital forum that explores topics surrounding children and families experiencing homelessness and the public policies affecting them. Yay Babies! wants to cut through the chatter and be a vital resource in bringing together policy experts, researchers, academics, and program leaders who are dedicated to ending family homelessness in the United States.

Contributors include founder Joe Willard of HopePHL, Dr. JJ Cutuli of Nemours Children Services, Dr. Janette Herbers of Villanova University, and many others.

It's free—subscribe on Substack to read!

Keep up with ICPH with our quarterly newsletter: Debrief & Dialogue. Here you can find our latest reports, publications, webinars, and more.

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Thank you for your ongoing interest and support in the work of HFH and ICPH.