What is Homelessness? 

What is meant by the term “homeless children and youths?" 

Section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Act10 defines “homeless children and youths” as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. The term includes:

• Children and youths who are:
– sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (sometimes referred to as “doubled-up”);
– living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
– living in emergency or transitional shelters; or
– abandoned in hospitals;
• Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
• Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
• Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above.