The younger and longer a child experiences homelessness, the greater the cumulative toll of negative health outcomes, which can have lifelong effects on the child, the family and the community. This is the key finding from a research brief out today from Children's HealthWatch and the Center for Housing Policy at the National Housing Conference, "Compounding Stress: The Timing and Duration Effects of Homelessness on Children's Health."
"Compounding Stress" summarizes findings from data collected from more than 20,000 caregivers of low-income children with public or no health insurance in five U.S. cities from 2009 to 2014. The research shows that while prenatal and postnatal child homelessness were each separately associated with poor health outcomes for children, the combination of prenatal and postnatal homelessness resulted in a "dose-response" effect that worsened the health risks linked to both prenatal and postnatal homelessness.
This new research suggests that interventions focused on preventing child and family homelessness can be especially effective before birth. The report shows the urgency of acting early to prevent child homelessness, using proven and cost-effective approaches, including rapid re-housing and intensive case management.
Download the report now to learn more about the impact of child homelessness on children, families and society. You can also read the press release announcing the report on our website.