Definition of Homeless
The term “homeless children and youth”
- means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence
- includes:
- children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals
- children and youth 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 youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned building, substandard housing*, bus or train stations, or similar settings and
- migratory children (as such term is defined in section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).
*The US Department of Education has provided guidance on substandard housing: “In determining whether a child or youth is living in “substandard housing,” an LEA may consider whether the setting in which the family, child, or youth is living lacks one of the fundamental utilities such as water, electricity, or heat; is infested with vermin or mold; lacks a basic functional part, such as a working kitchen or a working toilet; or may present unreasonable dangers to adults, children, or persons with disabilities. Each city, county, or State may have its own housing codes that further define the kind of housing that may be deemed substandard.”
