NLCHP Webinar: Alone Without a Home - A State-by-State Review of Laws Affecting Unaccompanied Homeless Youth
On Friday, September 7, the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty will be hosting a free webinar previewing its upcoming report, "Alone Without a Home: A State-by-State Review of Laws Affecting Unaccompanied Homeless Youth."
Each year, an estimated 1.6 million children and youth (ages 12-17) experience homelessness without a parent or guardian. These youth leave home for a variety of reasons, including severe family conflict, parental abuse or neglect, parental mental health issues, or substance abuse.
Whether runaway or throwaway, once on the street, unaccompanied homeless youth face numerous legal barriers that often complicate their attempts to meet the basic necessities of life on their own and prevent them from reaching out for assistance to state agencies and service providers that could otherwise help them. Further complicating matters is that many of these laws vary considerably from state to state, creating misinterpretations by service providers and mistaken avoidance of services on the part of homeless youth who may fear being taken into state custody or assume they will be turned away.
This report reviews the state of current law in 12 key issue areas that affect the lives and future prospects of unaccompanied homeless youth in all 50 U.S. states and 6 territories. The report offers an overview of the range of approaches taken by states and their relative prevalence, and reveals significant differences in many cases.
The webinar will be conducted by Eric Tars, the Law Center's director of human rights and children's rights programs. It will also feature:
- Debby Shore, board chair of the National Network for Youth & executive director of Sasha Bruce Youthwork; and
- Celia Cruz, a formerly homeless youth.
Please click here to register for the webinar.