Young children experiencing homelessness are at increased risk of poor health and academic outcomes, and the experience of homelessness can disrupt a child’s development, resulting in persistent developmental delays. This report summarizes activities under the direction of the Pennsylvania Head Start State Collaboration Office (PA HSSCO), to better understand the involvement of young children experiencing homelessness in early learning programs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is brought to you by the PA HSSCO and HopePHL in collaboration with Grace Whitney, PhD, MPA, IMHE(r).

The announcement of the complete integration of PEC and YSI was highlighted in these articles.

People’s Emergency Center and Youth Service, Inc. announced their plan to integrate into one agency in
November 2019. The two non-profit organizations officially began operating as a single organization, named HopePHL™ (pronounced “hopeful”) on January 1, 2023.

Originally published in October 2022 by Nemours Children's Health and People's Emergency Center. This report summarizes data on the subset of children and youth who are served by homeless housing programs in Pennsylvania. Authors: Joanne Jung and JJ Cutuli, Ph.D., for Nemours Children's Health and Joe Willard for HopePHL.