PA Head Start and HopePHL Release “A State-Level Brief: Participation of Infants and Toddlers Experiencing Homelessness in Early Childhood Programs in Pennsylvania”

This brief builds on the earlier "A State-Level Brief: Participation of Young Children Experiencing Homelessness in Early Childhood Programs in Pennsylvania" (PA Head Start State Collaboration Office, January 2022) and provides a more focused examination of the experience of homelessness for infants and toddlers and their participation in early childhood programs. One is more likely to be in a shelter as an infant or toddler than at any other age.

Key findings include:

•  The population of children ages 0-3 living in poverty declined by 26,000 from 2015 to 2021, but those living below 100% increased slightly in 2021. Because children in extreme poverty are more susceptible to becoming homeless, policy and program leaders should improve outreach strategies. 
• 66% of children identified as homeless live doubled up due to economic reasons and are not being served by the homeless housing system.
• More than 12,000 infants and toddlers are estimated to be homeless and served by an early learning program. However, looking at different systems, challenges to data collection indicate a decline in the number of infants/toddlers served by childcare, home visiting, Early Intervention, and Early Head Start.

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