Interventions focused on preventing child and family homelessness can be especially effective before birth, according to a research brief by Children’s HealthWatch and the Center for Housing Policy at the National Housing Conference. The MacArthur-supported research is based on 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 the two worsened the health risks. The report demonstrates that acting early to prevent child homelessness using proven and cost-effective approaches, such as rapid re-housing and intensive case management, can have positive outcomes for families and communities.
