The Duval County Public School system in Florida is educating a large number of children in poverty.

A new report from the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida and Miami Homes for All describes the situation. In the 2015-16 school year, a total of 72,601 school children were identified as homeless. Most of these were doubled up in housing. Some were staying in motels, shelters, transitional housing or unsheltered locations.

The shocking statistic is that the number of homeless students more than doubled — from 33,889 in 2007-08 to 72,601 in 2015-16.

The increase is caused by two factors:

  • The Great Recession hit families on the edge hard.
  • School districts are doing a better job of identifying homeless children in school.

Local governments need assistance networks to help identify homeless youth and provide assistance to them. and their families. Rural counties especially are often missing these services. The report makes a number of important recommendations:

  • With a $26 billion shortage of public housing in the nation, the federal government needs to fund more projects.
  • More funding for extremely low-income families is needed by the national and state governments.
  • More set-asides are needed for affordable housing.

Read the full article about homeless children in schools at Florida Philanthropic Network.