Giving Compass' Take:

• Mattie Quinn discusses the growing problem of child homelessness and steps that are being taken to address the academic consequences of this issue.

• How can funders work to prevent homelessness? 

• Read a donor's guide to homelessness. 

When schools started back up this fall, many across the country witnessed something that’s become as common on the first day as new backpacks and freshly sharpened pencils: another surge of homeless and housing-insecure schoolchildren.

It’s a problem that’s been growing in the years since the Great Recession, exacerbated by shortages of affordable housing.

When children don’t have stable housing, it’s well documented that they are much more likely to fall behind in school, score lower on standardized tests, miss classes and drop out altogether.

Washington state now requires every school district with more than 10 homeless youths to provide a “homeless liaison” at every secondary school to help connect these students to district and community resources. In 2016, lawmakers created a grant program that offers in-need school districts resources for housing-insecure students such as after-school tutoring, clothing and books. The state also has allocated $10 million for efforts around transportation, aiming to ensure that students who are bouncing from address to address don’t have to change schools every time they move.

Read the full article about growing child homelessness by Mattie Quinn at Governing Magazine.