What Does it Mean to be Homeless? How Definitions Affect Homelessness Policy

Abstract

Government agencies use varying criteria in defining homelessness. While scholars debate over and use different definitions of homelessness, little research has explored the impacts the definition has on perceived problem severity and the types of communities receiving aid. I first explore four definitions of child and youth homelessness used by United States’ federal agencies. I then use panel data for school districts, which report homelessness by subgroup, to analyze how the definition of homelessness changes its prevalence and leads to disparate impacts. I find the definition of homelessness including students living doubled-up leads to a higher growth rate. Definitions also change which districts have high rates of homelessness and characteristics of these districts, suggesting resources following students experiencing homelessness go to different types of communities. Scholars should consider how a problem is defined, differences in the measurement used between studies, and how the definition affects where resources go.