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This chart illustrates the similarities and differences between federal agencies’ definitions of homeless.

This brief will provide an overview of the effects of homelessness on young children; federal initiatives that have expanded access to early care and learning for young children experiencing homelessness including Head Start and Early Head Start, the Child Care and Development Fund, Early Childhood State Advisory Councils, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education programs, and the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge; and how two states - Massachusetts and Oregon - have implemented innovative policies to improve early childhood outcomes for young children experiencing homelessness. Lastly, this brief will present recommendations for how states can learn from the policies established in Massachusetts and Oregon to develop their own interventions.

Over half of children living in federally funded homeless shelters are five years old or younger. Many more young children live in other homeless situations, such as in motels or cars; or, living temporarily with others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason. These children live in conditions of poverty that contribute directly to physical, mental, and emotional difficulties.