Definition of a Homeless Child/Youth

• A homeless child or youth ages 3-21;
• A child who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence and includes the following:
  • A child who is sharing the housing of others (includes doubled-up families) due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; is living in a motel, hotel, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; is living in an emergency or transitional shelter; is abandoned in a hospital, or is awaiting foster care placement.
  • A child who has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for humans beings
  • A child who is living in a car, park, abandoned building, substandard housing, bus or train station, or similar setting; or
  • A migratory child/youth who qualifies as homeless because of the living circumstances described above
• Includes youth who have runaway or youth being forced to leave home