PA Head Start Report Finds Children Experiencing Homelessness on the Rise

The Pennsylvania Head Start Collaboration Office has released a new report that found a 4% increase in homelessness for children from birth through kindergarten over a period of a year.

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According to the report, nearly 11,000 Pennsylvania children - from birth to kindergarten age - were identified to be experiencing homelessness during the 2023-24 school year. This represents a 4% increase over one year and a 13% increase over five years.

The largest increase in the report was for pre-school-aged children, with a 3% increase in children identified over one year, and a 32% increase over five years.

Although infants and toddlers accounted for 34% of the 10,601 children identified in 2023-24, this represented a negligible difference over the past year but a 6% decrease over five years.

However, in a section of the report titled “The Good News,” it mentioned that the number of children identified as experiencing homelessness increased in part because the education system has become more effective in identifying children experiencing homelessness since 2016 due to improved coordination with multiple human service systems at the county level and an infusion of resources from the American Rescue Plan that were not available prior to 2021.

Additionally, statewide collaboration expanded through the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning’s (OCDEL) McKinney-Vento Advisory Group, which likely contributed to the 32% increase in the identification of pre-schoolers and a 15% increase in their enrollment in prekindergarten programs over this five-year period.w

The report is the first installment in a series designed to inform state and local practitioners and policymakers about young children identified as experiencing homelessness in Pennsylvania.

The entire report is available on The Pennsylvania Key’s website.