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We Count, California! A Statewide Capacity‐Building Effort to Improve Youth Inclusion in California's Point‐in‐Time Homeless Counts
Author(s) -
Lin Jessica S.,
Petry Laura,
Hyatt Shahera,
Auerswald Colette
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
world medical and health policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.326
H-Index - 11
ISSN - 1948-4682
DOI - 10.1002/wmh3.232
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , inclusion (mineral) , positive youth development , sociology , state (computer science) , gerontology , political science , psychology , medicine , social science , psychiatry , algorithm , computer science , law
As is the case across the nation, youth in California experiencing homelessness are often undercounted and overlooked. We Count, California!, a collaboration between the California Homeless Youth Project and the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health was formed to support California communities in better counting and describing their homeless youth in the 2015 Point‐in‐Time (PIT) count. Project activities included a series of trainings across the state, provision of seed grants to communities conducting youth‐specific count activities, and provision of one‐on‐one technical assistance to two nonurban, under‐resourced pilot sites. Despite considerable increases in the energy, commitment, and funding dedicated to youth counts across California, results of the 2015 PIT count were mixed. In this article, we discuss promising practices, successes, and continuing challenges for youth‐inclusive PIT counts. We conclude with recommendations for local initiatives and policy‐level interventions for developing a more accurate and inclusive picture of youth homelessness in California and nationwide.