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You Count. Be Counted.
The 84th Texas Legislative Session's House Bill 679 requires the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), in conjunction with the Texas Interagency Council for the Homeless (TICH), to conduct a study of homeless youth and submit a report to the Texas Legislature on December 1, 2016.
Report: Youth Homelessness in Texas (PDF)
Appendices:
Appendix A. House Bill 679 (PDF)
Appendix B. YCT! Survey Instruments (PDF)
Appendix C. YCT! Lessons Learned (PDF)
Appendix D: Summary of YCT! Results (PDF)
Appendix E. YCT! Extended Survey Results (PDF)
Appendix F. Summary of Stakeholder Feedback (PDF)
Appendix G. Provider Survey Description (PDF)
Appendix H. Homeless Liaison Survey Description (PDF)
Appendix I. Selected Bibliography (PDF)
Appendix J. Summary of Challenges (PDF)
Appendix K. Texas Count Results (PDF)
Appendix L. CASA Recommendations (PDF)
Appendix M. Inventory Listing (PDF)
Appendix N. TEXSHEP Table of Sub-grantees (PDF)
Appendix O. Table of Funding Sources (PDF)
In the study, TDHCA is directed to:
- collect data on the number of homeless youth in the state;
- examine the needs of homeless youth and the degree to which current programs are meeting those needs;
- identify any sources of funding that might be available to provide services to homeless youth; and
- develop a strategic plan establishing steps to be taken and timelines for reducing youth homelessness in this state.
The current report was prepared to address the requirements of the legislation through a contract by TDHCA with the University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work.
About Youth Count Texas!
In response to the requirement of HB 679 to collect data on the number of homeless youth in Texas, Youth Count Texas! (YCT!) was developed to mobilize communities across Texas to count and survey young people experiencing homelessness and housing instability either in conjunction with their Point-in-Time counts or through specific data collection efforts targeted toward youth. These efforts were directed at all youth under age 25, since many federal programs define homeless youth as up to age 24. Data from YCT! are presented in the Youth Homelessness in Texas Report and appendices to provide additional information about the numbers of youth counted in communities across the state at a given point in time.
More Information
For additional information, please contact Naomi Cantu, Coordinator for Homelessness Programs and Policy with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs at Naomi.Cantu@tdhca.texas.gov