This document provides guidance on including unaccompanied homeless youth in a community's Point-in-Time count of sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals. It recommends recruiting organizations that serve homeless youth, identifying locations where homeless youth congregate, training volunteers to collect data using consistent definitions, and analyzing and reporting the data to educate policymakers and the public about youth homelessness in the community. Conducting outreach throughout the day and night and surveying locations multiple times can help obtain more accurate data on the number of homeless youth.

1. Including Youth in Your
Community’s Point-in-Time Count,
Part 1

2. A National Priority
Barbara Poppe,
Executive Director,
US Interagency Council on
Homelessness

3. A National Priority
Nan Roman
President and CEO,
National Alliance to End
Homelessness

4. What is a Point-in-Time Count?
Part 1: Homeless Population
Sheltered
Unsheltered Total
Emergency Transitional
Number of Families with Children
(Family Households):
1. Number of Persons in Families with
Children
2. Number of Single Individuals and
Persons in Households without Children
(Add Lines Numbered 1 & 2)
Part 2: Homeless Subpopulations Sheltered Unsheltered Total
a. Chronically Homeless
b. Severely Mentally Ill
c. Chronic Substance Abuse
d. Veterans
e. Persons with HIV/AIDS
f. Victims of Domestic Violence
g. Unaccompanied Youth (Under 18)

5. The Youth Gap
CoC Number Sheltered Unsheltered Total
4 0 4
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
9 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
41 0 41
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 0

6. Why are Point-in-Time Counts
Important?
Point in Time
Data:
•Scale of
homelessness
•Concentration of
homelessness
•Measures
effectiveness of
programs and
policies
Total amount of
federal and local
funds.
Distribution of
federal and local
funds
Program model
decisions

7. Counting Homeless Youth in Your
Community

8. NOW: Ensure the CoC’s PIT plan
includes youth
 Recruit organizations serving homeless
youth and currently and formerly
homeless youth to inform strategic
planning.
 Identify lead person or organization to
develop and coordinate “youth-focused”
strategy.
 Develop materials to educate youth and
community about purpose of PIT Count.
 Modify existing planned data collection
method or instrument if needed.

9. Step 2: Map out locations and sources
of data collection.
 Identify all stakeholders that may
encounter or serve unaccompanied,
homeless youth.
 Identify locations where homeless youth
who are not regularly receivi9ng services
may congregate.
 Recruit homeless education liaisons
and/or others in the public school system,
local police, and other public agencies
that may serve or temporarily detain
homeless youth.

10. Step 3: Facilitate collection of data.
 Identify knowledgeable volunteers
and practitioners to act as leads in
collecting data.
 Ensure volunteers collect data
throughout day and evening.
 Locations should be surveyed
multiple times throughout the day.

11. Step 4: Promote the quality of data
gathered.
 Host a training on PIT survey
protocols for volunteers.
 Ensure consistent definitions of
various living situations to record
accurate responses.
 Address mandated reporter issues
for youth under the age of 18.

12. Step 5: Analyze data on youth
homelessness.
 Recruit skilled researchers and
writers to assist with data analysis
and report findings from the survey.
Step 6: USE PIT findings to
educate policy makers and the
public about youth homelessness
in your community.

13. Resources
For all of the documents discussed on
today’s webinar, visit:
http://www.endhomelessness.org/conten
t/article/detail/3502
Alliance Families and Youth Contacts
Samantha Batko
sbatko@naeh.org
André Wade
awade@naeh.org
Sharon McDonald
smcdonald@naeh.org

14. Counting Homeless Youth Webinar
Series
November 17, 2010 @ 2 pm ET:
Including Youth in Point-in-Time Counts,
Part 2: A Case Study of San Jose, CA
Register:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/
487542858
Including Youth in Point-in-Time Counts Part
3: Community Lessons Learned
To be held shortly after Thanksgiving