New data help inform strategies that ensure young people exit systems of care into safe and stable housing
Each year, about 1,450 young people exit foster care, residential behavioral health, and the criminal justice system only to face a new challenge: homelessness.
In 2018, the Washington State Legislature set a goal that youth exiting public systems of care would exit to safe and stable housing beginning Jan. 1, 2021. The Department of Children, Youth, and Families, and the Office of Homeless Youth Prevention and Protection laid out a plan and strategies to reach that objective. Progress has been made, but much more remains to be done.
As the state works toward its goal, new data provides even more insight into the prevalence and risk factors of young people who experience homelessness after their exit from systems. The Homelessness Among Youth Exiting Systems of Care in Washington State dashboard indicates that in 2017, about two out of three young people experiencing housing instability post exit were from the residential behavioral health system (68%). The data also suggest an unmet need for continued behavioral health services for youth exiting any of the systems. While only 23% of all of those who exited received substance use disorder (SUD) inpatient services in 2017, 63% of all those who exited had an indication of SUD 24 months prior to discharge.
Data shines a light on the risk factors of youth and young adults who experienced homelessness after exit, including:
- Indications of homelessness prior to exit (68% had an indication of homelessness prior to exit, compared to 38% for those who did not experience homelessness after exit).
- Abuse or neglect prior to exit (63% had an indication of abuse or neglect prior to exit, compared to 52% for those who did not experience homelessness after exit).
- Ever arrested or charged for a crime (84% of those who experienced homelessness after exit, versus 61% of those who did not experience homelessness after exit).
This information should be incorporated into the state’s efforts so that young people in systems can be identified early-on for any risk of homelessness post-exit and services can be arranged to meet the ongoing needs of young people once they are no longer within the care or supervision of a public system.
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