Hidden in Plain Sight: An Assessment of Youth Inclusion in Point-in-Time Counts of California’s Unsheltered Homeless Population

Summary

This report provides a snapshot-in-time during a critical juncture in the evolution of youth Point-in-Time counts. In 2013, the California Homeless Youth Project and the Youth in Social Environments Group of the University of California at San Francisco Division of Adolescent Medicine and the UC, Berkeley School of Public Health conducted a statewide assessment of youth inclusion in the federally mandated PIT count of unsheltered homeless individuals in California. We spoke with Continuums of Care (CoCs) and other stakeholders immediately prior to and following the first PIT count in which youth inclusion has been a specific aim and a separate TAY count was required. Our findings reflect the barriers faced and best practices developed in prior counts, the innovations being made at present to meet HUD reporting requirements, and the needs of a group of CoCs who are largely eager but often struggling to accurately assess their youth homeless populations. CoCs reported a wide range of resources available and methods employed for including youth in their unsheltered PIT count.