Key Takeaways:

• Housing instability is a key driver of child welfare involvement and family instability.
• Stable housing is associated with improved child safety, youth wellbeing, and family outcomes.
• Investing in prevention-focused housing supports can reduce system involvement and long-term costs.

American families are increasingly struggling to find and keep secure housing. Evidence links housing instability—including eviction, homelessness, and unsafe living conditions—to family instability, family violence, and increased child welfare involvement. Housing instability is associated with higher rates of child welfare investigations and foster care placements, and nearly one-third of youth experiencing homelessness have prior involvement with the child welfare system. These youth face elevated risks of costly outcomes, including substance use and poor mental health.

Addressing housing instability early can support family reunification, reduce system involvement, and improve outcomes for youth and families.

Impact of Housing Stability on Youth and Family Outcomes

Stable housing is associated with improved outcomes across domains:

• Child welfare system outcomes
  • Reduced maltreatment risk
  • Higher rates of family preservation and reunification
• Youth outcomes
  • Better mental health (e.g., higher self-esteem, lower depression)
  • Improved educational continuity and engagement (e.g., enrolling and staying in school)
• Family outcomes
  • Improved parental mental health and decreased interparental violence

Effective and Evidence-Based Strategies to Address Housing Instability

• Identify and support at-risk youth and families early.
  • Early screening can identify families at risk and connect them to housing supports to prevent future insecurity.
  • Approaching service delivery as partnering with families can increase family knowledge of risk, engagement, and wellbeing.
  • Trauma-informed, family-centered approaches can improve engagement and positive effects.
• Use comprehensive, coordinated approaches.
  • Using multifaceted strategies can maximize effectiveness (e.g., addressing early identification, housing assistance, and mental health services).
  • Supportive housing is a key component for families involved in child welfare
    • Examples of effective supports include:
      • Housing subsidies (e.g., Family Unification Program vouchers)
      • Expanded access to affordable housing
      • Services that stabilize families and prevent foster care entry
    • Prepare youth who are at risk and/or aging out of foster care for independent living.
      • Vocational training and financial supports can promote economic self-sufficiency
      • Strong social support networks with trusted adults can improve transition outcomes
      • School-based interventions provide an opportunity to reach many youth, though schools may need additional training and resources

Housing Interventions: Cost-Effectiveness and Policy Considerations

While cost-effectiveness data is limited, existing evidence suggests that prevention-focused housing investments can reduce long-term costs:

• Programs that prevent foster care entry can reduce downstream costs related to system involvement, such as public assistance, incarceration, and unemployment.
• Housing subsidies have been associated with measurable child welfare cost savings and improved outcomes.
• In most cases, providing housing support to families experiencing housing instability is more cost-effective than placing children in out-of-home foster care.
• Housing affordability is a key driver of family stability and a critical prevention target to reduce family financial strain, housing instability, caregiver stress, and associated risks (e.g., child maltreatment).

States can support these efforts by:

• Leveraging funding sources such as TANF
• Supporting policies that better disentangle poverty from neglect to reduce unnecessary child welfare system involvement
• Expanding supports for families, such as down-payment assistance
• Supporting cross-agency collaboration (e.g., across child welfare, housing, and health systems) through shared data systems, aligned funding, and coordinated service delivery requirements
• Incentivizing or requiring early screening to identify families at risk and connect them to supports before crises occur

Example Program: Supportive Housing for Families (SHF)

Supportive Housing for Families (SHF) is a comprehensive intervention in Connecticut for families in the child welfare system. It combines:

• case management
• mental health services
• rental assistance and housing supports
• access to housing vouchers

 Key SHF participant outcomes:

• Increased housing stability
• Reduced out-of-home placements
• Higher rates of family reunification