Doubled Up: Housing Instability Among Students in Missouri

The number of people in Missouri without stable housing is rising; this includes families, children and youth. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act–initially established in 1987–requires schools to collect data on and provide support for students facing homelessness. However, little is known about the extent of students and families experiencing homelessness, the policies and programs that support these vulnerable students or their schooling opportunities and outcomes. In this report, I describe the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, describe recent homelessness trends, provide an overview of McKinney-Vento participation and briefly describe outcomes for students supported through McKinney-Vento programs across the state of Missouri. I conclude with a discussion of the importance of addressing homelessness in relation to student mobility.