Title
Authorizing the Joint Committees on Children and Youth and Housing Neighborhood Development and the Homeless to hold hearings to discuss the issue of Youth Homelessness in Philadelphia in order to work towards a strategic plan to address this issue.
Body
WHEREAS, Based on the 2013 United States Census and the United States Department of Education's 2014 count of homeless children in United States public schools, it is estimated that 2.5 million children are homeless each year in America; and
WHEREAS, This historic high represents one in every 30 children in the United States; and
WHEREAS, From 2012 to 2013, the number of children experiencing homelessness annually in the United States, increased by 8% nationally, increased in 31 states plus Washington D.C. and increased by 10% or more in 13 states and Washington D.C.; and
WHEREAS, According to data released from the National Center for Homeless Education, after reaching a record high in the 2011-2012 school year, the number of homeless students enrolled in United States' public schools jumped dramatically in 2012-2013, to a total of 1,258,182 homeless students, an 8% increase over the previous year; and
WHEREAS, The number of homeless students has increased 85% since the beginning of the recession, and has increased in Pennsylvania by 18% between the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years, more than double the national average of 8%; and
WHEREAS, From 2009 to 2013, the percentage of Philadelphia's public school students who had ever experienced homelessness increased by 73%, and is growing; and
WHEREAS, The impact of homelessness on children, especially young children is devastating and may lead to changes in the brain, can interfere with learning emotional self-regulation, social relationships and cognitive skills; and
WHEREAS, Homelessness in the United States disproportionately impacts low-income, minority, LGBTQ and at-risk children and 40% of youth that age out of the child welf...
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