HOU004 Homelessness reduction leading to increased academic achievement for youths under 5 years of age

Number of children under 5 receiving housing: Reported by program

Percent of these adults who avoid homelessness due the program: [0.52]. For programs serving individuals at imminent risk of homelessness (e.g. individuals coming from shelters, or with eviction notices and no feasible housing alternative), we assume a 100% rate of effectiveness. To this number, we subtract the percentage of homeless individuals in the Twin Cities metropolitan area who are on a waiting list for any public housing, Section 8 housing, or some other type of housing that offers financial assistance as a counterfactual [48%] (Wilder Research, 2016).

Impact of housing on educational outcomes: [0.056 SD]. We found evidence that children who experienced homelessness for the first time as toddlers or younger are 0.6 times as likely to be proficient when tested in reading in math at third grade as non-homeless children. However, results from other studies in this area are mixed or have found no statistically significant effects of homelessness on academic performance. To account for this low level of evidence, we average the effect sizes from five studies including four who did not find significant results. To compute the effect-size we use the following equation for dichotomous results (WSIPP, 2017):

where ES is the effect size and OR is the odds ratio from the revised studies. The resulting average effect size is -0.056 measured in standard deviations.

Increase in lifetime earnings from educational outcomes: [$31,000], the gain in initial wage rate for one standard deviation increase in standardized test score is estimated at [0.05]. While the gain in the growth rate of wage for one standard deviation increase in standardized test score is [0.003] (Hall & Farkas, 2011). Based on these two results, and the average lifetime earnings of individuals with high school diplomas, we estimate that an increase in one standard deviation in standardized test scores is associated with $31,000 in additional lifetime earnings. Benefits already discounted to present value.

Coulton, C. J., Richter, F., Kim, S.-J., Fischer, R., & Cho, Y. (2016). Temporal effects of distressed housing on early childhood risk factors and kindergarten readiness. Children and Youth Services Review, 68, 59–72.

Fantuzzo, J., LeBoeuf, W., Brumley, B., & Perlman, S. (2013). A population-based inquiry of homeless episode characteristics and early educational well-being. Children and Youth Services Review, 35(6), 966–972.

Hall, M., & Farkas, G. (2011). Adolescent Cognitive Skills, Attitudinal/Behavioral Traits and Career Wages. Social Forces, 89(4), 26.

Obradović, J., Long, J. D., Cutuli, J. J., Chan, C.-K., Hinz, E., Heistad, D., & Masten, A. S. (2009). Academic achievement of homeless and highly mobile children in an urban school district: Longitudinal evidence on risk, growth, and resilience. Development & Psychopathology, 21, 493–518.

Rafferty, Y., Shinn, M., & Weitzman, B. C. (2004). Academic achievement among formerly homeless adolescents and their continuously housed peers. Journal of School Psychology, 42, 179–199.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2016). American Community Survey 5-year estimates – public use microdata sample, 2012-2016. Generated using Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA) in the Seven-county Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. Retrieved from http://factfinder.census.gov

Washington State Institute for Public Policy. (2017). Benefit-cost technical documentation. Olympia, WA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/TechnicalDocumentation/WsippBenefitCostTechnicalDocumentation.pdf

Wilder Research. (2016). 2015 homeless adults and children: Minnesota statewide survey data. Retrieved from http://mnhomeless.org/minnesota-homeless-study/detailed-data-interviews/2015/HennepinCountyMN_Adult2015_Tables51-67.pdf