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Housing Choices Among Homeless Families In Child Welfare: A Mixed Methods Study, Anne Rufa

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

A growing body of research has identified a link between housing instability and involvement with child welfare services for families. For some, inadequate housing situations lead to parent-child separations or delayed reunification. Housing assistance may be one option for these families to avoid these outcomes; however, little research examines existing housing services for inadequately housed families in contact with the child welfare system. Public housing assistance represents the primary source to connect low-income families with affordable housing; however, a number of barriers challenge navigation of this system, including long waitlists, stigmatization of voucher use, and stringent eligibility requirements for all …