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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Homelessness Research: Shaping Policy And Practice, Now And Into The Future, Dennis P. Culhane, Vince R. Kane, Mark Johnston Nov 2013

Homelessness Research: Shaping Policy And Practice, Now And Into The Future, Dennis P. Culhane, Vince R. Kane, Mark Johnston

Dennis P. Culhane

As this special issue of the journal well reflects, much progress has been made in homelessness research. That progress has been matched with advances in homelessness policy and programming, nearly all of it informed by the contributions of the research community. While the imperatives of policy-making have required decisions to be made with imperfect knowledge, a substantial enough convergence of theory and evidence has enabled policymakers to shift homelessness policy and practice in important ways. Those shifts have also prefigured some of policymakers’ needs from the research community in the future.


Translating Research Into Homelessness Policy And Practice: One Perspective From The United States, Dennis P. Culhane Oct 2005

Translating Research Into Homelessness Policy And Practice: One Perspective From The United States, Dennis P. Culhane

Dennis P. Culhane

Like social scientists everywhere, homelessness researchers in the US are usually ignored. Good science that identifies what causes homelessness, sound evaluations which document that certain programs will never work, and even evidence that promising solutions deserve broad replication, are often disregarded. Such wanton indifference for science would constitute malpractice in the field of medicine, but it sometimes passes as acceptable policy in the field of social welfare. Ideology, politics and preservation of the status quo usually prevail. So, what’s a well intentioned researcher to do? Persevere and become more tactical. After all, policy failures can’t be ignored forever. Like good …