skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Thousands of Hoosier Kids Without a Place to Lay Their Heads at Night

play audio
Play

Monday, October 5, 2015   

INDIANAPOLIS - Making varsity or finding a date for homecoming are the least of the problems faced by the more than 16,000 kids in Indiana without a place to call home.

Data from the Indiana Department of Education shows homelessness among students in Indiana was 80 percent higher last school year compared with 2008-2009. The Indiana Youth Institute's interim president and CEO Glenn Augustine says these kids face various situations.

"Some of these children are with their parents, sleeping out on the streets," says Augustine. "Some are in shelters. Others are what's called doubling up, that means they've had a family crisis that doesn't allow them to live in their own home and now they're living with another family."

Some older students may "couch surf," moving from home to home. Augustine adds the data doesn't tell the whole story because it doesn't include children younger than age six.

He suggests the Great Recessions is partly to blame for the problem because more people are unemployed or underemployed and unable to afford their standard of living.

Augustine says homeless students suffer vast academic and social challenges.

"It makes it very difficult for them to fit into school, to concentrate on their work, because they may be worried about where their next meal is coming from or where they're going to spend the night that night," he says. "And it just makes it very difficult for them to achieve academically in school."

He says it's critical to recognize student homelessness exists, and for educators and others to find interventions to assist families and children.

"Some of the research is finding that with very pointed interventions, a sense of resiliency can be sparked in homeless children and they can achieve academically," says Augustine. "So it's really incumbent upon schools to try to search out those best practices and see what works best for the children who are homeless within the school system."

The federal McKinney-Vento Act assures educational access for homeless students, and Augustine says there is a liaison in every school corporation available to work with homeless families.

On a personal level, he encourages Hoosiers to seek volunteer opportunities such as helping with donations for a backpack program or serving as a tutor to help a homeless child get up to speed.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021