Check out our past State Index reports, publications, and more!
Past State Index Reports
Publications
Alone without a Home: A National Review of State Laws Affecting Unaccompanied Youth (2019)
This report provides a state-by-state review of laws in 13 key issue areas that affect the lives of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness. Topics include status offenses, emancipation statutes, health care access, consent and confidentiality statutes, and juvenile justice system statutes. It also offers an overview of the range of approaches taken by jurisdictions and the relative prevalence of these approaches and includes detailed indexes where advocates can find the relevant laws in their state or jurisdiction. Importantly, the report also provides recommendations for policy changes in each of the 13 issue areas, with a view towards strengthening the supports available to unaccompanied youth.
Access to Mental Health Treatment: Youth and Young Adults (2024)
Accessing effective mental health treatment is a challenge for adults with housing, income, and comprehensive health insurance; for a young person without these resources, the challenge can feel insurmountable. This guide is meant to outline the legal rights and public resources that do exist for unhoused youth and young adults, ranging from states that remove unnecessary barriers and improve access to states that greatly restrict or block needed care.
Stay Informed. Stay Involved.
The Index is constantly evolving and we want it to reflect what YOU need to end youth homelessness in your community. Check out our blog posts for our most recent news and insights.
The Systems That Displace Us
My Nana, a Black woman born and bred in Five Points Denver, Colorado, fought to protect her community of people living in the Denver Housing Projects for more than five decades. She was relentless in her drive towards equity and … Continue reading
- Aleya Jones
- February 4, 2024
What it Will Take to End Homelessness
Like many people, I grew up believing that owning a home was the ultimate goal – it signaled success and stability and being a part of the “American Dream”. As a young white woman from the suburbs, I absorbed all … Continue reading
- Katie M Scott
- January 23, 2024
Welcome to the new State Index
We have compiled research on 100+ metrics across 56 jurisdictions here. We want this research to do at least three things: shape the advocacy landscape by centering the priorities of young people with lived experience, document jurisdictions’ laws and policies … Continue reading
- Jeremy Penn
- January 23, 2024
