IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v149y2023ics0190740923000750.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Improving school attendance among homeless children: Evaluating the attendance matters program

Author

Listed:
  • Treglia, Dan
  • Cassidy, Michael
  • Bainbridge, Jay

Abstract

Absenteeism is a prevailing concern in American education, and students experiencing homelessness are particularly vulnerable to high rates of school absenteeism. Despite this increased risk, we find no research in which the primary focus is assessing the efficacy of shelter-based programs that seek to reduce absenteeism among homeless children. Thus, we evaluate the Attendance Matters program, which sought to improve school attendance among homeless students in New York City shelters through interagency coordination, leveraging data to target scarce program resources, and employing evidence-based social work practices. We use administrative data in a quasi-experimental study to evaluate the program’s effects on school attendance and, secondarily, on outcomes of proficiency and stability. Findings suggest that the program resulted in reductions in days absent and the absence rate among K-8 students, though findings for secondary outcomes and attendance outcomes for high school students were inconsistent across model specifications. Results, which likely understate actual program effects, have implications beyond this setting, as they suggest that a low-budget program leveraging evidence-based practices and existing resources can impact this seemingly intractable problem. Education and homelessness policymakers should seek opportunities to test replication in additional settings.

Suggested Citation

  • Treglia, Dan & Cassidy, Michael & Bainbridge, Jay, 2023. "Improving school attendance among homeless children: Evaluating the attendance matters program," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:149:y:2023:i:c:s0190740923000750
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.106880
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740923000750
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.106880?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cassidy, Michael T., 2020. "A Closer Look: Proximity Boosts Homeless Student Performance in New York City," IZA Discussion Papers 13558, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Dennis P. Culhane & Stephen Metraux & Jung Min Park & Maryanne Schretzman & Jesse Valente, 2007. "Testing a typology of family homelessness based on patterns of public shelter utilization in four U.S. jurisdictions: Implications for policy and program planning," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 1-28, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cassidy, Michael T., 2020. "Short Moves and Long Stays: Homeless Family Responses to Exogenous Shelter Assignments in New York City," IZA Discussion Papers 13559, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Goodman, Sarena & Messeri, Peter & O'Flaherty, Brendan, 2016. "Homelessness prevention in New York City: On average, it works," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 14-34.
    3. Byrne, Thomas & Montgomery, Ann Elizabeth & Chapman, Alec B. & Pettey, Warren & Effiong, Atim & Suo, Ying & Velasquez, Tania & Nelson, Richard E., 2023. "Predictors of homeless service utilization and stable housing status among Veterans receiving services from a nationwide homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing program," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    4. O'Flaherty, Brendan, 2009. "When should homeless families get subsidized apartments? A theoretical inquiry," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 69-80, June.
    5. O’Flaherty, Brendan, 2012. "Individual homelessness: Entries, exits, and policy," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 77-100.
    6. Ayşe İmrohoroğlu & Kai Zhao, 2022. "Homelessness," Working papers 2022-17, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    7. Collins, Cyleste C. & Bai, Rong & Crampton, David & Fischer, Robert & D'Andrea, Rebecca & Dean, Kendra & Lalich, Nina & Chan, Tsui & Cherney, Emily, 2019. "Implementing housing first with families and young adults: challenges and progress toward self-sufficiency," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 34-46.
    8. Cassidy, Michael T., 2020. "A Closer Look: Proximity Boosts Homeless Student Performance in New York City," IZA Discussion Papers 13558, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:149:y:2023:i:c:s0190740923000750. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.