The McKinney-Vento Homeless Act
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Act defines a homeless individual as one who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. Based on the McKinney-Vento definition, the following children and youths should be considered homeless:
- Children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing (doubling up), economic hardship, or similar reasons
- Children and youths who are living in motels/hotels, trailer parks, cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, or campgrounds due to lack of adequate housing
- Unaccompanied and migratory children who qualify as homeless because the children are living in circumstances described above