Illinois § 5

§ 5.

Legislative findings. The General Assembly finds that 1 in 10 young people ages 18-25 experience a form of homelessness over a 12-month period. Also 1 in 30 youths ages 13-17 experience a form of homelessness over a 12-month period. Homelessness disproportionately impacts African-American youth and mirrors the racial disparities in school suspensions, incarceration rates, and foster care placement. Youth who have interacted with State systems of care, such as the Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Human Services' Division of Mental Health, and the Department of Corrections, and youth who have been hospitalized for mental health problems are disproportionately overrepresented in the population of people experiencing homelessness. The U.S. Department of Education classifies youth living "doubled up" as homeless. "Doubled up" is a term that refers to a situation where individuals are unable to maintain their own housing situation and are forced to stay with a series of friends or extended family members. The individual has no right or authority over the housing. The "homes" of such individuals are often unstable, not permanent, and can be as dangerous as living on the streets. As a result, doubled up housing situations are potentially detrimental to the health and well-being of these homeless youth. A study conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 12% of prisoners were homeless at the time of their arrest. Similarly, a national survey of jail inmates concluded that more than 15% of the jail population had been homeless at some point in the preceding year, a rate 8 to 11 times the national average. Illinois needs a cohesive strategy across our child welfare, mental health, corrections, and human services agencies that is designed to reduce the rates of homelessness among youth and to lessen the likelihood of youth experiencing chronic homelessness into adulthood. (Source: P.A. 101-98, eff. 1-1-20.)