Based on previous chapters and the Expert Panel meeting, three options for future research to inform the typology are proposed (see Table 7-1). First, there remains a need to understand the exits and pathways out of homelessness and subsequent residential patterns. A longitudinal, nationally representative study of first-time homeless families requesting shelter would provide critical information on multiple gaps identified.
| Key knowledge gaps | Option 1: National longitudinal study of exit patterns and shelter requests of homeless families using primary data |
Option 2: Longitudinal, cross-regional study of families utilizing homeless shelters (HMIS) |
Option 3: Testing of promising practices to use a "typology" to prevent homelessness and/or expedite exit from homelessness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geographic diversity | Y | Y | No |
| Families over time, as they move from homelessness into other arrangements | Y | No | No |
| Factors that prevent imminent homelessness | Y | No | Y |
| Dynamics of service use | Y | Y | (Y) |
| Homeless children | Y | No | No |
| Father and father's social networks | No | No | No |
| Key subgroups | |||
| Families that fall back into homelessness despite intervention | Y | Y | Y |
| Families at risk of becoming homeless | No | No | No |
| Moderate needs families | No | (Y) | Y |
| Family separations | Y | No | No |
| Working homeless families | Y | (Y) | (Y) |
| Families in extended family networks | (Y) | No | No |
| Two-parent homeless families | Y | Y | (Y) |
| (Y) — Could potentially fill the gap. | |||
The second option is an analysis of Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data from a national sample of communities. The analysis of universal items would provide an understanding of the demographic characteristics of families in and across different regions, while the analysis of program-specific data, if available, would permit an examination of the patterns of service use over time and their relationship to outcomes for subgroups of homeless families.
The third option would be targeted to understanding how best to prevent homelessness, with an examination of existing efforts to triage families, such as in Hennepin County's (Minnesota) Homelessness Prevention program in which they use a risk assessment to make decisions on how to prevent homelessness locally. This option, in many respects, would examine "test runs" of typologies in action in different communities.
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Potential Goals of a Typology
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Expert Panel members all agreed that more than one typology relevant to homeless families would be needed, depending on the purposes for developing the particular typology. After much discussion, four possible goals for a typology were summarized:
- Prevention Policy. One goal for a typology of homeless families would be to identify the risk factors for homelessness. Most participants agreed this goal should be a priority because it would strive to minimize the population.
- Services Policy. A typology that would guide services policy would identify the menu of services needed to help homeless families. However, this could potentially blur the lines of services for the general poor population.
- Resource Allocation. This goal would result in a typology that would help us understand homelessness epidemiologically and guide the allocation of available resources/money locally.
- Treatment Matching. This design would have the ability to predict the services and housing that a particular family needs from a clinical provider perspective. Different approaches have been implemented at the local level, usually following a basic model of three levels: one, a family needs support services; two, a family needs just housing, and three, a family needs both housing and support services. Unlike the service policy typology, a typology to guide treatment matching would be developed primarily for service providers rather than for policymakers.
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