The massive disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina caused the number of homeless children in Louisiana to swell, according to a new report. The study by the National Center on Family Homelessness found that 18.7% of all Louisiana children were homeless at least once in 2005-06, the years included in the study. That’s far above Texas, which had the second-highest percentage of homeless children at 5.2%.
Despite the rate per capita, Louisiana ranked 46th overall for child homelessness; the rankings looked at the number of children without a place to live, the risk that a child could end up homeless and state policy and planning. The state got a moderate ranking for planning, thanks to the planning efforts of the Louisiana Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Louisiana Advocacy Coalition for the Homeless and the Louisiana Policy Academy on Chronic Homelessness. Texas was ranked as the worst state for homeless children, while Connecticut was on top. See the full report here.
