Who is considered homeless?

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 2001 – Part C of the Every Student Succeeds Act – Sec 725

The term “homeless children and youth”—

A. means individuals who lack a fixed,regular, and adequate nighttime residence…; and

B. includes —

i. children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals

ii. children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings…

iii. children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and

iv. migrant children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).