17% Increase In the Number of Children Identifed as Homeless in Pennsylvania

46,714 children identified as homeless! 19% increase identified in Philadelphia!

We examined data recently posted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) on the numbers of children and youth identified as experiencing homelessness in School Year (SY) 2023. See sources at Reports (pa.gov).

Only numbers have been released; PDE will publish an narrative later that we can analyze later.

• How big a number is 46,714?

  • That is more than the total capacity of Citizens Ball Park (Phillies) in Philadelphia or PNC Park (Pirates) in Pittsburgh.

  • 3 Hersheypark stadiums would be needed to seat everyone.

  • The cities/townships of York, Wilkes-Barre, Northampton Township, Penn Hills, Norristown, Cranberry Township, Altoona, State College, Middletown Township have smaller populations.

The PDE homeless education program is called the ‘Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness” (ECYEH) and administers its work in eight regions. The chart below shows the number by region. A map is included to tell you which counties are in the regions.

Consistent with data from past years, Region 2 identified more homeless children than Philadelphia, the nation’s poorest big city.

In Philadelphia, the School District of Philadelphia identified 10,029 children and youth as experiencing homeless, an all-time high. This includes children ages birth to 17 and in shelter, schools, early intervention, and other programs. Of this number, 6,217 were K-12 students.

Why is this important? The new data will spice up the discussion that supports homeless education work. Advocates have been calling for the continuation of the innovation programs created by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding. Those funds expire December, 2024. Philadelphia’s School District has committed verbally to extending the funding that it contracted out to housing providers using ARP funds to assist more than 80 of its schools to the end of the school year in June 2025. In Harrisburg, legislators have held hearings, press conferences, and more to debate adding funds to the ECYEH program. The Shapiro Administration and the General Assembly provided an additional $1 billion to the 500+ school districts and charters, and a high-level administrator suggested that each district should have funds to continue its work identifying and support homeless students. Advocates intend to continue seeking state dollars to match the federal funds.