Increase data collection and the data sources used for youth
• Include multiple sources of data in setting goals and defining what it means to end youth homelessness (i.e. U.S. Department of Education Numbers, HUD Point-in-time count, CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, etc.).
• Encourage Congress to fund the Prevalence, Needs, and Characteristics of Homeless Youth in America study as authorized under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA (P.L. 110-378).
• Implement standard definitions for homeless youth that enable runaway and homeless youth who are couch surfing to qualify for all housing and supportive services available.
• Conduct an initial inventory, to be updated on an annual basis, of federally funded youth-specific housing that includes the full continuum of services including crisis intervention housing, transitional housing, and supportive housing.
• Develop data-sharing protocols with other systems, including the education, child welfare, mental health, substance abuse treatment, and juvenile justice systems.