3.4 Effectively Collecting, Coordinating, and Using Youth Data Speaker: Shahera Hyatt Data is essential to create effective evidence-based strategies to prevent and end homelessness. This workshop will examine methodologies of point-in-time counts and other surveys, discuss coordinating HMIS with mainstream data systems and explore ways to use these data to inform policy decisions and interventions.

1. Homeless Youth Data, A State
Perspective
Shahera R. Hyatt
California Homeless Youth Project
February 9th, 2012

2. Why State-Level Data is Important
 Funding is based on data
 Resources are limited
 Measuring change over time is
critical for state policy

3. Where We Are Now
 States lack data on the homeless
youth population
 Data collection is inconsistent and
unreliable
 The needs of HY are under-
represented as a result

4. Where We Want to End Up
 A reliable statewide number of HY is
important to all stakeholders
 States need data on homeless
youth in order to prevent and end
homelessness

5. How We’re Going to Get There
 Establish a State Interagency
Council on Homelessness
 Convene a statewide task force on
youth homelessness data
 Coordinate existing state-level
homelessness data collection among
state agencies

6. How We’re Going to Get There P.2
 Coordinate with existing federal and
local homelessness data collection
efforts
 Utilize and modify existing
statewide surveys and research
 Establish uniform approaches to
collecting data

7. How We’re Going to Get There P.3
 Promote and distribute a “best
practices” toolkit with CoC
jurisdictions
 Work with CDE to increase data
from LEAs on unaccompanied HY
 Collaborate with national studies
and other efforts to identify HY

8. Comments or Questions?
Please feel free to contact me at
shyatt@library.ca.gov for more info.