Benefit For A Child's Place

Overview

A Child’s Place (ACP) works to erase the impact of homelessness on children and their education. ACP began in 1989 when a group of women were walking through the cemetery in downtown Charlotte and noticed a group of kids playing. When asked why the kids were not in school the children explained that they were not allowed to enroll in school without a permanent address. The group of women began offering school for this group of 27 children in a one room schoolhouse provided by First Presbyterian Church with a teacher from CMS. In 1989, the McKinney-Vento Act was passed protecting the educational rights of homeless children ensuring they are provided the necessities they need to regularly attend school. Since that first class of 27 ACP client children we have grown to help 2,228 homeless children during the 2011-12 school year. Homeless children are living in unstable living conditions that include shelters, motels, doubled-up with others and cars. Because of the instability they experience, these children are: Hungry twice as often as other children; Sick four times more often; Two to three grade levels behind and twice as likely to repeat a grade; and experience emotional and behavioral problems three times more than their housed peers. The national graduation rate for homeless children is below 25%. Sources: National Center on Family Homelessness. ACP works to remove these barriers for our client children to attain their education and make school the most stable part of their lives. We provide educational and emotional support services as well as medical referrals to keep our client children healthy and in the classroom. Most of our client families are the working poor. For them, homelessness is not a way of life; it’s a time in their lives. By minimizing the impact of this difficult time on the children and their academic growth, ACP contributes to their likelihood of breaking the cycle of poverty. Stability and education are key solutions to solve the homeless problem here in Charlotte. The relationship between education and income is one of the best-documented in economics: those with more education make more money. For every year a child progresses through school, the likelihood of being poor and homeless as an adult decreases. Source: A Child's Place Client data, 2010-2011; Levin, H., Belfield, C., Muennig, P. and Rouse, C. (2007), The Costs and Benefits of an Excellent Education for All of American's Children.New York, NY:Columbia University. We can pay now or pay later. It costs ACP $985 per year to serve a homeless child. Compare that to $62,000 for that same child to be in our juvenile justice system or $39,000 to be incarcerated as an adult or for the costs of substance abuse treatment or government assistance later. Helping these children now not only fulfills their hopes and dreams; it creates better citizens and employees for our community. 97% of A Child's Place students are promoted to the next grade (compare to 64% nationally) and 92% read on grade level (compare to 48% nationally and 68% of Charlotte-Mecklenburg School students).