Author | Lightnews

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · 4h

We just published a summary of education data showing that there were more than 10,000 young children (ages birth to 5) who were identified as homeless in Pennsylvania. Read our latest on Substack here bit.ly/3Ws1uWy

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · 1d

New Policy Brief on Young Children Identified As Homeless in PA. Read at bit.ly/3Lba89w

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Reposted by Joe Willard

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · 15d

Trump admin fired its homeless education staff. Sign our petition to urge the PA Congressional Delegation to voice opposition. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Petition To the PA Congressional Delegation In Support of Pennsylvania's 50,000+ Children and Youth Homeless in 2024

Please sign our petition to Pennsylvania's Congressional Delegation to reinstate the recently terminated staff of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. According to SchoolHouse Connectio...

docs.google.com

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Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · 15d

Trump admin fired its homeless education staff. Sign our petition to urge the PA Congressional Delegation to voice opposition. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Petition To the PA Congressional Delegation In Support of Pennsylvania's 50,000+ Children and Youth Homeless in 2024

Please sign our petition to Pennsylvania's Congressional Delegation to reinstate the recently terminated staff of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. According to SchoolHouse Connectio...

docs.google.com

2

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · 16d

86% increase in child homeless in Philadelphia. Why do think this happened? bit.ly/4haveAz

Philadelphia's Homeless Children & Youth

86% Increase Since 2015 - WHY?????

bit.ly

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Sep 30

50,030 children and youth identified as experiencing homelessness in Pennsylvania! Too many to be seated at Citizens Bank Ball Park!!! Read our latest Substack summary of new data. Read at bit.ly/484mc5T

50,030 children and youth were identified as homeless in Pennsylvania

50,030 children and youth were identified as homeless throughout the Commonwealth in School Year (SY) 2023-24, according to reports from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE).

bit.ly

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Sep 23

Today's Substack post is a sneak preview of a report on young children experiencing homelessness in Pennsylvania. bit.ly/4nmwWkM

Sneak Preview of Report on Pennsylvania's Young Children Identified as Homeless

13% Increase in the number of children since School Year (SY) 2020

open.substack.com

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Sep 3

Our latest Substack article highlights the numbers of children and youth identified as homeless in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The numbers increased 47% since 2019, and more than 18,000 children were identified in 2024. Read at bit.ly/3I3WCmL

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Aug 18

Eleanor Bader interviewed me for an article on education. Read the article at bit.ly/4ltVyWX

Looming Federal Cuts to Public Education Threaten Communities in Every State

Educators say the cuts will hit already vulnerable low-income, unhoused, disabled, migrant and refugee students hardest.

bit.ly

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Aug 14

Supporting students exp homelessness succeeds at increasing graduation rates, lowering chronic truancy, and more. Read our policy brief bit.ly/47x4VSr

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Aug 11

We are planning to release an update of our January 2025 report on the prevalence of young children identified as homeless in September. Here is one chart as a sneak preview:

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Aug 4

US Senate Appropriations 'blocks' the block-granting of US Dept of Ed. It approved providing $129 million for Education for Homeless Children & Youth, $146.3 million for Runaway & Homeless Youth, and funds Head Start and child care. Read SchoolHouse Connection summary. bit.ly/3UcKFxG

Senate Committee Advances EHCY Funding, Rejects Block Grant

The Senate Committee rejects EHCY elimination, preserving $129M in funding. Learn what’s next and what else is included in the FY2026 education bill.

bit.ly

Reposted by Joe Willard

JJ Cutuli @jjcutuli.bsky.social · Jul 14

“Without enough staff and resources, students will face more barriers to educational opportunity and have fewer places to turn to when their rights are violated,”

apnews.com/article/trum...

How Trump plans to dismantle the Education Department after Supreme Court ruling

Education Secretary Linda McMahon is expected to move quickly now that the Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to continue unwinding her department.

apnews.com

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Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Aug 4

Pennsylvania is included in new study on children's access to food. Read at open.substack.com/pub/joewilla...

Connecting Families to Food Resources amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Early Care and Education Providers in Two U.S. States

Pennsylvania is one of the states.

open.substack.com

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Jul 31

My prediction is that if they do this, the emergency shelters will be flooded once again. So much progress has been made but the Trump proposal will take us back to before the 1990s.

JJ Cutuli @jjcutuli.bsky.social · Jul 17

Under the Trump administration, proposed changes to HUD rent subsidies target families to lose their homes and become homeless. Instead, should try new things, but thoughtfully, carefully, and while rigorously using data.

apnews.com/article/hud-...

1.4M of the nation's poorest renters risk losing their homes with Trump's proposed HUD time limit

A Trump administration proposal could put more than a million low-income households at risk of losing their government-subsidized housing.

apnews.com

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Jul 31

The federal government needs to improve its data collection on babies experiencing homelessness, DOGE or no DOGE. See our latest Yay Babies edition bit.ly/4lWAn0U

Taking Care With Data ... for the Babies!

Responding to a recent posting on SchoolHouse Connection's Infant-Toddler Report

bit.ly

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Jul 24

Looks like US House Appropriations Com rejected Trump proposal to block grant HUD programs. It also:
• added $100M+ to Homeless Assistance Grants;
• rejected Trump’s elimination of Project-Based and Tenant-Based rental assistance, & CDBG;
• keeps Trump elimination of HOME;
See bit.ly/4kMI7kv

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Jul 24

Read new Yay Babies contribution "A Family-Centered Approach to Considering Access to Housing," by Dr. Sara Shaw & Dana Thomson bit.ly/3H1OWRy

A Family-Centered Approach to Considering Access to Housing

Access to affordable housing remains a top priority in addressing families’ health, well-being, and overall economic stability.

bit.ly

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Jul 8

Congrats to Illinois homeless advocates for passing legislation creating transparency of how school districts spend Title 1 dollars on students experiencing homelessness. Read at
bit.ly/3IwH0bc

Press Release: New State Law to Increase Transparency in Funding for Homeless Students - Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness

bit.ly

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Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Jun 25

Children's Hospital is asking to help advocate to protect Medicaid. Check out nwmd.social/s/email/4AmO...

New/Mode | Make your voice impossible to ignore

nwmd.social

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Jun 17

Read Barbara Duffield of #schoolhouseconnection testimony to U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations re: Trump plan to eliminate homeless education supports. Read at bit.ly/4l3mEoJ

FY26 Senate LHHS Testimony

Barbara Duffield, Executive Director SchoolHouse Connection United States Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies United St...

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Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Jun 16

PA State Representative Ismail Smith-Wade-El from Lancaster County is a partner with our homeless education advocacy efforts. Read his latest press release at bit.ly/4l8GC0K

Federal government is abandoning its commitment to homeless students : The Commonwealth of PA Must Step Up Now!

Child and youth homelessness in Pennsylvania has grown to crisis proportions over the past few years, with 46,714 children and youth identified as homeless in 2023. Despite this unprecedented increase...

bit.ly

Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Jun 16

Dr. Janette Herbers of Villanova & Dr. JJ Cutuli of Nemours just published on our Yay Babies newsletter "What is the latest research on children experiencing family homelessness?" Read at bit.ly/4mZC8eJ

Reposted by Joe Willard

JJ Cutuli @jjcutuli.bsky.social · Jun 5

What's the latest science on family homelessness? New review chapter just released with Janette Herbers of Villanova University:
www.researchgate.net/publication/...

@nemours.bsky.social @villanovapr.bsky.social

Family homelessness as a context of risk to health and development. | Request PDF

Request PDF | Family homelessness as a context of risk to health and development. | Family homelessness represents a context of considerable risk for healthy child development. Numerous studies since ...

www.researchgate.net

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Joe Willard @jwillard18.bsky.social · Jun 10

SchoolHouse Connection releases report on infants/toddlers experiencing homelessness sort by each U.S. state. Read at bit.ly/4kWNgXN

New Report Reveals Sharp Increase in Infant and Toddler Homelessness Nationwide

Nearly 450,000 infants and toddlers estimated to have experienced homelessness in 2022–2023; only 10% accessed early childhood programs

open.substack.com