BOSTON—They're called "unaccompanied youth" -- homeless teens ages 16 through 18 who are on their own -- and a new report says the state isn't doing enough to help get them the two things they need most, a safe place to sleep and the chance to earn a high school diploma.
A report obtained by The Associated Press, set to be released Thursday by the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, details the number of older homeless teens attending high school across the state -- and draws a link between homelessness and poor performance on the state MCAS exams.
For most of the teens, crashing with friends and hopping from couch to couch isn't a long term solution.
According to the report, Lynn tops the state in the number of students ages 16 through 18 who say they are on their own -- 116 in the 2006-2007 school year.
Springfield comes in second with 100 older homeless teens, followed by New Bedford with 41, Peabody with 31 and Boston with 22.
Advocates say the number is likely much higher since many teens are reluctant to acknowledge they aren't living with their families out of embarrassment or fear of being scooped up by the Department of Social Services.
"These kids are leaving home for multiple reasons. There are students whose parents are so poor they are kicking out older kids. Some have domestic violence issues," said Robyn Frost, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless.
The study comes on the heels of an ambitious plan by Gov. Deval Patrick to virtually end homelessness in Massachusetts in five years.
Among the challenges facing homeless teens is the MCAS exams. Passing the test is a requirement for graduation, and homeless students have a much higher failure rate compared with all students.
According to the report, homeless teens taking the 10th grade MCAS exams have a failure rate of 24 percent on the reading test and 35.7 percent on the math test. That's compared with a rate of 10 percent and 14.5 percent for all students on those tests.
Despite the difficulties, most of the homeless teens want to stay in school, advocates say.
"School is one of the safest places for these kids," Frost said. "It's eight to ten hours where they have a safe place to be. They aren't dropping out. They want to finish."
In Lynn, the schools have teamed with the city's housing authority to come up with a novel approach to helping the students. The housing authority is about to open five apartments to older teens who need a place to stay while they finish their senior year.
"We are in the process of assigning students to apartments as we speak," said Lisa Newhall, youth development program coordinator for the Lynn Housing Authority. "After talking with the school department we decided it was definitely a growing problem."
Advocates say more needs to be done.
They say the state should reinstate a cash benefit of $303 a month to homeless teens who are going to school full time. The state had previously offered the benefit before it was vetoed by former Gov. Mitt Romney.
The state shouldn't stop there, according to state Rep. Byron Rushing, co-chair of a 30-member homelessness commission appointed by Patrick. Rushing said the state should look to see if the Lynn program works.
"If they are unaccompanied, then we need to be planning housing that would be available to them," he said.
In 2005, Massachusetts was the first state in the country to try to get a sense of how many students are homeless.
In a youth risk behavior study, Massachusetts was the only state to ask students where they typically slept at night -- at home with parents, at a friend's or relative's home, in a shelter or in a motel or car.
Of the group of 3,522 students who participated in the survey in Massachusetts, 152 students were considered to be homeless.
The results of a similar study conducted in 2007 are expected to be released later this year.
There are already some protections for homeless students.
Under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act unaccompanied youth must be immediately enrolled in school like any other homeless student. They have the right to remain in the school even if they move out of the district, as long as they remain homeless.
The law also guarantees unaccompanied youth the same rights as other homeless students to fully attend and participate in all school activities.
Even with the protections, advocates say many teens won't let on that they are homeless, even to their friends.
"You know there are way more kids out there not invoking this," Frost said. "Lots of kids don't come forward. These numbers are just really the tip of the iceberg."
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On the Net:
Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless: http://www.mahomeless.org/
