Educating Statistics About Homeless Children

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - According to new data, homeless students in public schools is at an all-time high.

In the school year 2011-2012, from pre-school through high school 1.2 million kids were homeless. That's up 10% from the year before and 72% since the start of the recession.

Some of the rise may be due to school employees - teachers, bus drivers and cafeteria workers - who are better at identifying homelessness, according to Barbara Duffield, Policy Director of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.

Reporting is also affected by kids who hide homelessness from embarrassment and parents are afraid they'll be removed from custody. Duffield also points out that more than 58,000 college applicants indicated that they were homeless, up from 53,000 the previous year.

With Philadelphia having the highest poverty of the ten largest cities nationally and the cold weather already upon us, thousands of our families are suffering during this holiday season.

Learn more about homelessness at the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.