Guidelines for

Homeless Youth Population Survey  

A Project of the Garden State Coalition 
for Youth and Family Concerns, Inc.
330 Washington Street
Newark, NJ  07102 (973) 286-3404

XI APPENDICES

C.  INSTRUCTIONS

NOTE: Q. 3, 4, 5 are all items you must fill out before you begin the interview. Note in Q. 3 you are to fill in the zone in which the interview is being conducted. Zones are identified by numbers. This is important since it is used as one of the identifiers to weed out duplicate participants.

Termination of interview. You are to terminate the interview if the person indicates they have previously been interviewed for this study. You can proceed with the interview if the individual refused to answer, says no or does not know. If however the individual acknowledges that they participated in the interview at any time during the interview then you are to terminate the interview.

Q. 6. Do not ask but fill out from your observation. Note while we have left only two choices for gender, gender identity is a significant issue among some homeless youth.

Q. 7. You should ask and not make any assumptions if there is any doubt. 

Q. 8  Record these dates in numbers. You may choose to write the month down and return later to fill out using numbers. You are to estimate the age of the individual if they refuse to answer.

Q. 9. Here you are seeking information regarding where the individual grew up before they went out on their own - as a child. In case the individual indicates they are not now living with their parents, relatives or guardians, please repeat the question and inform them you are seeking information regarding when they grew up, where they have spent most of their lives and before they were out on their own. If the individual responds that they lived lots of different places, then ask them to indicate the one place they spent the most time growing up as a child. 

Q. 10/11. If individual has attended beyond high school, then simply add a year on for each year beyond high school. Again record as a number. Remember if still in school the current grade in school is not the completed year but the year before that.

Q. 12-16 all pertain to living away from parents and guardians and tries to capture whether the person has ever lived away, done so in the last year and whether they are currently doing so now. 

Q. 13. This question simply seeks to get a number for a response. The person could have lived with and then left and came back, etc. How many times has the person done this. All the time is not an acceptable answer. You must try to get a number.

Q. 14. The emphasis here is on the last 12 months. Has the individual lived someplace other than with parents and guardians in the last 12 months.

 Q.  15.  The emphasis on Q. 14 is on current status. You are interested in where they are living now. The now is defined as the present, today.  In Q. 15 record the length of time.  Here you are interested in the length of time from the present (today) going backwards to when they last moved out. Note there may have been multiple moves back and forth over the last year.  Note do not be confused if this time span may extend to the same time period as the length of time recorded in Q. 13.

Q. 16.  Here we seek the total length of time present and past that individual has lived away from home.

Q. 17.  Do not read categories. Please record all the responses in the margin and return later to fill out.  Be specific in filling out the other category. Do not rush the individual give them “space” to respond. Includes past and present reasons for living away from parents and guardians.

Q.  18. Please note the skip to directions. 

Q. 19.   Please record all the responses in the margin and return later to fill out.  Be specific in filling out the other category. Do not rush the individual, give them “space” to respond.

Q.  21.  Notice medical provider and doctor are synonymous.

Q. 22.  Please record response.  If individual provides more than one answer ask where did they go the last time they were ill.  An acceptable response is nowhere,  saw no one.

Q.    23-31.  These questions refer to foster care, juvenile justice and prison and jail.  Before asking these questions there is a transition introduction that you must read.

Q.  23.  Please follow skip to directions.  Note the yes response is indicative that the person was in foster care and is no longer in foster care.

Q.   24-25.  Again record in the time frame given and then later translate into months.

Q.  26.  Juvenile detention refers to those who were under 18 and were detained in the juvenile justice system.  If they went to an adult prison then record for prison question.  Please follow skip to directions. Note presently living in a half way house may be a response.  I is indicative of previously being in the juvenile detention.

Q.   26.  We are interested in the amount of time the individual spent in detention.

Q.   27.  Here we are interested in how long it is since they were released and out of juvenile detention.

Q.  29.  Prison refers to those usually over the age of 18. Note they may be some who though they may be under 18 may respond they went to prison.  Record as such. Prison is also used because someone may be in a county jail and for many they do not equate this to prison.  Therefore the question is read as prison or jail. Follow the directions to skip to the next question. 

Q.   30.  Again, we are interested in the amount of time the individual spent in prison/jail.

Q.   31.  Record how long it is since they have been released from prison/jail.  Record as given, then translate into months.

Q.   32 and 34 are critical questions that follow HUD’s definition of what constitutes homeless.  After much debate we have been told that we must follow this format. 

Q.  32.   This question seeks to determine where the individual stayed or spent the night the last week.  Here we are seeking the full week from Monday through Sunday.  You must read the categories.  Follow this up by asking Q.33, which of these places did they spend the most time.

Q. 34.  Important that you emphasize the holiday surrounding the week for which you are counting youth.  Pause and give the respondent time to think of that time period.  Obtaining a focus on the time period is important since you are looking for the places stayed the seven days surrounding the holiday week, i.e. from the Monday to the following Sunday.  The individual does not have to follow any particular order in terms of the days of the week.  Again you must read the list of possible places where the individual could have stayed or spent the night.   Do not forget to ask Q.35.

Q.  36. We are interested in the mother's first name, not her maiden name.

 Please record the time the interview was completed.

  

DO NOT FORGET TO THANK THE INDIVIDUAL FOR TAKING THE TIME FOR THE INTERVIEW.

 Give individual coupon as a token of appreciation.

Provide individual with agency materials.

Back to XIb Interviewer's Guide

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