Cityscape: Volume 19 Number 3 | U.S. Commentary: Insights From the Family Options Study Regarding Housing and Intimate Partner Violence

The goal of Cityscape is to bring high-quality original research on housing and community development issues to scholars, government officials, and practitioners. Cityscape is open to all relevant disciplines, including architecture, consumer research, demography, economics, engineering, ethnography, finance, geography, law, planning, political science, public policy, regional science, sociology, statistics, and urban studies.

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The Family Options Study

Volume 19, Number 3

Mark D. Shroder

Michelle P. Matuga

U.S. Commentary: Implications From the Family Options Study for Homeless and Child Welfare Services

Patrick J. Fowler
Washington University in St. Louis

The Family Options Study provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the troubling link between family homelessness and child maltreatment. The rigorous design uses multiple methods to probe the impact of housing interventions on family preservation and reunification and the underlying mechanisms. Results show that ending homelessness keeps families together; however, once separated, families continue to struggle to reunify with children. Permanent housing subsidies represent a more efficient approach to promoting family stability among homeless families compared with temporary housing with supportive services. Results introduce a new phase of family homeless research, practice, and policy; further investigation must consider broad scale approaches to keep families affordably housed in inclusive communities that protect child safety and well-being.