In Kern County, the first rule in counting homeless students is not saying 鈥渉omeless.鈥
Instead, school staff use phrases like 鈥渟truggling with stable housing鈥 or 鈥渇amilies in transition.鈥 The approach seems to have worked: More families are sharing their housing status with their children鈥檚 schools, which means more students are getting services.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of stigma attached to the word 鈥榟omeless,鈥欌 said Curt Williams, director of homeless and foster youth services for the Kern County Office of Education. 鈥淲hen you remove that word, it all changes.鈥
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