Child protection services and youth experiencing homelessness: Findings of the 2019 national youth homelessness survey in Canada

Youth leaving child protection services in Canada are especially vulnerable to homelessness, which harms their health, education and safety. Using Canada’s largest-ever national survey of youth homelessness, this study compared homeless youth who had been involved with child protection with those who had not. It looked at quality of life, family and peer relationships, criminal records, education and adverse childhood experiences, and examined risk factors such as childhood adversity and child protection history. The authors discuss the implications for policy and future research.