The Role of Nonprofit Organizations in Homeless Policy Networks: A Research Note

Jesus N. Valero
University of Utah

Hee Soun Jang
University of North Texas

This research note investigates the extent of nonprofit organizations’ involvement in federal homeless policy networks in the United States and examines the degree to which nonprofits take a leading role. Nonprofit organizations are in a good position to take on the leading role in human service networks because they tend to be focused on helping their specific locality and are likely to have established legitimacy and trust with other community organizations. We conduct a descriptive analysis of a nationwide sample of 382 local homeless networks and an indepth analysis of 35 local networks from one service region in the United States. The results indicate that nonprofit organizations are significant players in implementing federal homeless policy and that they take on a leadership role by coordinating the efforts of the local homeless network.