U.S. Commentary: The Family Options Study and Family Well-Being Outcomes

Marah A. Curtis
University of Wisconsin–Madison

The Family Options Study, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-sponsored longitudinal randomized study evaluating homeless service interventions for families with children, is the focus of this symposium. This study enrolled participant families between 2010 and 2012 and followed them for at least 3 years. Nearly 2,300 families experiencing homelessness, in 12 sites across the nation, were assigned to one of four conditions after spending 7 or more nights in a homeless shelter. The 12 participating sites recruited for the study varied across size, geography, and housing markets to capture variation in conditions associated with homelessness. Although sites were not randomly selected, at study entrance, Family Options Study participants shared characteristics similar to families experiencing homelessness across the nation (Gubits et al., 2016).