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6 <br /> We have made progress,but there's more work to do. <br /> As our understanding of homelessness and its solutions evolves,WYFF must also evolve to: <br /> • Expand systems work statewide, building on successful pilot projects and adding new <br /> mainstream partners; <br /> • Focus on racial disproportionately in the youth,young adult and family homelessness systems; <br /> and LGBTQ disproportionality among homeless youth; <br /> • Improve how we capture,share and use data to guide system changes,sharpen investment <br /> decision-making and drive continuous improvements. <br /> • Set new goals in response to improved data that more accurately tell us how we are doing in • <br /> making youth,young adult and family homelessness rare,brief,and one-time; <br /> • Add a focus on youth and young adults because: <br /> o Youth and young adults have unique developmental needs not being met by either the <br /> adult or family homeless systems; <br /> o The full extent of youth and young adult homelessness is hidden; <br /> o A significant portion of the 30,609 homeless students2 in Washington are <br /> unaccompanied youth; <br /> o Addressing youth and young adult homelessness in the first place may prevent <br /> involvement in other systems such as foster care and criminal justice,and lead to cost <br /> savings in the long term; - - <br /> o Interventions to end youth and young adult homelessness may stop the cycle of <br /> homelessness as they become adults; - <br /> o Better data is needed to understand the unique needs of homeless youth and young <br /> adults. <br /> GOALS • <br /> The undersigned partners agree to pursue the following goals of the Washington Youth and Families <br /> Fund (WYFF): <br /> 1. By 2020 make youth,young adult and family homelessness in Washington State a rare,brief, <br /> and one-time occurrence. We believe this can be accomplished by developing a data-driven, <br /> high-performing system built on promising and proven practices that leverage multiple systems. <br /> 2. Better understand the full scope of youth,young adult and family homelessness in Washington <br /> State by developing data systems to support the work,with specific focus on the impacts of <br /> disproportionality for youth and families of color and for LGBTQ youth. <br /> • <br /> 3. Assure public and private resources are used as effectively as possible to serve homeless youth, <br /> young adults and families or those at risk of becoming homeless. <br /> 2 The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act defines homeless children as individuals who lack a <br /> fixed,regular and adequate nighttime residence and includes children and unaccompanied youth who are living <br /> "doubled up"with other family or friends.This is a broader definition than that of the federal Department of <br /> Housing and Urban Development,which does not include children and youth living doubled up. <br /> • <br /> Page I2 - <br /> 21 <br />