ABSTRACT
Homeless female-headed families are affected by national and local policies which impact adversely on the parent-child relationship. The first section of this article examines the ways in which national and state family welfare laws affect the parenting capacities of the single mother. Our legal system’s response to domestic violence, the precipitating factor for roughly one-half of homeless women seeking shelter, is addressed in the second section. Once poverty and/or domestic violence catapult the single mother into homelessness, the children are often placed in foster care, especially if the mother has a substance abuse problem. The third section of this article focuses on the foster care system’s response to family homelessness and maternal substance abuse, which is to place the children in foster care. Finally, implications for policy development, research and practice are discussed. Multidisciplinary family practitioners need to understand the macro-level policy issues which account for many of the micro-level problems within the female-headed family and which put the family relationships at risk. These professionals will then be in a better position to affect situations that contribute to and relate to the broader view and management of the homeless mother and her parenting capabilities.
