ABSTRACT
Runaway/homeless adolescents are some of this nation's most vulnerable youth. Prevalence rates are difficult to determine as the definition of 'runaway' and 'homeless' varies (Lifson & Halcón, 2001); however, one national survey found that 7.6% of adolescents 12—17 years of age had spent at least one night in an emergency shelter, public place, abandoned building, or with a stranger during the previous year (Ringwalt, Greene,, Robertson, & McPheeters,, 1998). Estimates indicate that there are between 500,000 to two million runaway/homeless youth at any time in the U.S. (Farrow, Deisher, Brown, Kulig, & Kipke, 1992). Regardless of the exact number of these youth, they are a group of youth living in precarious and often abusive situations.
