The evidence behind the story
Research appendix
Sources, measures, methodology, and limitations from the 2026 State of Youth report. Research was conducted by Illuminology for The Youth Partners Coalition.
How the research was assembled
Local measures and lived experience belong together.
Illuminology combined local quality-of-life indicators, information from youth-serving organizations and community stakeholders, and conversations with young people who have experienced housing instability. Administrative data shows contact with systems; young people describe what those measures cannot capture.
Source: 2026 State of Youth report, pp. 2–4 and 17.
Child welfare · Fiscal year 2024–2025
What Children Services recorded
These are distinct administrative measures, not a count of young people experiencing homelessness.
11,322
child maltreatment reports screened by Franklin County Children Services.
- became ongoing cases
- 1,585
- young people aged out of foster care
- 157
Source: Public Children Services Association of Ohio Factbook: State and County Profiles, June 2025, cited in the 2026 State of Youth report, p. 9.
Reasons for child maltreatment reports
Physical abuse and neglect lead the reported reasons.
The displayed percentages total 101% because the source chart rounds each category.
Source: Public Children Services Association of Ohio Factbook, June 2025, cited in the 2026 State of Youth report, p. 9.
Youth Crisis Line · 2022–2024
Calls increased from 2022 to 2024.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Youth Crisis Line answered 10,807 calls in 2022 and 12,177 in 2024.
2024
12,177calls answered
- 202210,807
- 202412,177
Calls are not unique people or a count of youth experiencing homelessness, and the trend does not establish why call volumes changed.
Source: 2026 State of Youth report, p. 6.
Basic needs
Economic pressure affects housing stability.
The report describes many Franklin County youth living below the federal poverty level, and about six in ten as economically disadvantaged or enrolled in Medicaid. These measures describe different populations and should not be added together.
Source: 2026 State of Youth report, p. 7.
Health care access · 2023
The data also includes bright spots.
75.1%
of Franklin County children ages 0–18 received dental care in the past year.
- had access to a usual source of medical care when needed.
- 93.8%
Source: 2026 State of Youth report, p. 7 (2023 health care access data).
What the counts cannot show
Being indoors can still mean being unsafe or unstable.
Young people described temporary stays with friends or relatives that could end without warning. In shelters and shared spaces, some also described crowding, limited privacy, concerns about belongings, unclear rules, and bullying related to gender identity. These qualitative accounts explain limits of the counts; they are not a prevalence estimate.
Source: 2026 State of Youth report, p. 17.
Sources named in the report
Where the current evidence comes from
Public Children Services Association of Ohio
Factbook: State and County Profiles, June 2025; child welfare counts and reasons for reports.
Youth health and basic-needs data
2023 health care access measures and economic indicators; see the report for source definitions and references.
Nationwide Children’s Youth Crisis Line
Calls answered in 2022 and 2024, reported in the final research.
Additional local data
ADAMH, Community Shelter Board, Ohio school and children services data, and other sources listed in the report’s references.
Young people and community stakeholders
Focus groups and input from youth-serving organizations provide context the counts cannot supply.
Source: 2026 State of Youth report, pp. 2–4, 6–10, 17, and 79–87.
Methodology and limitations
Read the findings with their context.
No single source captures every young person facing housing instability. Counts use different definitions, modeled estimates rest on assumptions, and youth interviews describe participants’ experiences rather than a representative sample. The SROI uses program outcomes from two coalition members and financial values from published research. The report includes methodology, recommendations, references, and further limitations.