NATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT SEEKS BETTER WAYS OF COMMUNICATING WITH RUNAWAY, AT-RISK YOUTH
CHICAGO (March 25, 2008) – The National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) announced today that it will conduct a comprehensive research study to gain a better understanding of how to reach and communicate with the nearly three million young people who run away from home each year.
The study, launching in early 2009, is being made possible through a $125,000 grant from The Chicago Community Trust, a $99,000 commitment from the Family & Youth Services Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services, and a $100,000 pledge in matching funds from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The study will be implemented by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), a social science research organization affiliated with the University of Chicago.
“Each year NRS handles more than 100,000 calls with runaway and at-risk youth and their families,” said Maureen Blaha, NRS executive director. “We want to know why more of these young people are not reaching out for help, how to best communicate with them and what barriers are keeping them from getting information and using available services.”
Blaha added that the results of this research study will have a broad impact on youth organizations across the country in developing program initiatives to keep America’s youth safe and off the streets.
The Study:
The multi-part study is currently scheduled to be conducted in two U.S. cities with plans to expand it to four cities pending additional funding. The study will cover multiple parts of each metro area to capture the central city and suburbs and non-metropolitan statistical areas, and it will include school-based surveys, interviews with youth in shelters, those who live on the street, and individuals in foster care.
“While NRS may know a lot about what services runaway and homeless youth need, this study will provide valuable answers and much needed information about how to get services to youth,” said Michelle Ernst, Ph.D., senior research scientist at NORC.
About the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago
Founded in 1941, the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) is a social science research organization affiliated with the University of Chicago with offices in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Berkeley, California. NORC’s core strength is its ability to efficiently design and field social science surveys of the highest quality and to manage survey, administrative, program, and other data for research purposes.
NORC has experience with surveys involving schools and with surveys of vulnerable populations including adolescents. Currently, NORC leads the data collection effort on the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Making Connections project. In the Chafee Multi-Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs, NORC interviews adolescents before and after leaving foster care. Other studies involving interviews with children or adolescents include the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth—1979 and 1997 cohorts, The New Immigrant Survey and The Transition to Nicotine Dependence in Adolescence.
About the National Runaway Switchboard
Established in 1971, NRS serves as the federally-designated national communication system for homeless and runaway youth. Recognized as the oldest hotline of its kind in the world, NRS, with the support of more than 150 volunteers, handles an average of 100,000 calls annually – more than 3 million calls since the organization’s inception. NRS provides crisis intervention, referrals to local resources, and education and prevention services to youth, families and community members throughout the country 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Over 10,000 youth have been reunited with their families through the NRS Home Free program done in collaboration with Greyhound Lines, Inc. The NRS crisis hotline is 1-800-RUNAWAY. For more information, visit www.1800RUNAWAY.org.
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