Abstract

Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1998 What About America's Children?: Hide and Seek. By P. G. Shane. Thou­ sand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1996. Paul Shane of the Department of Social Welfare/Social Work at Rut­ gers University focuses on the social problem of homeless children in America in What About America's Children?: Hide and Seek. Contemporary social research shows that homeless children are among the fastest growing segments of the homeless population, and that they are also the most vul­ nerable segments of the homeless population. Although it is impossible to accurately count the number of homeless people in America, Shane states that "It is guesstimated that up to 2 million youth run away each year, 500,000 are throwaways or abandoned, and an­ other 500,000 are homeless with family." If Shane's estimates are close to the actual size of the population of homeless children, that means that around 5% of the children in America are experiencing homelessness in any given year. What About America's Children?: Hide and Seek presents a well docu­ mented overview of the facts that are known about homeless children. Shane's literature review is well focused and covers the major