Publications & Reports
What works best for families, children, and youth
Bassuk Center solutions are grounded in promising and evidence-based practice. We share our knowledge with providers, communities, policymakers, and advocates to help children and families experiencing homelessness and put an end to this national tragedy.
Recent Journal Articles
Organizational trauma-informed-care. Associations with Individual and Agency Factors.
Unick, Bassuk, Richard, Paquette (2018). Psychological Services. In Press. As health and human service providers increasingly focus on implementing trauma-informed care, this paper highlights the importance of robust cultural changes, service user involvement at all levels of an organization, flattening power differentials, and providing ongoing experiential training to support successful implementation.
Universal design for underserved populations
Bassuk, Latta, Sember, Raja, Richard (2017). Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. A universal approach to health care encompasses compassionate, collaborative relationships between providers and service users. The authors assert that person-centered care, enhanced by recovery-oriented care and trauma-informed care, is particularly beneficial for individuals with trauma histories and behavioral health disorders.
Peer-Delivered Recovery Support Services for Addictions in the United States: A Systematic Review.
Bassuk, Hanson, Greene, Richard (2016). Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. This systematic review identifies, appraises, and summarizes evidence on effectiveness of peer-delivered recovery support services for people in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. Recommendations for future research are discussed.
Developing an Instrument to Measure Organizational Trauma-Informed Care in Human Services: The TICOMETER.
Bassuk, Unick, Paquette, Richard (2016). Psychology of Violence. This article describes development of the TICOMETER, a psychometrically tested assessment tool that creates new possibilities for assessing the level of trauma-informed care by an organization, monitoring progress in service delivery over time, determining training needs, and developing trauma-informed policies.
The Prevalence of Mental Illness in Homeless Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Bassuk, Richard, Tsertsvadze (2015). American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. This systematic review updates the evidence base by identifying, appraising, and summarizing studies on the prevalence of mental health issues among homeless children. The authors discuss research, practice, and policy implications.
Trauma-informed Care: An Ecological Approach
DeCandia, Guarino (2015) Journal of Child Care and Youth Work. This comprehensive review of trauma-informed care—its evolution, current models, promising practices, and evidence base—asserts that investment in trauma-informed care is essential to improve practice across service sectors.
The Effectiveness of Housing Interventions, and Housing and Service Interventions, on Ending Family Homelessness: A Systematic Review
Bassuk, DeCandia, Richard, with coauthors (2014). American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. While current housing programs show some success in reducing literal homeless, families have difficulty maintaining stable housing in the community. This article highlights the need to combine housing and services to support vulnerable families.
Depression in Homeless Mothers: Addressing an Unrecognized Public Health Issue
Bassuk, Beardslee (2014). American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. The authors review evidence supporting preventive and therapeutic interventions with low-income and homeless mothers and children. They propose guidelines for adapting and implementing services for programs serving homeless families.
Out on the Street: A Public Health and Policy Agenda for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth Who Are Homeless
Keuroghlian, Shtasel, Bassuk (2014). American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. This article reviews the causes of homelessness among LGBTQ youth, discusses mental health and victimization risks faced by this population, and recommends interventions and best practices. The authors discuss promising future research and policy directions.
Resources for Service Providers and Communities
Assessment Checklist for Families Experiencing Homelessness
An easy-to-use checklist to assist service providers in conducting comprehensive, evidence-informed assessments of the families they serve. The checklist provides guidance on what to assess, what questions to ask, and which standardized instruments to use.
The TICOMETER
This brief psychometrically tested instrument allows an organization to measure how well it has adopted the principles of trauma-informed care and to identify gaps in implementation. The instrument measures 35 indicators in five domains, calculates scores based on individual staff responses, and provides instant feedback on how to make progress.
America's Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Homeless Children
This report, the third in this series, examines the status of children experiencing homelessness both nationally and state-by-state, including an estimate of the numbers of children who are homeless, and state rankings based on factors that can protect children from becoming homeless.
Assessment of Families Experiencing Homelessness: A Guide for Practitioners and Policy Makers
A guide to help service providers, policymakers, community leaders, and state agencies conduct comprehensive assessments of families experiencing homelessness. Implications for policy and practice are also discussed.
