Table 1.

Characteristics of study family heads and families at baseline.

Characteristic	Percent of family heads/families (unless otherwise noted)
Age of family heada at RA
Less than 21 years old	8.2
21–24 years	19.2
25–29 years	24.0
30–34 years	18.5
35–44 years	22.3
45 years and older	7.8
Median age of family head	29.0 years
Adult respondent is female	91.8
Spouse or partner in shelter	27.4
Male adult respondent with no female wife/partner present	3.8
Total family income during the past year
20th percentile	$2,880
50th percentile (median)	$7,410
80th percentile	$15,000
No work past 1 week	82.9
No work past 2 years	30.4
Previous episode of homelessness in life	63.0
Adult respondent has disability that limits or prevents work	21.6
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms	22.4
Psychological distress	21.8
Domestic violence by spouse or partner as an adult	49.0
Substance abuse problem	20.9
Number of children present in shelter
1 child	43.5
2 children	30.1
3 children	15.2
4 or more children	11.2
At least one child younger than age 3	50.5
Have family members not present in shelter
Spouse/partner not with family in shelter	10.3
At least one child under age 18 not with family in shelter	24.0
Race/ethnicity
Black/African American, not Hispanic	40.9
White, not Hispanic	20.4
Hispanic	20.2
Asian/Pacific Islander, not Hispanic	7.2
Mixed, not Hispanic	11.2

Sources: Family Options Study baseline survey.

Notes:

^aFor families headed by couples, the study team requested that the woman fill out the baseline survey. Sample size is 2,282 (full sample).