Économie et Statistique n° 488-489 - 2016 The homeless - The gender pay gap in the public sector
Experience of being in care in childhood and housing precariousness
Isabelle Frechon et Maryse Marpsat
In France (as in many Western countries that have a child protection system), the proportion of people who have spent time in care in their childhood is relatively low in the general population (in the order of 2 to 3%), but in 2012 it reached 23% of users of aid services (temporary accommodation and free meals), for those born in France. Among users of these services born in France, those who have been in care in childhood are younger (34% are aged 18 to 29, compared to 23% of those who have not been in care) and more often female (48% of people who have been in care are women compared to 30% of those who have not been in care). Again among users of the aid services, in spite of having better health coverage, 36% of those who have spent time in care state that their state of health is poor or very poor, that is to say twice as many as those who have not been in care. This poor state of health dates back to childhood more often than for other homeless. They have spent less time in full-time education (35% have no qualifications compared to 29% of other homeless) and their jobs are less secure. Among people who have been in care currently using aid services, those who have spent long periods in care or who had experienced multiple placement moves are often those who live in the most precarious forms of housing in their adult life and who more frequently rely on aid services. Finally, for such people who have been in care, the first experience of living on the streets did not always occur when they left care, but sometimes occurred before - and may even have been the reason for - being placed in care, or it may have occurred (much) later.