Shocka! Latest Child 'Homelessness' Figures Grossly Exaggerated

As soon as I first heard this reported earlier in the week I knew it was bogus, considering the dubious track record of homeless advocates.

Well, sure enough, it's a crock.

I doubt the truth will be as widely reported as the fiction.

A well publicized report this week that an estimated 1.5 million American children experienced homelessness in 2005-06 did not use the federal definition of homelessness. Instead, it used a different definition that grossly inflated the actual number.

The report — released Tuesday by the National Center on Family Homelessness and reported by numerous news organizations, including FOXNews.com — estimated that one out of every 50 children in America experienced "homelessness" during that two-year span.

But rather than using the definition of homelessness established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Massachusetts-based organization used a standard adopted by the Department of Education that includes children who are "doubled up," or children who share housing with other persons due to economic hardship or similar reason.

The difference? About 1,170,000 children.

An estimated 330,000 sheltered and unsheltered homeless children were identified in HUD's July 2007 report to Congress as those who are "literally homeless," or those living in homeless facilities or in places not meant for human habitation, according to the report.

The remaining 1.17 million — those who are precariously housed or who may be doubled up with friends and relatives or paying extremely high proportions of their resources for rent — are not included in HUD's report.

Nobody is ever called to task for this nonsense and like clockwork, the next time a homeless group issues a press release, it'll be dutifully regurgitated by an unquestioning media.

Then the truth comes out and the story disappears.