Archive for year: 2025

Given our community-based research approach at MA Appleseed, we collect data in several ways. Whether qualitative or quantitative, we center racial equity in our process to ensure that those impacted by the issues we study have their voices heard. 

We explained focus groups, qualitative surveys, and semi-structured interviews in past blog posts. This post will dig into quantitative data requests from state agencies, the remaining data collection method we employ in our research. 

In some cases, having access to large datasets from state agencies is helpful to our research. Analyzing this type of data allows us to uncover patterns of inequity, for example in school discipline statistics as seen on our School Discipline Data Dashboard.  

We can take a few paths to gain access to data from state agencies. We prioritize building relationships with people in state agencies so they can understand how we will use the data, opening a line of communication that is collaborative rather than adversarial. For example, our ongoing relationship with the data team at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education fostered our creation and updating of the School Discipline Data Dashboard. 

In other cases, we opt to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which consists of asking for specific information from a state agency that they can either comply with, deny, or ask for more time to address. Under the Massachusetts Public Records Act, along with the federal Freedom of Information Act, most records from state agencies are available to the public upon request. 

A salient example of public records requests stems from our work with the Mass Speaks Coalition, which works to eliminate language barriers at state agencies, so that Limited English Proficient (LEP) and Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) residents have equal access to the services and information they need. To better understand state agencies’ current spending on language access services and gauge how much the Language Access and Inclusion bill would cost when implemented, we submitted requests to state agencies. We asked for information about the amount of money the agencies spent on various services, such as in-person interpretation, telephone interpretation, and translation services. The information we received, which we compiled into a cost analysis fact sheet, informed our work on this legislation. 

In certain cases, quantitative data from large state institutions can provide the information we need to better understand social problems and find appropriate solutions. 

This post concludes the About Our Research blog series! We hope the information we shared gave you some insights into the “why” and “how” of our work at MA Appleseed. 

Falling Through the Cracks 

In Massachusetts, pregnant and parenting teens experiencing homelessness continue to fall through the cracks of a system designed without their needs in mind. Despite some legal protections, individuals at the intersection of youth homelessness and pregnancy remain dangerously underserved. Shelters routinely turn away pregnant youth, services often require parental consent, and vital resources like prenatal care and Women, Infant, Children nutrition assistance (WIC) remain inaccessible due to bureaucratic and legal hurdles.  

According to the 2024 Massachusetts Youth Count, 9% of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness reported being pregnant or parenting at the time of the survey. Many of these young people are navigating pregnancy without consistent shelter, transportation, or access to healthcare. Policy blind spots exacerbate these challenges by overlooking the complex realities of young parents.  

One of the most urgent issues is housing. Youth-specific shelters in Massachusetts often exclude pregnant teens, either due to their policies or lack of infrastructure. Others require parental consent to admit minors—an impossible requirement for unaccompanied youth who have left unsafe or unsupportive home environments. The pending Act Allowing Certain Minors to Consent to Supportive Services (H.290/S.132) would address this gap by allowing unaccompanied minors ages 15-18 to consent to supportive services on their own. Pregnant teens sometimes hide their pregnancies to stay in a shelter or choose between disclosing and getting turned away. 

Barriers to Care 

MA Appleseed’s research shows that even shelters accepting young parents often fail to provide trauma-informed, youth-centered support to meet their needs. Youth experiencing homelessness usually lack access to prenatal care, facing major barriers that keep them from getting essential services. Transportation poses a significant obstacle, especially in rural or transit-inaccessible areas. Many teens do not know where to go or how to find help, while others fear judgment or institutional involvement because of past negative experiences with these systems. When providers lack training in trauma-informed or adolescent-centered care, they further alienate young people and discourage them from seeking the support they need. 

Under Massachusetts law and Department of Public Health guidelines, minors may consent to their prenatal care without a parent’s permission. Although Massachusetts law allows minors to consent to their own prenatal care, legal access does not equal real-world accessibility. In practice, many pregnant and parenting teens continue to face overwhelming barriers — including lack of transportation, personal identification, financial stability, or the support of a trusted adult. These gaps between policy and lived experience leave at-risk youth navigating critical healthcare needs alone, often delaying or forgoing care entirely. 

For pregnant and parenting youth experiencing homelessness, survival often depends on accessing benefits like WIC, SNAP, or MassHealth. But obtaining those benefits usually requires a government-issued ID—a document that many youth experiencing homelessness cannot access due to cost, lack of documentation, or the need for parental involvement. The pending Everyone Needs ID bill—An Act to Provide Identification to Youth and Adults Experiencing Homelessness (H.3750/S.2399)—would help by removing cost barriers and allowing service providers to verify residency. According to the 2024 Youth Count, 24% of young people said not having an ID prevented them from receiving nutrition or cash assistance. Another 19% said it blocked access to health services. 

Without this support, young people face increased instability. Hunger, unmanaged health conditions, and lack of prenatal care can escalate the risk of poor birth outcomes and continue the cycles of homelessness.  

Legislative Solutions on the Table 

MA Appleseed supports several legislative initiatives that would significantly improve conditions for pregnant and parenting youth experiencing homelessness:  

• Act Allowing Certain Minors to Consent to Supportive Services (H.290/S.132): This bill would allow mature minors ages 15–18 experiencing homelessness to consent to services such as shelter, case management, and counseling, without requiring parental consent.  
• An Act to Provide Identification to Youth and Adults Experiencing Homelessness (H.3750/S.2399) This bill would waive the $25 fee and other documentation requirements for unaccompanied homeless youth to obtain a Massachusetts ID.  

A Call to Action 

Pregnant and parenting youth navigate some of the most vulnerable stages of life with the fewest protections. Massachusetts has an opportunity—and an obligation—to build systems that do not punish young people for surviving. That starts with housing access, transportation, trauma-informed care, and removing bureaucratic barriers that treat young parents as invisible.  

Until we center the needs of young parents in our policy and practice, we will continue to see the same cycle of homelessness, poverty, and poor health outcomes play out. At MA Appleseed, we believe that every young person deserves safety, dignity, and the opportunity to provide support, not shame. 

This year, concerning findings emerged from the 2024 Massachusetts Youth Count, which surveyed 661 young people across the state. These 661 individuals met the definition of an “unaccompanied young person currently experiencing homelessness” (UHY), as defined by the Massachusetts Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Commission. This definition includes young people aged 24 or younger who are not in the physical custody of a parent or legal guardian and who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. 

The 2024 Youth Count demonstrated how the absence of a stable, safe home or support system leaves youth experiencing homelessness vulnerable to harm. Specifically, the survey showed the connection between homelessness and exchanging sex for basic needs. In 2024, 19.8% of youth experiencing homelessness reported exchanging sex or sexual content to meet needs like food, shelter, or money, an increase from 17% in 2021. Of this group, 26.7% said someone else controlled the profits from those exchanges, meeting the definition of commercial sexual exploitation. 

These statistics point to a dangerous reality for many youth experiencing homelessness. Accessing essential services such as housing, healthcare, and financial resources is so challenging that the risk of exploitation increases significantly. 

While there are resources available for youth experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts, existing legal and systemic barriers often inhibit access to them. Current Massachusetts law does not allow youth under the age of 18 to receive many services without the consent of a parent or guardian. While minors in Massachusetts can consent to some services, such as family planning and emergency medical treatment, without the consent of their parent/guardian they cannot consent to other basic services like lockers, showers, or case management. As a result, youth are turned away when trying to access these essential services because they do not have a parent or guardian to sign off. 

Another major barrier is the requirement for state-issued identification (ID). Youth experiencing homelessness are often unable to obtain an ID due to the cost and need for parental consent in many cases. Without an ID, young people are unable to access essential services like healthcare, nutrition assistance, cash assistance, and employment opportunities. According to the 2022 Massachusetts Youth Count, the lack of ID was identified as one of the most significant obstacles to accessing these services. Specifically, 22% of homeless young people reported being unable to receive nutrition or cash assistance due to not having an ID. In addition, a lack of ID prevented 19% of young people experiencing homelessness from accessing essential health services, and 17% from accessing employment services. 

These barriers to accessing basic services make youth experiencing homelessness more vulnerable to exchanging sex for needs. To end the cycle of commercial sexual exploitation, the barriers preventing youth from accessing the services they need must be addressed. Without action, the cycle of exploitation and harm will continue. 

At MA Appleseed, we support An Act Allowing Certain Minors to Consent to Supportive Services (H.290/S.132). This bill would allow a mature minor between the ages of 15 and 18 who is experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness to consent to supportive services without needing a parent or guardian. We also support An Act to Provide Identification to Youth and Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness (H.3750/S.2399). This bill would create an exception process to waive the $25 fee and allow unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness to obtain a Massachusetts ID card without parental consent. 

Both of these bills are crucial to ensuring youth experiencing homelessness can access the services they need and break the cycle of sexual exploitation. 

To support these bills or join us in coalition, contact Nadia Romanazzi at nadia@massappleseed.org.