Eviction's Hidden Impact: How Losing Your Home Affects Kids
"New research reveals the link between household evictions and the increased risk of children being placed in out-of-home care, highlighting the need for stronger family support systems."
The stability of a home is a cornerstone of well-being, especially for children. A secure home provides not only physical shelter but also a foundation for healthy development. However, events like eviction can disrupt this stability, leading to a cascade of negative consequences for families.
While the immediate challenges of eviction, such as finding new housing, are well-documented, the long-term effects on children are less understood. Eviction can create immense stress and instability within a family, potentially impacting a child's welfare and future.
Now, a new study sheds light on a concerning link: children from evicted households face a significantly higher risk of being placed in out-of-home care, such as foster care. This article explores the findings of this research, examining the factors that contribute to this increased risk and emphasizing the need for proactive interventions.
Mapping Eviction and Children’s Risk
Eviction Lab describes its Eviction Map & Data (Version 2.0) as the first nationwide database of evictions, with a customizable map for comparing eviction rates by neighborhood, city, or state. Eviction Innovation’s data guide brings together national, state, and local sources on housing, eviction risk, court filings, and housing dynamics that can lead to eviction. Eviction Lab’s Eviction Tracking System provides up-to-date maps, charts, and filing data for select cities and states. A 2023 report on the Princeton University Eviction Lab and U.S. Census Bureau study, “Who is Evicted in America,” says the researchers matched eviction records with Census data to identify individuals facing eviction each year, and found children under 18—particularly Black children—among those at risk.
The Ripple Effect: Eviction and Out-of-Home Care
The study, conducted in Sweden, analyzed data from a large national database, comparing children from evicted households to a representative sample of the general population. Researchers tracked these children over time to see if they were placed in out-of-home care, which includes foster family or residential care.
- Initial Findings: Children from evicted homes were initially twelve times more likely to be placed in care.
- Socioeconomic Factors: Adjusting for factors like parental education and social assistance reduced this, but the risk remained doubled.
- Comparison Group: Even when compared to families facing eviction threats but not yet evicted, the risk was higher.
Research on Eviction and Child Welfare
Research on eviction has linked it to adverse outcomes among groups already experiencing vulnerability, according to a study of self-initiated moves during Sweden’s formal eviction process. A separate study using national eviction records and Child Protective Services data reports that the association between eviction and foster-care entries was strongest among Hispanic children, with an 8.1% increase. The systematic review of antecedents to child placement in residential care notes that this type of care is described using varied terms, including “institutional care,” “residential care,” “orphanage,” “out-of-home care,” and “children’s home.”
Evidence Limits and Uneven Effects
A cohort study of evicted children and later out-of-home care notes that its records treat children with separated or divorced parents as living with only one parent, so the researchers could not determine whether some children lived alternately with both parents. A 2025 working paper reports that eviction’s disruptive effects appear worse for older children and boys, and suggests that effects may run through disruption to the home environment or school engagement rather than changes in school or neighborhood quality. That paper also says family support networks may moderate the impact. In a disadvantaged sample, a study of eviction in early childhood found no association between eviction and children’s likelihood of living in a poor neighborhood.
Comparing Measures and Eviction Types
An odds ratio is not the same as a risk ratio for a given set of data from two groups, except when both ratios equal 1. The NBER summary describes a study using data from Chicago and New York City that compares children whose families were randomly assigned stricter eviction-court judges with children whose families were assigned more lenient judges to study causal effects. A 2022 study of families with young children documents associations between both formal and informal evictions and children’s and caregivers’ health, as well as multiple material hardships. Its background notes that most studies evaluate only formal evictions.
Protecting Families: A Call to Action
This study serves as a critical reminder that eviction is not just a housing problem; it's a family problem with potentially devastating consequences for children. The increased risk of out-of-home care highlights the urgent need for proactive measures to support families facing housing instability.
What Causal Research Can Clarify
A National Bureau of Economic Research working paper examines how eviction affects children’s home environment, school attachment and engagement, educational achievement, and high-school completion. The researchers use linked administrative data from Chicago, Illinois, and New York, New York, and a design that leverages random assignment of cases to judges who vary in their tendencies. The authors describe studying these effects as challenging because individual-level data are limited and eviction is correlated with other sources of economic disadvantage. They frame eviction as a possible channel in the intergenerational transmission of poverty and note that children’s outcomes are often raised in arguments for tenant-protection policies.
The study emphasizes the importance of addressing the underlying economic and psychosocial challenges that contribute to both eviction and family separation. By providing comprehensive support services, such as financial assistance, mental health counseling, and substance abuse treatment, communities can help families stay together and thrive.
Preventing eviction in the first place is crucial. Implementing policies that promote affordable housing, provide legal assistance to tenants facing eviction, and offer mediation services can help families avoid the trauma of losing their homes and the subsequent risk of child welfare involvement. By investing in these preventative measures, we can create stronger, more resilient families and communities.