According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, 1.35 million U.S. children are homeless on any given night. (2000)Families with children are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, accounting for almost 41% of the nation's homeless. (2005)In 2003, children under the age of 18 accounted for 39% of the homeless population.42% of homeless children are under the age of five.Nearly 20% of homeless children lack a regular source of medical care.Homeless children are hungry more than twice as often as other children.Almost 1/3 of low-income families do not have enough money to prepare three meals a day.14% of homeless children are diagnosed with learning disabilities - double the rate of other children.21% of homeless children repeat a grade because of frequent absence from school.Within a single school year, 41% of homeless students attend two different schools, 28% attend three or more.For children and youth identified as homeless by State Departments of Education, 35% lived in shelters, 34% lived doubled up with family or friends and 23% lived in motels or other locations. (FY 2000)Poverty and lack of affordable housing are the principal causes of family homelessness.Today, 35.2% of persons living in poverty are children (2007).