F.A.Q.

YOUTH COUNT 2026 METHODS (NEW) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • Providers frequently reported that the previous method was burdensome for staff and volunteers and undercounted youth experiencing homelessness. Under the previous approach, providers were asked to canvass randomly selected census tracts, which often required hours of effort despite encountering very few youth. This created frustration while also yielding limited data. By moving to a Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS) approach, we expect to generate more accurate estimates of unsheltered youth while ensuring that providers’ and volunteers’ time and energy are used in ways that feel more meaningful and impactful.

  • Previously, we used a geographic sampling approach whereby providers and volunteers searched for youth across a large number of randomly selected census tracts across the Los Angeles Continuum of Care (LA CoC). Any unsheltered youth encountered in the field would be approached, invited to take a short survey, and then that data would be used to compute an estimate of unsheltered youth. RDS, the new method, relies on youth themselves to help identify and recruit their peers to participate in a survey. Initial respondents (referred to as “seeds”) will receive coupons to share with their peers also experiencing homelessness. Those peers then participate in the survey and receive their own coupons to pass along. Over multiple waves, this peer-to-peer referral process reaches deeper into youth social networks, capturing a broader and more representative sample of youth experiencing homelessness. Like the previous method, this information is then used to compute an estimate of the unsheltered youth population across the LA CoC.

  • RDS was specifically designed to survey hard-to-reach or hidden populations and has been successfully used in studies among people experiencing homelessness.

  • Hub sites will be distributed across all Service Planning Areas (SPAs) that make up the LA CoC, with most SPAs having at least two hub site locations. This ensures geographic coverage while relying on youth networks to reach individuals living in all areas of the CoC.

  • No. RDS is a method that relies on data from a sample of youth experiencing homelessness just like the previous method. Thus, the data from this effort will still produce an estimate of unsheltered youth within the LA CoC and will have error.

  • A. Yes. If youth living in these situations arrive at hub sites with a coupon, they will be allowed to complete the survey. While they are not considered unsheltered by HUD’s definition, including them helps avoid conflict or frustration that could affect participation in future counts or discourage future service engagement. It also provides an opportunity to collect valuable information on a vulnerable population that providers and stakeholders have long wanted to better understand. Their responses will be analyzed separately, so that results of the Youth Count continue to only reflect the estimate of unsheltered youth in the LA CoC.

  • First, it means youth service providers and volunteers will no longer be asked to canvass census tracts looking for unsheltered youth. Instead, youth service provider organizations may be used as “hub sites,” or a central location for youth to come to take the survey. Providers or hub site staff and volunteers will then be asked to identify “seeds,” administer surveys, manage coupon distribution and redemption, and manage incentives.

  • Duplicate participation is always expected to some extent, but we will use select survey item data to identify and remove suspected duplicates. This is similar to quality control measures used in previous years.

  • A limitation of RDS is that youth who are socially disconnected from peers may be harder to reach. To help address this, “seeds” will be recruited from a wide range of backgrounds and locations, including through street outreach. This increases the likelihood of reaching youth with smaller networks.

  • Youth who complete the survey will receive a $20 Visa card if they are an individual or $40 if they are part of a family household with children. Respondents may also receive an additional $5 Visa card for each coupon they distribute that is successfully redeemed for a maximum additional incentive of $15 (as respondents will only be provided with 3 coupons each).

  • Yes. Because this will be the first time that RDS is being used to estimate the unsheltered youth population in the LA CoC, any comparisons to past Youth Count results should be made with extreme caution. However, as the method is refined and reproduced over the next couple of years, year-to-year comparisons will again be possible.