“How Did We Miss It?”: Examining the Infrastructural Work of Practitioners Supporting Housing Insecure and Foster Youth Students

Youth experiencing housing insecurity or living in foster care have complex social, emotional, and material needs. While policies and structures are in place to support these youth, intra- and interorganizational challenges pose barriers to effective collaboration. In contrast to prior work that focuses on the collaborative practices of individual stakeholders, this study draws upon the insights of practitioners in different roles and organizations within the same county. Through 12 in-depth interviews with practitioners working across the system, we identify the key activities and infrastructural work performed by practitioners to support housing insecure and foster youth in light of social, technical, and institutional constraints. Based on our findings, we shed light on the management of stigma by institutional actors and the role of human infrastructure in responding to time-sensitive needs in highly institutionalized contexts.