Homelessness is a rapidly rising and tragic condition in American society, affecting greater and more diverse segments of the population. Accompanying these expanding dimensions of the problem, there is growing recognition that homelessness is caused by a series of interrelated human and physical circumstances, not simply the singular lack of adequate shelter. Homelessness is just one of an ever widening range of critical domestic policy challenges coming to state governments for resolution. And though homelessness has clearly reached national proportions, each state's homelessness population has its own peculiar aspects. As a result, states are adopting similar and highly particularized policy approaches to this multifaceted condition. In this publication, Policy Analyst Lee Walker surveys and evaluates state actions within the context of current understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the problem. His report offers a forecast on this relatively recent and painful national phenomenon and a series of recommendations for state policy-makers to consider in their efforts to ameliorate and reverse present homelessness trends.