Summary: Publisher Summary 1 This study is based on research by a team affiliated with the University of Southern California's School of Social Work, working with organizations in Kenya and India. The research was originally conducted in 2005, and the book is based on a monograph titled Innovative Programs Servicing Homeless and Street Living Children around the World: A Compilation of Best-Practice Models from Los Angeles, Mumbai, India, and Nairobi, Kenya. The study describes secular and faith-based programs to help street children living in three major global metropolises: Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Nairobi, and examines state policies regarding such programs. The first part of the book gives background on definitions, population estimates, and causes of child and youth homelessness. Part 2 describes services for street children in the three cities and looks at evidence-based interventions at the global level. B&w photos are included. There is no subject index. Dabir and Athale are affiliated with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Annotation 漏2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)   Publisher Summary 2 The book incorporates empirical data from a cross-cultural study of this phenomenon in three mega cities-Mumbai, Nairobi, and Los Angeles-and some of the best practices developed by faith-based and secular organizations to help street-living children. These data include global estimates, analysis of the causative factors, occupations of these children, as also the resulting problems. The book also gives new insights into the impact of state policies to support secular and faith-based organizations, and the way social service is practiced by such organizations in India, Kenya, and USA. The authors take the readers through the social construction of the street child phenomenon over the years by weaving socio-political, cultural, and historical perspectives in understanding the circumstances surrounding them.