The Department of Social Services conducted a statewide indirect count of homeless people in 1984. More than 1,000 agencies were contacted and 250 shelters were surveyed. The data from these contacts resulted in an estimate of 20,210 single people and families. The estimates included corrections for two sources of error: underenumeration and avoidance of counting. The range of estimates was four to seven thousand, with the highest figure being 64 percent larger than the lowest.
During the two survey years, the number of homeless people in the shelter system was relatively stable. In the fall of 1986, the number of homeless people increased significantly, from 874 to 10022. On each of the eight nights, shelter beds were filled close to capacity. The researchers mapped out a master file of individuals by computer list. The researchers were accompanied by police officers, who recorded the names and ages of every individual. They repeated the survey process six months later. The yield of street people was low. On the first attempt, 22 people were identified, but on the second attempt, twenty-two.