Addressing homelessness among Minnesota’s youth is a way to make the state a better place and to save state dollars in the long run.

Homelessness among Minnesota’s youth has increased 33 percent between 2006 and 2012.

According to Youthmovingforward.org, 34 percent of these homeless youth have experienced parental neglect, 42 percent physical abuse and 27 percent sexual abuse.

There are an estimated 2,500 homeless youth in Minnesota, according to Wilder Research. There are about 550 minors ages 17 and younger and 1,950 young adults ages 18 through 21. To be sure, these are conservative estimates.

These are runaways, kids who age out of foster care and teens hopping from couch to couch with no permanent home.

Research consistently shows that unstable homes or a lack of a home among children leads to lower high school and college graduation rates. Someone who lacks a diploma is estimated to cost the community they live in about $750,000 in a combination of lost wages and tax revenues and additional costs for health care, social services and, yes, incarceration.

In other words, we can get busy locking them up as adults or get busy getting them back on track as children. Where would you prefer that your tax dollars go?

We have an opportunity to help these people become contributors to society. The Homeless Youth Act bill in the state Legislature calls for $8 million for intervention and prevention services. It would combine state, federal and philanthropic funds to create emergency shelters, transitional-living programs, drop-in centers and street outreach.

This might seem like an issue for the Twin Cities, but according to Wilder Research, the problem exists throughout Minnesota.

It seems people who hold the public purse strings — local or state — always are quick to fund prisons and jails. Let’s take measures to help people stay out of jail. Let’s give our kids a hand up, not handcuffs.