working with homeless students

Working with Homeless Students

National Center for Homeless Education

Jan Moore

www.serve.org/nche Working with Homeless Students

National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE)

• Operates U.S. Department of Education’s homeless education technical assistance and information center

• NCHE provides– Comprehensive website: www.serve.org/nche– Helpline: Call 800-308-2145 or

e-mail [email protected]– Free products and publications: Visit

www.serve.org/nche/products.php

2www.serve.org/nche Working with Homeless Students

McKinney-Vento Definition of Homeless• A homeless child or youth lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate

nighttime residence:– Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing,

economic hardship, or similar reason (doubled-up)– Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping grounds due

to lack of adequate alternative accommodations– Living in emergency or transitional shelters– Awaiting foster care placement– Living in a public or private place not designed for humans

to live– Living in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard

housing, bus or train stations, etc.– Migratory children living in above circumstances– Unaccompanied youth who are living in the above

circumstances



Awaiting Foster Care

• No federal guidance on definition of the term• States interpret in various ways– Some have policies to clarify when children and

youth in child welfare custody are eligible for McKinney-Vento services

– Some have state laws and policies that provide foster children and youth with rights similar to what McKinney-Vento provides homeless students

4

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

• An unaccompanied homeless youth is1) living in a situation that meets the McKinney-

Vento definition of homeless2) NOT in the physical custody of a parent or

guardian (definition of “unaccompanied youth”)• No age limit• No citizenship requirement (Plyler v. Doe)


Paths to Being “On Your Own”

• Longstanding patterns of family conflict: blended family issues, sexual activity, pregnancy, sexual orientation, school problems, alcohol/drug use

• Parental incarceration or substance abuse• Abused and/or neglected, but not taken into

child welfare custody• Foster care issues: running away from a

placement; aging out of the system


McKinney-Vento Educational Rights

• Unaccompanied homeless youth and those awaiting a foster care placement have the same rights under the McKinney-Vento Act as other eligible children and youth– Immediate enrollment, even when lacking records– Attend either the school of origin, if feasible, or

the local school– Receive transportation to the school of origin– Comparable services to those provided other

students– Access to the dispute resolution process


McKinney-Vento and Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

• Special provisions:– Don’t need a parent/guardian to enroll or have

access to services– Local liaison must support the student in making

education decisions and understanding MV rights– Same right to dispute resolution as parents/

guardians


Enrollment Strategies

• Three common methods for enrolling unaccompanied homeless youth– A caregiver enrolls (see sample enrollment form at

www.serve.org/nche/downloads/toolkit/app_e.pdf )

– Local liaison enrolls– The UHY enrolls himself/herself

• Required signatures and decision-making for UHY usually follows the same pattern


Enrollment Reminders

• A school district cannot– require a caregiver to obtain legal guardianship– discontinue an UHY’s enrollment due to an

inability to identify a caregiver, guardian, or parent following enrollment

– disenroll because of inability to produce guardianship or other paperwork



Applying for CollegeFinancial Aid

• College Cost Reduction and Access Act– Uses McKinney-Vento definition of homeless– Independent student includes:

• Unaccompanied homeless youth• Youth in foster care after age 13• Emancipated minors and those in legal guardianships determined

by a court– Can apply for federal aid without parental information or

signature – Must be verified as unaccompanied and homeless or as

unaccompanied, at risk of homelessness, and self-supporting

11


Independent Student Statusfor FAFSA

• Can be verified by

– McKinney-Vento School District Liaison

– Director or designee of a HUD-funded program

– Director or designee of a RHYA-funded program

– Financial aid administrator

12


Citizenship and financial aid

• Only U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens can receive federal student financial aid

• Noncitizens may be eligible for state, private, or institutional aid and should complete the FAFSA to apply for that aid

• Federal Student Aid Handbook – discussion of citizenship issueshttp://www.ifap.ed.gov/ifap/byAwardYear.jsp?type=fsahandbook&awardyear=2010-2011

13


NCHE Resources• Child Welfare/Foster Care page

http://www.serve.org/nche/ibt/sc_foster.php • Unaccompanied youth page

http://www.serve.org/nche/ibt/sc_youth.php• Access to Higher Education page

http://www.serve.org/nche/ibt/higher_ed.php

14


Contact Information

Jan MooreNational Center for Homeless Education

[email protected]

15

Washington State OverviewHomeless Children and Youth

Foster Care Summit November, 2011Washington, D.C.

Washington State Data Trends

2003-04: 8,1412004-05: 12,2742005-06: 13,9422006-07: 16,8532007-08: 18,6702008-09: 20,7802009-10: 21,826

Washington State Data, cont.

Between 2008-09 and 2009-10

• 139 Districts reported an increase in homeless students

• 103 Districts reported a decrease in homeless students

• 53 Districts reported no change• In 2009-10, 50 districts reported “zero” homeless

students; a decrease from 2008-09, when 56 districts reported “zero” homeless students

1,123 1,170

5,50514,028

Reason for Homelessness 2009-10

Hotel/MotelUnshelteredShelteredDoubled-Up

McKinney-Vento Grants

• Currently, Washington receives $862,249

• Provides competitive grants to 23 sites

• Of 295 districts, 245 reported homeless students enrolled in 2009-10

Challenges

• “Awaiting” foster care placement• Lack of transportation funding• State level data collection changes• Reaching every district liaison for training and

technical assistance (geography)

Successes

• Increased collaboration with Children’s Administration• Amazing support from State Director for Pupil

Transportation. All districts transportation staff receive comprehensive McKinney-Vento training.

• Overwhelming participation from most school districts in training and technical assistance

• Program staff provided on-site TA to 68 individual districts last year, and over 500 people attended our (large group) annual liaison training sessions

For more information…

Melinda Dyer, Program SupervisorEducation of Homeless Children and Youth

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

[email protected]

working with homeless students

Documents