Transcript Click to add title - The Charles A. Dana Center

Welcome
• Do Now (please!)
• Jot down 3 characteristics of a
homeless person.
• How many homeless youth have you
served or are serving in your program?
• How many youth without stable housing
have you served or are serving in your
program?
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Dropout Recovery and Youth Without
Stable Housing:
To High School Graduation and Beyond
For almost all of my life, I have never had a place to call home.
I have questioned why I have to struggle so hard to succeed
while others do not have to question whether they will go to
college. However, there is one thing I have never questioned:
My education.
Khadijah Williams, Harvard University Class of 2014 2
Welcome & Overview
• Brief overview of the McKinney-Vento Act
• Definition of “homeless”
• Unaccompanied homeless youth and the
FAFSA
• How dropout recovery programs can
support youth without stable housing, in
high school and beyond
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The McKinney-Vento Act
• The McKinney-Vento Act
• Federal education law (NCLB Title X, Part C)
• Designed to ensure school access and
promote school success for children and
youth who are considered “homeless”
• All states receive formula grants; 64 LEAs in
TX get subgrants
• http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo/texshep/fundedp
rojects.php
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Who is Considered “Homeless”
by the McKinney-Vento Act?
• Youth who lack a fixed, regular, and
adequate nighttime residence, including:
• Sharing the housing of others due to loss
of housing, economic hardship, or similar
reason
• 66% of identified homeless students
• Where would you go if you couldn’t stay
here?
• What led you to move in to this situation?
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Who is Considered “Homeless”?
(cont.)
• Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping
grounds due to lack of adequate alternative
accommodations
[Motels: 6% of identified homeless students]
• Living in emergency or transitional shelters
[23% of identified homeless students]
• 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, or
similar settings
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Who is Considered “Homeless”?
(cont.)
• Migratory children living in above
circumstances
• Awaiting foster care placement
• Relatively restrictive definition in Texas
• www.utdanacenter.org/theo/downloads/factsh
eets/RP44_Substitue_and_FosterCare.pdf
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Do Now, Again
How many homeless youth
have you served in your
program?
How many homeless youth
do you think live in your
community and could
benefit from by your
program?
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How many children and youth
experience homelessness in TX?
• 10% of all children living in poverty over the
course of a year.
• 80,940 identified by TX schools in 2008-09.
• 139% increase over the prior 2 years.
• Another increase expected in 2009-2010.
But:
1. Roughly 1.5 million children live below
poverty level in TX.
• 10% would be over 150,000.
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What about
unaccompanied youth?
• Youth who are experiencing
homelessness and not in the physical
custody of a parent or guardian.
• No upper or lower age limit– must be
eligible for public education in the state
(through age 24 in TX).
• Eligibility is based on living situation– not
the “choice” to leave.
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McKinney-Vento Act overview
• Eligibility
• Liaisons
✓
• School stability
• School enrollment
• Financial aid for college
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McKinney-Vento Liaisons
• Every local educational agency (ISDs and
charter schools) must designate a McKinneyVento Liaison.
• The key to McKinney-Vento Act implementation.
• Ensures identification, enrollment, transportation,
services, dispute resolution, and awareness.
• http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo/directory/index.
php
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School Stability
• Students can remain in their school of origin
while homeless, despite moves.
• After they find permanent housing, students can
complete the school year in their school of origin.
• Remaining in the school of origin is based on the
student’s best interest.
• An individualized assessment, with the
parents and/or youth, considering academic
needs, mobility, time of year, safety, age,
placement of siblings, impact of commute on
education.
• School district must provide transportation.
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School Enrollment
• Youth who are homeless must be enrolled
immediately in any school open to other
youth living in the same neighborhood.
• Immediate enrollment includes attending
classes and participating fully in all school
activities.
• Accruing credits
• Extra-curricular activities
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School Enrollment (cont.)
• Immediate enrollment in school applies
even if the student is lacking school
records, immunizations, or other
documents.
• Immediate enrollment in school applies
even if no parent or guardian is present.
• TX law allows youth to enroll in school on their
own, as long as they are not in the district
primarily to participate in extracurricular
activities and not expelled/no current
delinquent/criminal conduct. TX Ed. Code
25.001(b)(4), (d)
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Financial Aid for College
• Youth who meet the definition of “independent
student” can complete the FAFSA without
parental income information or signature.
• Unaccompanied homeless youth are
automatically considered independent students.
• Must be verified as unaccompanied and homeless
during the school year in which the application is
submitted.
• Youth who are unaccompanied, at risk of
homelessness, and self-supporting are also
automatically considered independent students.
• Must be verified as such during the school year in
which the application is submitted.
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The FAFSA (cont.)
• Verification must be made by:
• a McKinney-Vento Act liaison,
• a HUD homeless assistance program director or their
designee,
• a Runaway and Homeless Youth Act program director
or their designee, or
• a financial aid administrator.
• www.naehcy.org/higher_ed.html
• Youth who have been in foster care at any time
after age 13 are also automatically independent.
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Let’s Get Practical.
• How can we support youth
without stable housing in high
school and beyond?
• Identification
• Enrollment
• Engagement
• Basic needs
• Higher education
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Let’s get practical
• Contact local school district
McKinney-Vento Liaison(s).
• What efforts are already underway to
support homeless students in your
area?
• How can you participate?
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Let’s Get Practical (cont.)
• Work to identify “homeless” students in
your community and program.
• Avoid using the word "homeless" in
initial contacts with school personnel
and youth.
• Share information about the McKinneyVento Act and homelessness with
colleagues.
• Put up a poster in your office.
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Let’s Get Practical (cont.)
• Work to identify “homeless”
students(cont.).
• Make it part of your routine to talk to youth
about the McKinney-Vento Act and services
for youth who have left home. You may be
surprised by the students who meet the Act’s
definition.
• Keep hygiene supplies, bus passes, or other
important supplies on hand for students who
need them. This can spark dialogue and trust.
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Let’s Get Practical (cont.)
• Work to identify “homeless”
students(cont.).
• Enlist youth to help spread the word.
• Ensure discretion and confidentiality
when working with youth.
• Build trust! If you build it, they will
come…
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Let’s Get Practical (cont.)
• Get in touch with local agencies that may
serve homeless youth.
• Shelters, drop-in centers, street outreach
teams
• Soup kitchens, food banks
• Boys & Girls clubs
• Child welfare, law enforcement
• Teen parent programs
• Gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender youth
organizations
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Let’s Get Practical (cont.)
• Help youth make the most of high school.
• Position higher education as a realistic goal
and start planning early.
• Advocate for participation in college access
programs (Upward Bound, Talent Search,
Gear-Up, Early/Middle College High School,
etc.)
• Advocate for participation in extra-curricular
activities
• Advocate for credit accrual and recovery
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Let’s Get Practical (cont.)
• Help youth prepare for college admissions.
• Help youth search for scholarships.
• http://www.naehcy.org/letendre_ab.html
• Help youth with the FAFSA and financial
planning for college.
• SAT/ACT fee waivers
• Consider community college as a costeffective step toward a 4-year degree
• Help youth advocate with FAAs, if necessary.
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How Will You Get Started?
Poll
What will be your first steps to
support youth without stable housing
over the rest of this school year?
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For support and information:
• Patricia Julianelle, Legal Consultant
• [email protected]
• (512) 539-0754
• Texas Homeless Education Office
• www.utdanacenter.org/theo/
• http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo/resources/in
dex.php
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For support and information
• National Center for Homeless Education
http://center.serve.org/nche/
800-308-2145 or [email protected]
• National Association for the Education of
Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY)
http://www.naehcy.org
http://www.naehcy.org/dl/uwwk_youth.pdf
• College Goal Sunday
http://www.collegegoalsundayusa.org/
• Office of Postsecondary Education
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/index.html
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