This presentation will briefly describe the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act, a part of the No Child left Behind Act, and the responsibilities of local school districts to identify and serve homeless students. The goals of this presentation are to provide an accurate definition and examples of homelessness in our community and to provide information to staff to help improve our efforts in identifying homeless families and youth. The McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness. It provides grants and legal protection so children and youth in homeless situations can enroll in, attend, and exceed in school and preschool programs. Why is there a focus on supporting homeless students in public education? According to the National Center on Homeless Education, students who switch schools frequently scored lower on standardized tests. It takes children an average of 4 to 6 months to recover academically after changing schools. Mobility during high school greatly diminishes the likelihood of graduation. Nationally over 1.5 million children go to sleep without a home. Each year homeless children lack reassuring routines, adequate healthcare, uninterrupted school, sustained relationships, and a sense of community. Mobile students can suffer psychologically and socially. They are more likely not to participate in extracurricular activities and more likely to act out or get into trouble. It's important to address the myth that all homeless individuals live on the street or under a bridge. This limited definition does not align with the definition of homeless according to the McKinney Vento Act. According to the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act, a homeless student is an individual who lacks a fixed regular adequate nighttime residence. The act further defines homeless to include individuals who, due to lack of housing, live in emergency or transitional shelters, in motels, hotels, trailer parks, campgrounds, abandoned in hospitals, are awaiting foster care, in cars, parks,
public places, bus or train stations or abandoned buildings, doubled up with relatives or friends due to financial hardships, or migratory children living in these above conditions. Another important term to know is unaccompanied homeless child or youth. According to the McKinney Vento Act unaccompanied homeless children or youth are individuals who are not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. The majority of unaccompanied children in our district have been high school students who have either been kicked out of their home or have chosen to leave dangerous or unsupported situations. Other children may have become unaccompanied because of parental incarceration, illness, hospitalization, or death. It's also possible that some youth become homeless with their families but end up on their own due to a lack of space in their temporary accommodations or because of shelter policies that prohibit adolescent boys. Many unaccompanied children have fled abusive home situations. Studies have found that 20 to 40 percent of the students have been sexually abused in their homes, while 40 to 60 percent of them were physically abused. Over two thirds of the callers to runaway hotlines state that at least one of their parents abuses drugs or alcohol. Once out of the home, unaccompanied youth are frequently victimized as many as half have been assaulted or robbed and one in ten runaways reports being raped. The McKinney Vento Act requires all public schools to immediately enroll students experiencing homelessness, even when lacking proof of residency, guardianship, birth certificates, school records or other documents, medical records (including immunization records), required dress code items (including uniforms). Other requirements of the McKinney Vento Act include keeping the student in the school of origin, if the parent or unaccompanied youth wishes to stay and it's feasible. School of origin is defined as the school the child attended when permanently housed or in the school in which the child or youth was last enrolled. Often homeless students must be transported, at the district s expense, from the shelter, motel, or doubled up living situation, to their school of origin. Homeless students also
automatically qualify for Title I services. If a homeless student is enrolled in a school that does not have Title I services, the district s Title I set-aside funds can be used to provide afterschool tutoring if needed for the student. Preschool age homeless children may also qualify for Head Start government-funded preschool program. Another requirement is to have a poster displaying the rights of students and parents and the McKinney Vento Act posted in the main office of all school buildings. Each homeless family or unaccompanied youth is an individual story. Each has a unique set of circumstances that caused their homelessness. In United States the main causes of homelessness include lack of affordable housing, deep poverty, health problems, unpaid medical bills, domestic violence, abuse, neglect, natural or other disasters and in the recent economic crisis high, unemployment rate and home foreclosures. According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, up to 2 million people in the United States will experience homelessness this year. Approximately half of these people will be children. Families are the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population. Idaho ranks 23rd in the nation for child homelessness. More than 3000 of Idaho's children go to sleep each night without permanent or adequate housing. Of the 68,000 children in Idaho living in poverty, one out of 20, or 5%, is homeless. During the 2009/2010 school year 309 students were identified in our district by staff members as being homeless: 23 lived in shelters, 263 lived in doubled up situations, 10 lived in cars or campers, 13 lived in motels, and 41 high school students were identified as unaccompanied homeless youth. As district employees, how would you identify who might be homeless? The following is a list of possible indicators: homeless students may arrive to school early or depart from school early on a regular basis; the student may have lunch charges or lack of funds to eat breakfast or lunch; they may be tardy, have unusual absences, or a change in routine. Homeless students often lack the appropriate
clothing for the season and use school facilities for personal needs. Homeless students may store clothes and personal items at the school; they may be stressed and sleepy; they may exhibit a change in behavior or have hygiene issues. You may notice a homeless student s change in grades or school performance; they may have a lack of supplies, lost books or supplies, or lack of access to a computer. Another way to help identify homeless children and youth may come from conversations about enrollment. During a conversation, a homeless child or a parent may say our address is new, I can t remember it, I don't know where we live, we've been moved around a lot, we re going through a bad time right now, I don't remember the name of our previous school, we re staying with relatives until we get settled, we don't have a phone right now. Other methods that staff may be able to use to help identify homeless children or youth include duplicated mailing labels. You may notice the occurrence of the same address for more than one family. You may also see an address that belongs to one of our area s low cost motels. You may also find incomplete or unusual enrollment records. Enrollment records or lack of records may help identify homeless children, but remember we cannot refuse to enroll a homeless student based on the lack of records. If any of these signs occur, please have a conversation with your school counselor to discuss your findings. What should you do if you suspect a student is homeless? Contact your school counselor. The school counselor will be the point of contact for homeless students and families. The school counselors are annually updated by the district s homeless liaison about the district and community resources that are available to assist the students and their families. The school counselor will make contact with the student and their family to determine the student and family needs. It's unacceptable for one child in the United States to be homeless for even one day, however, the reality is that 1.5 million US students are homeless right now. Schools can be a place of support and a connection to necessary resources. Carrie Arnold was a homeless high school student who graduated in
2002 and won the prestigious college Le Tendre scholarship. Carrie stated, Through it all, school was probably the only thing that has kept me going. I know that every day I walk in those doors I can stop thinking about my problems for the next six hours and concentrate on what is important to me. Without the support of my school system I would not be as well off as I am today. School keeps me motivated to move on and encourages me to find a better life for myself.