# Presentation: 002440

## Meeting the Educational Needs of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness

- Diana Bowman
- National Center for Homeless Education
- Margie Milenkiewicz
- State Homeless Contact, Colorado

**Policy Academy on Homeless Families with Children**

## How many children and youth experience homelessness in a year?

- 1.35 million children
- 10% of all children living in poverty
- 733,000-1.3 million youths

## Who is homeless?

***Students who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence***
- Living in shelters, hotels, motels, camping grounds
- Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing
- Awaiting foster care placement, abandoned in hospitals
**Sharing housing (doubled up) due to loss of housing or economic hardship**
- Migratory children who qualify as homeless

## What challenges do homeless children and youth face?

- At least 20% do not attend school
- Within a year, 41% will attend 2 different schools; 28% will attend 3 or more
- With each change of schools, a student is set back academically on average 4-6 months

## What are the educational needs of homeless children and youth?

- School stability and education continuity
- Assistance with basic needs
- School supplies
- Appropriate study environment outside of school
- Mental and physical health services
- Academic support
- Support of a caring adult

## Reported Educational Barriers

- Immediate enrollment (required documents, records, residency requirements)
- Transportation
- Access to programs
- Lack of preschool
- 	programs
- Guardianship requirements
*	**	**	**	**	**	**Report to Congress 2000*

## McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act of 2001

- Reauthorized in 2002 as part of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB Act)
- Addresses problems that homeless children and youth face in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school
- Ensures a free, appropriate public education, including public preschool, as other children and youth
- Ensures access to educational and other services to help meet State student achievement standards
- States and districts required to revise laws, practices, and policies that act as barriers

## What rights are guaranteed by the McKinney-Vento Act?

- Immediate enrollment and full participation in classes
- Attendance in the school of origin
- Transportation to the school of origin
- Comparable services
- Attending school with nonhomeless children and youth

## How are these rights enacted?

- U.S. Department of Education Homeless Education Program
- State Coordinator for homeless education
- Local liaison in every school district
- Title I serves at-risk students (homeless automatically included)
- Collaboration among school programs
- Collaboration among community agencies and resources

## What can collaboration accomplish?

- Common definition of homelessness
- Congruent and complementary policies
- Coordinated approach to addressing needs
- Mutual understanding of goals and cultures of agencies
- Effective use of resources

## How is Colorado making Stone Soup?

- “Stone Soup,” a folk tale, illustrates how a lack of understanding and trust can turn into a fruitful partnership when all players win due to the sharing of resources and building of relationships**.**
- Definition of Collaboration: All who come to the table feel safe and get their needs met.–** ****Margie Grimsley: The Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health, CO Chapter**

##     How many homeless students are there in Colorado? 

- 178 school districts
- 750,000 students
- 7,105 or 1% of students were identified as homeless in 2003-04
- 95% in urban areas, 5% in rural areas
- $405,878 in education funding to 22 school districts

## How does Title X of the NCLB Act drive our State homeless education plan? 

- Sec. 722(f)(5)
- Coordinate & collaborate with educators AND providers of services and those groups that represent homeless children, youth, and families

## What are the education support systems?

- Federal initiatives (Title I, Title III, Title IV, Migrant Education, Special Education, 21st CCLC)
- Nutrition & Transportation
- Student Health Services
- Research and Evaluation
- Student Assessment

## How do we work with school districts?

- Awareness training
- TA for compliance with Federal and State laws
- Grant Awards
- Resource development
- Professional development and local research opportunities

##   Who are our partners related to housing issues?

- Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
- Local homeless service providers
- Homeless Continuum of Care  Associations
- Housing Justice*
- Colorado Children’s Campaign*
- *Published CO issue briefs connecting issues

##       What other resources do we bring to the table?

**AmeriCorps: **VISTA,** **AmeriCorps Direct, NCCC
- 74 members total, 15 communities
- $360,055 in inkind donations & grants
- Recruited 657 community members for 14,398 service hours to serve in shelters, schools, and faith- and community-based agencies

## Who are major non-government partners? 

- _Foundation Support_ of $100,000
- _Private_: Center for Research Strategies &
- _Nonprofit_: National Center for School Engagement
- 	(for data collection, professional development, advocacy of participatory action research to  promote local solutions to education issues/barriers/problems)

## What is the Colorado Interagency Council on Homelessness?

- Started as  Policy Academy, changed name in 2002
- 31 members participate in quarterly meetings
- Homeless Families with Children and Unaccompanied Youth Committee, 18 members
- Year 2 focus is  advocacy: policy & public awareness
- “The squeaky wheel”  at the table includes the needs and issues of homeless children and their families and unaccompanied youth

## What are we learning about our collaborations?

- Assess and refocus (in Title X program and in all partnerships)
- Work smarter; look for duplication & gaps
- Be realistic; remain hopeful
- Make Stone Soup together with flavor and abundance