1 of 47

ARP Homeless II

McKinney-Vento

Bright Futures

Every Arkansan

2 of 47

Vision

The Arkansas Department of Education is transforming Arkansas to lead the nation in student-focused education.

3 of 47

What is homelessness?

Children and youth who are:

sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (sometimes referred to as doubled-up);
living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
living in emergency or transitional shelters; - abandoned in hospitals

• Children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;

• Children and youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and

• Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above.

What is homelessness:

Explain what it is.

We have a skewed perception of homelessness, especially in the south. Many times when people think of homelessness, they think about the stereotypical homeless person. Someone who lives unsheltered on the street or in a car. While those situations are surely homeless, the federal definition encompasses so much more than that.

One of the most important things to consider when determining if a students situation qualifies them for McKinney-Vento status is why and how they ended up in the situation they are in.

Are they living in a camper because they have no where else to go and no financial means to make a change? Or are they their because they like living in a camper and they like to travel?
Are they moving in with grandma because mom/dad lost their job? Or are they moving in with them because grandma needs help in her old age and they decided this would be better?
Is there a safety issue with a runaway going back home or did they move in with boyfriend/girlfriend because they did not like mom and dads rules?

The most important thing to examine is the why of the situation.

4 of 47

Homeless Eligibility Flowchart

We do not say “homeless”
The new term is experiencing homelessness
Know your local liaison - It is their job to make the formal determination
Look for the signs
Residency Forms

5 of 47

Data

Year	2017-2018	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
State - 4th Quarter - Total identified students experiencing homelessness	13,865	13,808	13,242	11,740
State - expected identified students experiencing homelessness	15,100	15,175	15,545	15,503

6 of 47

School Personnel Directory

7 of 47

Data Center

Directory -You can quickly find the liaison for all of your districts

Homeless Rates - The October 1, 2021, identification numbers are located here.

8 of 47

What is the purpose of ARP Homeless Funds?

On Thursday, March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) into law. In recognition of the extraordinary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students experiencing homelessness, the ARP included an unprecedented $800 million to support the specific needs of homeless children and youth via the ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief – Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) Fund.

State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) must use ARP-HCY funds to identify homeless children and youth, to provide homeless children and youth with wrap-around services to address the challenges of COVID-19, and to enable homeless children and youth to attend school and fully participate in school activities.

9 of 47

McKinney-Vento ARP

ARP I	ARP II
$2,052,328 Competitive 75% to LEAs – current recipients of the competitive McKinney Vento grant 25% to State Admin Fund COM-22-052	$6,156,983 Formula-based Title I Part A Allocation Proportion of homeless identified (based on 18-19 or 19-20) 75% to LEAs 25% to State Admin Fund COM-22-073

10 of 47

Eligibility (cont.)

Preliminary allocations according to the formula are available for ARP II here.

Districts with preliminary allocations under $5000 must join a consortium or forfeit. Encouraged to use a Co-op to lead the consortium.

Any district can join a consortium, even those with over $5000 in allocations.

Funds must be obligated by September 30, 2024.

11 of 47

ARP Consortiums

Join with neighboring districts to pool enough ARP II funds to be eligible to receive

Suggesting districts consider using their co-ops as the consortium lead, however, it is not required and a school can be the consortium lead should the want that.

12 of 47

Example of how to fill out the

Intent to Participate in a Consortium Form

13 of 47

ARP II Application

School

Sample

14 of 47

ARP II Application

Consortium

Sample

15 of 47

ARP II Application

SIS Reporting Data

16 of 47

Suggested Use of Funds from ED

1.Increase outreach and identification

2.Enhance communication options with students and families.

3.Increase counseling and social work services

4.Hire “systems navigators” to help families and youth access education and other ARP services, such as shelter, utilities, housing and rental assistance, child-care, Head Start, unemployment, and tax credits

5.Provide academic coaching, in-person enrichment opportunities, and access to summer learning

6.Offer early childhood education services for young children experiencing homelessness

7.Make systems and processes more McKinney-Vento friendly

8.Help meet rising mental health needs

9.Provide more and better transportation options – in cases where it has been determined to be the most cost-effective available transportation option, and where the LEA has received written approval from the SEA, if the purchase amounts to a cost greater than $5,000 and is expected to remain in use for a period of more than one year

How to Use American Rescue Plan Act K-12 Education Funds to Identify and Support Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness | SchoolHouse Connection

17 of 47

How can we use this money?

Hygiene Closets

Activity Code 15
Students experiencing Homelessness need access to proper hygiene supplies to attend school regularly
Examples: (soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, and feminine products)

Mental Health Contracts

Activity Code 4
If you hire a person in a contracted position, they must service all students not just students experiencing homelessness. However, if you send students (in-person or virtually) to a therapist that can invoice the school, the school can pay the invoice and be reimbursed.

Laundry Assistance

Activity Code 15
Card for laundry mats
If you choose to purchase a washer and dryer, there must be protocol to keep it strictly accessible for students experiencing homelessness.

Proper Training and Education on McKinney Vento Identification

Activity Code 3
Must be off contract in order to pay them

Hiring Additional Staff

Activity Code 10, 11
Need to explore sustainability of the position
Stipend positions

Purchase or creation of informative material for families NCHE RESOURCES

18 of 47

Documentation

Necessary
Reasonable

Send prior approval for purchases over $5000 to Jessica. Hickman@ade.arkansas.gov

Neither the acceptance of the application by the DESE nor shall the issuance of grant awards in any way relieve the LEA of its responsibility to comply with all applicable requirements in regards to ARP Homeless II under the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR).

19 of 47

Justification Form

20 of 47

HOW DOES ALL OF THIS RELATE?

These rights are automatically available to the students as soon as they are identified.There are 16 allowable activities that McKinney-Vento allows schools to spend money on for students experiencing homelessness.

Often these 16 allowable activities only support the child while they are physically at school and help them to have an equitable school experience.

McKinney-Vento Rights

At the base of providing services for these students is identification. There cannot be services provided for students that are not identified as needing them.

Training will be provided for both organizations about how to identify students who may be experiencing homelessness and where to start with assessing and meeting their needs.

Identification

Because there are very specific allowable activities that McKinney-Vento federal funds can cover, often there are needs that students have that have to be met outside of those allowables. Community and other organizations that have the means, typically take up that slack when feasible.

Every Arkansan and Bright Futures see that those needs are very high stakes with students experiencing homelessness and working together and with DESE to find solutions to meeting those needs.

Wrap Around Services

21 of 47

Community Based Organizations (CBO)

Community Based Organization (CBO) are entities in the community that serve students in various ways.
Dream Center is a CBO that serves students by providing food, tutoring, and many other services.
Bright Futures is a CBO that provides communities with the resources and knowledge to build a rapid-response system.
Other common CBOs are Goodwill, Boys and Girls Club, and Arkansas Out of School Network
CBOs serve with a unique ability to help identify students who may possibly be experiencing homelessness.

22 of 47

Faith-Based Organizations (FBO)

Faith-Based Organization (FBO) are entities in the community that serve students in various ways.
City Serve is a CBO that serves students by providing resources through FBOs.
Bright Futures is a CBO that provides communities with the resources and knowledge to build a rapid-response system that may include FBOs.
FBOs serve with a unique ability to help identify students who may possibly be experiencing homelessness.

23 of 47

McKinney-Vento Services

Federal rights of students that are experiencing homelessness

Bright Futures

Creating the structure within the community that can respond immediately to student needs within 24 hours

Every Arkansan

Provides the structure to build after-school programs and resources for families in need.

Comprehensive Student

Needs

being met

Everyone is focused on:

Identification
Needs assessments
Needs being met

LEAs

FBOs

CBOs

CBO- Community Based Organization

FBO- Faith Based Organization

LEA- Local Educational Agency (schools, co-ops, etc.)

Building this infrastructure brings together LEAs, CBOs, and FBOs.

24 of 47

ARP State Set Aside

There is $2,052,328 available for State set-aside. This is 25% of the total ARP Homeless (I and II) $8,209,311.

The state plan is to partner with two established community organizations.

Every Arkansan
Bright Futures

We are building a rapid-response infrastructure of resources that students experiencing homelessness will have access to.

25 of 47

Jessica Mauthe

jessica@ardreamcenter.tv

Marius Mauthe

marius@ardreamcenter.tv

Office Phone: 501-232-0630

26 of 47

27 of 47

28 of 47

CJ Huff, Ed.D

Email: cj@cjhuff.com

Phone: 417-434-8311

www.BrightFuturesUSA.Org

29 of 47

Our History

Founded in Joplin Missouri

April 8, 2010

Not-for-Profit Status

July 2011

Currently Supporting

70 Communities
8 States
250,000 Students

30 of 47

31 of 47

32 of 47

33 of 47

34 of 47

35 of 47

36 of 47

Time + Talent + Treasure

37 of 47

The 3 Pillars of the Framework

38 of 47

39 of 47

40 of 47

41 of 47

42 of 47

43 of 47

44 of 47

McKinney-Vento Services

Federal rights of students that are experiencing homelessness

Bright Futures

Creating the structure within the community that can respond immediately to student needs within 24 hours

Every Arkansan

Provides the structure to build after-school programs and resources for families in need.

Comprehensive Student

Needs

being met

Everyone is focused on:

Identification
Needs assessments
Needs being met

LEAs

FBOs

CBOs

CBO- Community Based Organization

FBO- Faith Based Organization

LEA- Local Educational Agency (schools, co-ops, etc.)

Building this infrastructure brings together LEAs, CBOs, and FBOs.

45 of 47

Questions?

46 of 47

Monthly McKinney-Vento Newsletter

Monthly Newsletter Sign-up

Click this LINK or use the QR code

47 of 47

McKinney-Vento

State Program Advisor

Jessica Hickman

Arkansas Department of Education

Four Capitol Mall, Slot # 26

Little Rock, AR 72201

Phone: (501) 683-5428

Fax: (501) 682-5136

Email: Jessica.Hickman@ade.arkansas.gov

Resources:

ARP Homeless I Memo COM-22-052

ARP Homeless II Memo COM-22-073

21st CCLC Grant Memo COM-22-055

NCHE

NAEHCY

DESE Homeless Web Page

ARP Final Requirements

Bright Futures USA

Every Arkansan

ADE Data Center Directory Homeless Rates

Homeless Eligibility Flowchart

Authorized Activities

Statewide Community Resource Portal