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Homeless Liaison Training Part I

Presented by

Tracie Sweet, Director of Federal Programs

Becky Huggins, COVID Impact Coordinator

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Agenda

Understanding the WHO, WHY, & WHAT of Homelessness
Mc-Kinney-Vento
Identifying Students Experiencing Homelessness
Serving Students Experiencing Homelessness
Responsibilities of Homeless Liaison
ARP-Homeless II Grant Activities

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Getting to Know Each Other

Go to www.kahoot.it and enter the game PIN!

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Federal Programs Team

Tracie Sweet

Director of Federal Programs

Becky Huggins

COVID Impact Coordinator

Tatiana Velez

Federal Programs Assistant

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Understanding the WHO!

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SCPCSD Schools

Current Schools: 38

Current Enrollment: 17,629

SY 2021 Students in Poverty: 49.6%

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SCPCSD Homeless Students (November 2022)

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What does this data mean to you?

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Understanding the WHY!

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Word Cloud – What word or phrase comes to mind when you think of homelessness?��Go to www.kahoot.it and enter the game PIN!�

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How Vulnerable are you to Experiencing Homelessness?�

Could you ever become involved in a flood, fire, tornado or other natural disaster?
Do you work in an area of the economy where your job might be obsolete?
Could you suffer a long-term illness or accident without proper health benefits or compensation?
Do you live in a household with only one full time wage earner?
Are you behind in monthly bills, have high credit card debt or a home in foreclosure?

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How Vulnerable are you to Experiencing Homelessness?�

Are housing costs in your area increasing faster than wages are increasing?
Does anyone in your family struggle with alcohol, drugs or other addictions?
Has there been any form of domestic violence or abuse in your family?
Do you have money in savings/life insurance to cover living expenses should your spouse die unexpectedly?

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Understanding the WHAT!

What are my roles and responsibilities as the homeless liaison?
What is McKinney-Vento?
What are the requirements under McKinney-Vento?
What defines a student experiencing homelessness?
What are unaccompanied homeless youth (UHY)?

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McKinney-Vento

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History of McKinney-Vento Act

The purpose of the law is to ensure educational stability.
We can see this in the new language that presumes that staying in the school of origin in is the best interest of the student, and even in the language about transitioning students to higher education. Language about parent involvement has changed too, noting that when we consider the quality of a subgrant under MV, the parent involvement should be meaningful.

The role of the liaison was made mandatory in 2001
In 2015 liaison responsibilities were expanded.
The importance of the liaison can’t be stressed enough. When parents call me, the most common reason they’re having problems is because they haven’t connected with the liaison in the school.

The collaboration piece is something that people can struggle with, because this law requires we collaborate in ways and with agencies that education doesn’t typically connect to.

This is vital; schools can’t do it all, and the students have basic needs that have to be met for them to learn.

McKinney-Vento grant authorized ED to provide grants to the SEA to ensure that children have access to FAPE- FREE APPROPRAITE PUBLIC EDUCATION- including preschool aged children and youth.
Since the original passage, the homeless education law has been reauthorized with stronger, more specific requirements for SEAs and LEAs to ensure immediate enrollment, stability and access to academic support.

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History of McKinney-Vento Act

American Rescue Plan (ARP) included $800 million to support specific and urgent needs of homeless children and youth as a result of the pandemic.

2021

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The McKinney-Vento Act�What does it do? How does it work?

Establishes the definition of homelessness used by schools.
Establishes educational rights given to eligible students.
Ensures that children and youth experiencing homelessness have equal and immediate access to public education and extra-curricular activities.
Provides educational support to students to promote school success.

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Rights under the McKinney-Vento Act

Equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including public preschool education, as is provided to other children and youth.
Immediate enrollment, even when records normally required for enrollment are not present.
Remain in the school of origin, if it is in the student’s best interest, in order to maintain educational stability.
Access all educational and related services for which they are eligible, including Title I services and free school meals.
Full participation in school, which may include participation in extracurricular activities.
Transportation, provided by the LEA, to and from the school of origin.

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Identifying Students Experiencing Homelessness & UHY

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McKinney-Vento Definition of Homelessness

Those who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including students who are:

Sharing housing due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason
Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping grounds due to a lack of alternative, adequate accommodation
Living in emergency & transitional shelters
Abandoned in hospitals
Living in public or private places not designed for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations for human beings
Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations or similar situations
Migratory children living in the above situations

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Fixed, Regular, and Adequate Nighttime Residence

Fixed:

Stationary, permanent, not subject to change

Regular:

Used on a predictable, consistent basis

Adequate:

Lawfully and reasonably sufficient (utilities and running water)
Housing is sufficient for meeting the physical and psychological needs typically met in a home environment

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Shared Housing (Doubled Up)

Not all doubled up situations are considered homeless

Key phrase- " sharing the housing of others due to economic hardship, or a similar reason."

To be eligible for McKinney-Vento services, a child or youth living doubled up must have lost housing or be experiencing a housing crisis.

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Shared Housing (Doubled up)

Helpful questions to ask to determine if the living situation would be considered homeless:

Why did the family or youth move in with another family?
Is this a long-term arrangement? (sometimes this does change over time)
Is this a situation of mutual benefit or convenience to both parties?
Where would the doubling up family or youth live if they were not able to stay with the host family?

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Shared Housing (Doubled up)

Which of the following would you consider to be homeless?

A. A single mother moved in with her mom because her mother can provide afterschool care for her son and because her mother is getting older and needs some help.

B. A single mom lost housing due to a fire and moved in with relatives until the house can be repaired.

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Unaccompanied Homeless Youth (UHY)

The term unaccompanied youth includes a homeless child or youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. 42 U.S.C. § 11434a(6)

Liaisons must assist UHY with enrollment, school selection, & dispute resolution.

Have the same right to immediate enrollment & educational services as other students.

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South Carolina Identification Data

South Carolina public schools identified 11,906 McKinney-Vento students in the 2019–20 school year.

Doubled up – 7054
Motel –1804
Sheltered – 867
Unsheltered – 2181

Of those 11,906 students experiencing homelessness:

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth – 824 Children with Disabilities (IDEA) – 2,348 - 20%
Limited English Proficient (LEP) – 1,102
Migratory Children/Youth – 18

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Why Identification Matters?

We can't meet these students needs until they have been identified.

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Why Identification Matters?

Identification removes barriers for children and youth within the educational system.
Identification ensures access to needed supports and resources.
Identification is the foundation of funding levers and resource allocation.

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Barriers to Identification

Families or youth may be uncomfortable telling people at school about their homelessness and asking for help.
Families or youth may not know their rights and/or the supports available under the McKinney-Vento Act.
Families or youth may not recognize their current living situation qualifies the student for these supports.

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Identification Procedures

The local homeless liaison has the authority and responsibility to ensure that eligible students are identified.

Collaborative effort: school personnel, administrative staff, enrollment staff, nurses, social workers, PowerSchool coordinators etc.
Outreach and coordination with outside agencies is essential.

Eligibility determinations should be made on a case-by-case basis, considering the circumstances of each student.

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McKinney-Vento Identification Procedures – Enrollment Survey

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McKinney-Vento Identification Procedures

***Identification isn't complete until PowerSchool is updated.***

Are there situations where the liaison delegates authority to other staff for simple determinations?
How will internal/external referral forms get to MV liaison or designees for eligibility decisions?
Once a student is deemed eligible, what procedures are in place to ensure the student is indicated as McKinney-Vento in PowerSchool?

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Breakout Groups – �Identification & Outreach Brainstorm

Think about ALL the things you are ALREADY doing in your day-to-day tasks to support children and families.
This is NOT about reinventing the wheel. This is a look at enhancing and growing strategies to support families AND to look at our work with a strength-based approach.
Take 10 minutes to talk about barriers to identification and brainstorm new innovative ideas to increase outreach and identification.

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This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.

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Exit Ticket

What Worked?
What Didn’t Work?
What Questions Remain?
What topics would you like to see in future trainings?
Star Rating

Scan QR Code or copy the following link into your browser: https://padlet.com/tsweet4/homeless-liaison-training-exit-ticket-pjdyqinowx55f8a5

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Resources

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Contacts

Tracie M. Sweet

Director of Federal Programs

Phone: 803-960-8609

Email: tsweet@sccharter.org

Becky Huggins

COVID Impact Coordinator

Phone: 803-608-1091

Email: rhuggins@sccharter.org

Tatiana Velez

Federal Programs Assistant

Phone: 803-212-8326

Email: tvelez@sccharter.org

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Thank you!