SchoolHouse Connection is a national non-profit organization working to overcome homelessness through education. We provide strategic advocacy and practical assistance in partnership with early childhood programs, schools, institutions of higher education, service providers, families, and youth.
POLICY UPDATES
$800M in Funds Announced: Help is Here for Homeless Students
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced the availability of $800 million to support the identification, enrollment, participation, and success of children and youth experiencing homelessness, and to provide them with wrap-around services in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is eight times the FY2021 appropriation for the McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program, and more than the previous ten years of EHCY funding combined.
Bipartisan Legislation to Help Homeless Children and Youth Reintroduced
On April 1, the Homeless Children and Youth Act (H.R. 2001) was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressmen Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Dave Loebsack (D-IA). Get the facts about the Homeless Children and Youth Act, including frequently asked questions, the full text of the legislation, and a list of supporters.
Action Needed: Two Homeless Funding Letters, Deadline Approaching
Congress is currently considering yearly funding for federal programs through the annual appropriations process. Take two minutes to support funding for homeless children and youth.
NEW RESOURCES
How to Use American Rescue Plan Act K-12 Education Funds to Identify and Support Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP), Congress’ most recent package for COVID-19 relief, provides nearly $123 billion in aid for K-12 education through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER). This resource provides recommendations on how state agencies, schools, and districts can use ARP funds for students experiencing homelessness.
Overview of U.S. Department of Education Guidance on American Rescue Plan Act Funds for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness
This is a quick overview of the timing, allocation, and uses of funds of the American Rescue Plan homeless children and youth funding.
Students Experiencing Homelessness in ARP ESSER Plans
On April 21, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released its State plan template, which requires state educational agencies (SEAs) to describe how they will utilize funds from the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) fund to safely reopen schools and provide students with the necessary support. This document details some of the areas that states and school districts must consider the inclusion of students experiencing homelessness.
GUEST BLOGS
The Pursuit of Education: A Story of Homelessness, Perseverance, and the Impact of Caring Educators
By SchoolHouse Connection’s Scholar Jahnee S.. “I was 8 years old when I first experienced homelessness. Homelessness then became a struggle that my family and I couldn’t escape. I experienced standing in the snow, hoping my family and I had a place to sleep on a church floor; how packed and unsanitary emergency shelters are, as I got lice within two days of staying there; how “The Florida Project” brought me flashbacks to the many months my family lived in motels, and how I viewed peers with “the basic necessities” with such envy.”
Engaging and Re-engaging Students: Conversations with Three Homeless Liaisons
Throughout the month of February, we hosted a series of conversations titled “Engaging and Re-engaging Students Experiencing Homelessness During the Pandemic,” to allow homeless liaisons a space to share their challenges and best practices to support students experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. Here are those conversations.
Empowering People, Impacting Change
Written by Audrey Ann Crocker, University of South Carolina Social Worker Graduate Intern and Colin Bauer, District Social Worker & McKinney-Vento Liaison, Spartanburg School District 7, South Carolina. “It was mid-summer when one of our volunteers, Melissa, contacted Colin Bauer, a social worker with School District 7, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was also mid-pandemic and the needs of our families in District 7 were at an all-time high. Melissa felt drawn to respond to the needs of these families after witnessing several experiences of poverty in the area, which highlighted how many of our families did not have the shelter and the food they needed.”
Q & A FROM OUR INBOXES
Early Childhood
Infants are at greater risk of living in homeless shelters than any other age group in the United States. Early childhood programs prevent the harmful life-long effects of homelessness on education, health and well-being.
PreK - 12
In the 2017-18 school year, public schools identified more than 1.5 million homeless students. Schools provide basic needs, caring adults, stability, normalcy, and the skills to avoid homelessness as adults.
Higher Education
The majority of well-paying jobs created today require education beyond high school. Post-secondary attainment is increasingly necessary to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness, and live a healthy, productive life.
Unaccompanied Youth
Unaccompanied homeless youth are young people experiencing homelessness who are not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. 4.2 million youth and young adults experience homelessness each year.
How to Contact your McKinney-Vento Liaison
Under the McKinney-Vento Act, every local educational agency is required to designate a liaison for homeless children and youth. The local educational agency liaison coordinates services to ensure that homeless children and youths enroll in school and have the opportunity to succeed academically.
Click HERE to find the contact information of your local homeless education liaison.
Note: This contact information may change frequently due to staff turnover. If you have problems finding the right school district homeless liaison, please contact your state homeless education coordinator.