ARP-HCY

Marking the Moment: ARP-HCY Winds Down

Monday, September 30, 2024, is the last day to obligate American Rescue Plan – Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) funding. 

It has been an intense three and a half years.

From the morning of March 6, 2021, when our collective advocacy led to the passage of the bipartisan amendment that created ARP-HCY, to this moment, we’ve witnessed the hope and the inspiration – as well as the frustration and the heartache – of the ARP-HCY era. 

While September 30th marks an important milestone, the full ARP-HCY story has not yet unfolded. Four months remain before obligated funds must be spent: January 28, 2025 is the federal liquidation deadline. (Some states have set earlier deadlines.) And through the extended liquidation process, states can still choose to apply for an additional 14 months to spend ARP-HCY funds that were properly obligated by today’s deadline. In addition, some ARP-HCY items may continue to be used and distributed beyond the liquidation deadline, regardless of whether or not states apply for extended liquidation (see this timeline for details).

Despite all of the unknowns, one thing is certain: ARP-HCY was a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of our nation’s most vulnerable students and families. 

Seeing the power of ARP-HCY funds makes it all the more frustrating that, in many states and school districts, numerous barriers got in the way of making the most of these funds.

Education agencies at every level prioritized spending the much larger pot of funds (the $122 billion ARP ESSER), and this prioritization often came at the expense of ARP-HCY. Because the annual McKinney-Vento homeless education program is so underfunded, the majority of LEAs receiving ARP-HCY funds had never before received specific funding to support students experiencing homelessness. This meant many LEAs were essentially starting up new programs without much time, capacity, or support. And last but certainly not least, bureaucratic barriers and resistance from some school finance officers and other administrators significantly slowed down ARP-HCY projects – reflecting a lack of awareness and understanding about homelessness, and the urgent need to address it.

Most of these challenges (documented in our February 2024 national liaison survey) could have been ameliorated with one simple, cost-free solution: more time.

Extending the deadline to obligate ARP-HCY funds would have allowed for more focused attention on these funds, more time to clear contracts and procurement, more time to educate school finance officers and administrators, and more time to obligate salaries. Thirty-six U.S. Senators from both sides of the aisle agreed with that solution, supporting an amendment to extend the ARP-HCY deadline. Sadly, the effort failed, falling victim to Congressional dysfunction, budget brinkmanship, and Executive Branch inaction.

The loss of ARP-HCY funding is painful.

Students experiencing homelessness face unique barriers that generalized education funds simply do not address. When their unique educational barriers are not removed, they miss out on the benefits of other education funding. This puts them at much greater risk of dropping out and continuing to experience homelessness as adults. If we want to truly solve homelessness, we need robust, sustainable, and flexible education funding that is specifically focused on students experiencing homelessness. 

While we can’t overlook the frustrations with ARP-HCY, neither should they stop us from celebrating the incredible accomplishments, some of which will endure.

During an extraordinarily stressful time, you moved mountains for students who would otherwise be overlooked. And ARP-HCY made a tremendous difference for students who did receive assistance, even if we cannot – for the moment – continue to help in the same way.

If we wish to leverage the lessons learned from ARP-HCY to make the case for sustainable investments, it is now up to all of us to make it happen.  What does that mean? It means using the information that we have, quantitative and qualitative, to tell the story of ARP-HCY. And it means communicating directly with elected officials, not just once, but often.There is only so much that “professional advocates” like SHC can do. We can convene, we can draft policies, we can translate the wonky stuff, but we are not the most compelling spokespeople — you are. 

Today may mark the closing of one chapter, but if we work together and make our voices heard, it also may mark the opening of a new chapter – a chapter where every policymaker and every school leader understands that there can be no equity in education, and there can be no lasting solution to homelessness, without adequate targeted resources for public schools to it.

From the bottom of our hearts: thank you. We couldn’t be any prouder to stand beside you.

Here are three actions to take:

  1. Sign up for our advocacy network. We’ve seen it time and again: the most effective way to ensure that the lessons of ARP-HCY inform the future is for policymakers to hear directly from you. You don’t need experience, and you don’t need to “lobby,” in order to educate policymakers. We can help you set up virtual meetings where you simply share what you know. We also can help prepare you for these meetings, and we can even join you to assist.
  2. If you are a school district homeless liaison, please respond to our national homeless liaison survey, which will be emailed to you in a few weeks. This anonymous, voluntary survey will allow us to gather information about the impact or ARP-HCY, as well as the barriers and ongoing needs. We’ll use the information to prepare a report to educate the new Congress and the next Administration, and to tailor our own advocacy and practical assistance.
  3. Be good to yourself and be kind to your team.The time pressure of ARP-HCY, on top of the trauma of the pandemic and the vicarious trauma of working to help homeless students, can take a toll. We see it in our interactions with you, and we see it in ourselves. Now is the time for self-care, so we can recharge for what lies ahead.

A Statement from U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

“These real-life examples highlight the what this funding is actually doing on the ground and the incredible, real world benefits it has in the lives of youth and families experiencing homelessness. We know that the number one risk factor for adult homelessness is the lack of a high school education or equivalent. The challenges and hardships that youth experiencing homelessness face can set them on the wrong path, severely limiting future opportunities for employment and healthy lifestyles. These funds are still directly supporting students so they can attend school and have the resources to successfully complete their education. This funding is helping young people get out of the homelessness cycle permanently. I’m proud to stand here with my colleagues to share the impact of this American Rescue Plan provision.”
— U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Click Here to Read the Entire Statement

Local Voices on The Power and Challenges of ARP-HCY

“I think that the flexibility of this funding has been such a huge help to homeless liaisons… Being able to use the money to help with food, phones, taxis as well as wraparound services has meant that we can be more on the front lines helping families in unconventional ways.”
– Megan Mainzer
Family Services Coordinator, Middletown, Rhode Island
“I always go back to my own lived experience. I would have attended school more if I would have had coping strategies to manage my stress and anxiety about missing school because of my living situation. I want to make sure to build connections, empathy and understanding between school and families. These funds are helping to make it possible.”
– Kataira Smith
Assistant Director of Social Emotional Learning and Homeless Liaison, Ridgefield, WA
“My hands are tied in every way…so much redtape. An endless amount of hoops to try and jump through to try and access funds.”
– Texas
“We knew continuity of services was our greatest need… ARP-HCY funds will help provide a place for families to access support and services during the summer months when they would otherwise lose that connection to school.”
– Robin Dexter
Associate Superintendent, Grand Island, Nebraska
“Just having that extra money for parents to be able to use for gas since gas is so expensive, that in itself is helping them. With prices being so high for everything nowadays, being able to also buy food is a big thing that has helped them while they’re in school. That we’re able to provide them with some of that funding goes a long way for helping families.”
– LaShonda Evans
Region 4, ESC, TX
“I am beyond grateful for the funds we have received. However the stress of spending the money in a short amount of time, and some of the stipulations are making it challenging to fulfill all the needs of the grant. I just want to be able to help our students, and some of the hoops we have to jump through along the way to make it difficult in urgent situations.”
– Michigan
“With ARP-HCY funds, we have somebody focusing on attendance. We’re finding things that we didn’t know were there. For example, some of the children were not able to come to school because they didn’t have clean clothes to wear. So we used our funds to pay for laundry, and we just found out that we can use our funds at a new laundry, and they can bill us directly….We’ve also been using our funds for emergency transportation if parents need to get to school or kids need to get home and they’re sick at school and need to go home.”
– Kathi Sheffel
Fairfax, VA
“ARP-HCY funding really did help us springboard that School Based Health Clinic, to help fund some of those students of mine on the McKinney-Vento caseload for uninsured care. Instead of having big medical bills after they came to appointments with us, that was covered through the way we use the ARP-HCY money. That’s been a huge help for our McKinney-Vento families because now they can access medical resources that they had a lot of trouble accessing before.”
– Linda Long
Haysville, KS
“My Finance Office didn’t allow me to use my ARP-HCY funds for the first fiscal year after receiving the Award and because of that, I’m behind in my expenditures. In the time that the application was accepted, I’ve had three Directors, all new Administrators in the Cabinet including Finance and Grant Administration. I don’t want to let any of those funds go if I can help it! Extra time would allow for more opportunities and thoughtful interactions for our students and families. Additional time will also aid in my efforts of explaining the grant to all of the new administration again because these are the same people who will decide student outcomes through my plan for expenditures.”
– Alaska
​”With some of the ARP-HCY funding that we did receive, I was able to hire a McKinney-Vento Support Specialist, solely working with our high school-aged students that were McKinney-Vento identified and unaccompanied homeless youth. That way we could really focus on that population to ensure that we were removing all the barriers, but also setting them up for success in whatever they wanted to pursue after high school.”
– Leslie
Cherry Creek, CO
“We are excited to really be able to help these kids. It will be possible because of the extra ARP-HCY funds. Many of these kids are largely unsupervised because they are unaccompanied homeless youth, but they are still expected to attend school. We believe providing bikes will help make that happen.”
– Laurie Hall
Federal Programs Coordinator, New Philadelphia City Schools, Ohio
“LEA denied usage of funds even though the usage was allowable by the federal government. Another barrier is the length of time for contracts, finance process and approval, etc. (for example, it was one year before the after school program could be implemented).”
– North Carolina
“We needed child care because families were suffering. We knew we needed to do something quick for families. Families rely on care and it relieves some of our transportation issues. ARP-HCY funding came at the most critical time to ensure there is no lapse in services for families. Families rely on these wraparound services for their livelihoods.”
– Claudia Miller
Family and Community Partnerships Coordinator , Franklin Pierce Schools, WA
“These funds are fantastic; we can do so much with ARP. I can be creative with ideas. I’ve never been busier because we are doing so much. It takes time to come up with the ideas, put them in place, and measure the impact.”
– Rebeka Beach
Program Manager Project Connect, Cincinnati, Ohio
“I am not sure how funds are used because whenever the building liaisons request assistance for things like glasses, cab transportation, clothing, etc., we are advised that we need to exhaust ALL community resources before we can help families. There is not enough time in the day to call community partners for every family in need. Sometimes it is a reasonable ask, but often we are out of luck. I have yet to make any purchases for families this school year. I feel like we are creating more barriers for families.”
– New Hampshire
“In a small community, school is the primary support for families experiencing homelessness. We wanted to create a non-threatening, no-judgment one-stop-shop where families can access a lot of different resources. ARP-HCY funds are allowing one time purchases to start this work.”
– Shauna Bake
MTSS Coordinator and Nancy Meissner, School Counselor, Pershing County School District, Nevada
“The presence of the HOPE Program Advocates in the schools, who represent our program, has created an amazing collaboration with administration, who are now assisting the HOPE Program Advocates in supporting and identifying students who are experiencing homelessness. The capacity was impossible with only one advocate. The positions will become permanent because we can show the positive impact their work is having on our students. It’s a great addition to our program to have these ARP-HCY funds. The outcome has been very rewarding.”
– Melissa Newhouse
District Homeless and Foster Care Liaison, Vancouver, WA
“Our McKinney-Vento program is way under capacity (department of 1) but my LEA would not approve hiring because the funds are not long term.”
– Oregon
“When we found out we were getting ARP-HCY funds, we were overjoyed and thankful that Murkowski secured these funds. We’ve been looking for additional funding for a long time. We immediately started brainstorming the best way to use these funds to support our students and families. It’s been a roller coaster but we believe these funds will really help us make a difference.”
– Dave Mayo-Kiely
Child In Transition Program Coordinator, Anchorage, Alaska
“I’m doing the work and I’m not going to stop! People here love Taos, love each other, and want to help their community. We are using ARP-HCY funds to meet families where they are at.”
– Florence Miera
Social Worker and Homeless Liaison, Taos, New Mexico
“Due to staff change over at the district level, we were not made aware of allocated funds until a year after they were given. Now we are trying to identify needs and figure out the logistics of the best way to use funds.”
– Wisconsin
“With ARP-HCY, we are approaching adequate funding to address the current needs of our homeless student population to enroll, attend, and participate in public education. These additional funds are necessary to address the needs of students we have currently identified. With sustained funding at this level (even additional funding), school districts could expand programs to establish support programs for homeless students’ post-secondary plans which in turn may help to eliminate or at least alleviate homelessness in our country. With our students, it’s all about hope for the future.”
– Sabra C. Emde
District Grants Coordinator/Homeless Liaison, Ardmore City Schools, OK
​​“People get stuck by the systems, because the systems are so broken. What’s important as liaisons is that we need to think outside of the box. If we work within the confines of what has always been done, we’ll get stuck in a wheel, expecting different results. ARP-HCY money has allowed us to do what we know works best for our kids, and has given us an opportunity to expand our services in new, impactful ways.”
– Heather Alden
Supervisor, Project Reach and Fostering Connections, Saint Paul Public Schools, MN
“As the homeless liaison, we owe these families as much support as we can provide, and having these funds has been awesome. With ARP-HCY, we’ve been able to have someone who is a part of the community dedicate their time to this support. I wouldn’t have been able to try this without the extra money. Now that we’ve been provided the funds to be creative, I can use my [Title I] set-aside to continue to fund the position. There’s money in districts and the more we can have a seat at the table, the more we can advocate to meet the needs of our students. For those who don’t feel like they have a voice in financial decisions, I recommend keeping data. Data will make a seat at the table for you. People can’t deny data.”
– Frances Fuller
Homeless Liaison, Soccoro Consolidated Schools, NM
“As the homeless liaison, we owe these families as much support as we can provide, and having these funds has been awesome. With ARP-HCY, we’ve been able to have someone who is a part of the community dedicate their time to this support. I wouldn’t have been able to try this without the extra money. Now that we’ve been provided the funds to be creative, I can use my [Title I] set-aside to continue to fund the position. There’s money in districts and the more we can have a seat at the table, the more we can advocate to meet the needs of our students. For those who don’t feel like they have a voice in financial decisions, I recommend keeping data. Data will make a seat at the table for you. People can’t deny data.”
– Frances Fuller
Homeless Liaison, Soccoro Consolidated Schools, NM
“I am burdened at what & who will fall through the cracks without continued funding.”
– North Carolina
“The ARP-HCY funding has provided some much needed flexibility in funding to utilize in helping McKinney-Vento families with emergency housing. This funding has helped many families not only receive a safe place to stay, but also the time for them to acquire more permanent housing. This has been the missing piece in the McKinney-Vento Act that can truly make a life altering impact.”
– Angela Reeter
Area 5 McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison, ROE#3, Illinois
“Having additional ARP-HCY funds has been a gift to actually have resources at the ready for plans and the ability to make change with McKinney-Vento families by investing in staff to enhance outreach and support.”
– Michelle Anderson
Director of Early Childhood and Family Programs, Torrington, CT
“Other funding sources won’t allow us to do it at the same scale as we can with ARP-HCY, but right now supporting the mental health of these students is our main priority and our highest need. We have incredible community support to meet basic needs, and our school social workers and liaisons work tirelessly to meet additional needs of our immigrant students. With ARP-HCY, we can also support them in their native language to address their trauma.”
– Monika Summer
Assistant Director of Learning, Teaching and Equity, Shakopee Minnesota
“Our region is a mixture of urban, suburban, and rural areas, and we wanted to be intentional about finding ways to get resources and supports into the communities where they don’t already have access to them. The mobile outreach unit has been a long-term goal, developed in coordination with our stakeholders, and ARP-HCY funds are making it possible. We are committed to continuing to sustain it after ARP-HCY funds are no longer available.”
– Kristen Hoffa
Regional Coordinator, Berks County Intermediate Unit, PA
“Our district is located in a rural city that is very generous and supportive of community members in need. Making connections between resources and families was a struggle previously due to not knowing what our families experiencing homelessness needed. The mentor program not only benefits individual students, but overall we are able to connect families to resources more efficiently. Thanks to ARP-HCY funds, we’ve been able to create a program so that families can feel connected and more open to sharing their needs. This has had a huge impact on our students, our school community and on identification.”
– Laura McNamara
Student Services Coordinator and McKinney-Vento Coordinator, Washington Court House City Schools, OH
“ARP-HCY funds have been a huge benefit to our families. We work with families to have full conversations about needs, which we are now able to meet. We can adjust how we use funds based on needs and intentionally plan for how we can sustain the work we’ve started.”
– Jessica Tremble
Supervisor of Counseling and Student Services K-8, Clifton Public Schools, NJ
“It’s not that our social workers can’t do intense case management, but our Specialists have the time so they can expand the capacity of our district to do more. None of this would be possible without ARP-HCY funds.”
– Michelle Swisher
McKinney-Vento Liaison, Spotsylvania County, VA
“These hotel partnerships provide families a little extra time to figure out their next steps. ARP-HCY funds allowed us to begin this program, and we hope to continue it through community partnerships after the funds are no longer available.”
– Quentina Brown, RSW
Homeless Liaison/Foster Care (POC)/Neglected & Delinquent Coordinator, Lafourche Parish, LA
“The ability to provide a store card for groceries has been a life-saver for our families. I can hardly believe I won that fight with finance, but persistence paid off, literally. Transportation by use of SpEd buses for school of origin is currently non-existent due to logistics and the fact that our SpEd buses are already at capacity with hundreds of SpEd students. ARP-HCY funds have afforded taxi use when city bus passes won’t work for young children or families with similar working hours. These funds have made all the difference in the world to these vulnerable students.”
– Mollie Espers,
Juneau, Alaska
“We have been able to support our rapidly growing McKinney-Vento population with hotels, school supplies, uniforms, hygiene items, and extra support services for academic growth. Having the money available when we have an urgent need makes all the difference for our families in need.”
– Arizona