About the Webinar

The FAFSA remains a critical tool for students to access higher education and get a degree. The latest FAFSA is out, and it includes some changes for unaccompanied homeless youth from previous years. This webinar covers the FAFSA process and documentation requirements for students experiencing homelessness, recent changes and updates to the 2027-28 FAFSA that may impact students experiencing homelessness, and ways to support students through the process of applying for financial aid.

This webinar equips participants to:

• Identify who qualifies as a homeless youth on the FAFSA and what documentation supports independent student status.
• Understand the recent changes to the FAFSA and how they may impact students experiencing homelessness.
• Navigate the FAFSA process for unaccompanied homeless youth.

Replay the Webinar

Inside The Webinar

Most students under 24 are considered dependent on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by default, so they must report parent information. For students who are on their own and experiencing homelessness, the FAFSA’s homelessness questions decide whether they can apply as independent students. The 2027–28 FAFSA changes how those questions are worded and expands the time period that counts.

In this webinar, Caleb McKay, FAAC®, Senior Manager of FAFSA Completion, and Jillian Sitjar, Director of Higher Education, walked through the 2027–28 FAFSA screen by screen. They covered the documentation unaccompanied homeless youth may need after submitting, and the federal policies under the FAFSA Simplification Act that reduce barriers to financial aid. Caleb previously served as a college’s single point of contact for unaccompanied homeless youth, and he also shared best practices for high school and college staff.

Their central message: a homeless youth determination depends on whether a student meets the definitions, not on why. Once a student has a determination, it should not have to be repeated every year.

“In the past, once a student had a determination, they had to do a determination every single year they were filling out the FAFSA. Not anymore. This streamlines the process.” — Jillian Sitjar

Key Takeaways

• The homelessness question looks different on the 2027–28 FAFSA. The question now asks whether, at any point in 2026 or after, the student faced one of these situations:
  • They didn’t live with a parent or guardian and were homeless.
  • They didn’t live with a parent or guardian, were supporting themselves, and were at risk of becoming homeless.
  • Neither of these situations applied.
• The definitions are unchanged, but the form now says “didn’t live with a parent or guardian” instead of “unaccompanied.” The time period has also grown. The 2026–27 FAFSA looked back to July 1, 2025. The 2027–28 FAFSA looks back to January 1, 2026, about a year and a half before the school year starts.
• Students can report more than one path to independence, but only need to document one with the financial aid office. Earlier FAFSAs skipped the homelessness question for students who reported foster care. That skip logic has been removed. A student who has been in foster care and is also experiencing homelessness can now answer both questions and only needs to verify one.
• The U.S. Department of Education is required to pre-fill this answer for students who were unaccompanied homeless youth the year before. Because the questions changed, that pre-fill is not in place for the 2027–28 FAFSA. Caleb said SHC expects it to start with the 2028–29 FAFSA.
• Financial aid offices must accept determinations from authorized individuals, or make one themselves. These individuals can confirm a student’s status:
  • A McKinney-Vento liaison or their designee, such as a counselor, social worker, case manager, teacher, or librarian.
  • The director or designee of a shelter, street outreach program, drop-in center, or other program serving people experiencing homelessness. These programs no longer need federal funding to qualify.
  • The director or designee of a TRIO or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) program.
  • A financial aid administrator at another institution who made a determination in the current or previous award year.
• If none of these individuals can confirm the student’s status, a new results screen on the 2027–28 FAFSA tells the student to contact their college’s financial aid office. The financial aid administrator must then make a determination based on a written statement from the student or a documented interview. The determination should be made as quickly as possible, no later than 60 days after enrollment, and without regard to the reason why a student is unaccompanied and homeless.
• Independent status should carry forward. A student found independent through a homeless youth determination is presumed independent in later years at the same school. This holds as long as their situation hasn’t changed and the school has no documented conflicting information. Schools may ask whether a student’s situation has changed, but they cannot require a new determination or delay the awarding or disbursement of aid.

“We don’t need to know why they have left home, whether it is safe to return home, or even the nature or details of the relationship between the student and the parents.” — Caleb McKay

• Independent status should carry forward. A student found independent through a homeless youth determination is presumed independent in later years at the same school. This holds as long as their situation hasn’t changed and the school has no documented conflicting information. Schools may ask whether a student’s situation has changed, but they cannot require a new determination.
• Homeless youth determinations and dependency overrides are legally distinct. A homeless youth determination asks only whether the student meets the definitions. A determination or student statement is all that’s needed unless there is specific conflicting information, and students can still have contact with their parents. A dependency override for unusual circumstances depends on whether the relationship with parents has been severed. Its documentation is less standardized and often requires several third-party letters. Living apart from parents is not, by itself, enough for either.
• Access to ID affects financial aid and more. Students selected for identity verification must give the financial aid office a valid, unexpired, government-issued photo ID that matches their legal name before they can receive aid. Some students are now asked to take a photo of their ID while filling out the FAFSA. If they can’t, they can still submit, but they must verify their ID with the financial aid office later. Missing documents can also make it harder to prove in-state residency for tuition. McKay recommended talking with students about IDs in junior year or earlier.
• High school staff can help students get ahead of deadlines. McKay recommended that high school staff:
  • Help students file soon after the FAFSA opens and check each college’s priority deadlines.
  • If they are authorized individuals, give students determinations early, plus extra copies before graduation.
  • Remind students to complete the FAFSA every year they plan to attend.
  • Partner with local college financial aid offices to offer one-on-one help at FAFSA completion events.
• Colleges can reduce the burden on students. McKay encouraged colleges to:
  • Designate a liaison or single point of contact for students experiencing homelessness. This can be existing staff rather than a new position.
  • Build relationships with local McKinney-Vento liaisons.
  • Treat homelessness as an extenuating circumstance in satisfactory academic progress (SAP) appeals.
  • Lend devices or hotspots.
  • Help students apply for institutional scholarships and emergency grants.

“It also provides them an opportunity to only have to share their story once.” — Caleb McKay

Questions That Came Up

Attendees asked practical questions about applying the FAFSA’s homelessness provisions to real student situations, including:

• What counts as “at risk” of homelessness for self-supporting students
• Students living with grandparents or other relatives in informal kinship care
• Students who return to a parent’s home after receiving a determination
• Whether a parent’s tax filing affects a student’s independent status
• When colleges can ask for a new determination, including for students who graduated a year or two earlier or moved states
• How the new calendar-year timeline affects when liaisons should provide determination letters
• When students should submit determination letters to the financial aid office
• Students experiencing homelessness with their families whose parents won’t create a StudentAid.gov account
• Completing the FAFSA when a parent is undocumented or lives in another country
• Students taking college courses while still in high school
• Help with obtaining government IDs and vital documents
• Connecting students with a college’s homeless liaison or point of contact

See answers to these questions and more from our FAFSA webinar Q&As from the last few years here.

Presenters

• Caleb McKay, FAAC® – Senior Manager, FAFSA Completion, SchoolHouse Connection
• Jillian Sitjar – Director of Higher Education, SchoolHouse Connection

Helpful Resources

• How to Answer FAFSA Questions About Homelessness: A screenshot-by-screenshot guide to the homelessness questions on the 2027–28 and 2026–27 FAFSA.
• FAFSA Determination Templates for Unaccompanied Homeless Youth: An updated form authorized individuals can use to confirm a student meets the definition of an unaccompanied homeless youth for the FAFSA.
• College Access and FAFSA Calendar: A month-by-month guide for school counselors and McKinney-Vento liaisons, from junior year through spring of senior year.
• I’ve Been Selected for Financial Aid ID Verification—What Do I Do?: What ID verification is, how it differs from a homeless youth determination, and resources for obtaining a government-issued photo ID.
• Navigating Financial Aid for Immigrant and Mixed-Status Students Experiencing Homelessness: Guidance for students whose own or whose parents’ immigration status affects the FAFSA process.
• Homeless Education Directory: Find McKinney-Vento liaisons by state and district.
• FAFSA and Homeless Youth: Scenarios and Solutions: A recorded webinar working through complex FAFSA scenarios for students experiencing homelessness.
• Vital Document Legal Hotline for Youth: A free hotline from the National Network for Youth for youth and professionals seeking help obtaining IDs and vital documents.
• SchoolHouse Connection Scholarship Program: Scholarships and support for students who have experienced homelessness.
• Join the SchoolHouse Connection Slack community to ask questions and share resources with SHC staff and peers across the country.
• Sign up for SchoolHouse Connection’s newsletter for news, resources, and upcoming webinars.