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Training and Technical Assistance for Head Start and Early Head Start

Resources for Webinar

Serving Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness

January 14, 2010

Definition of Homelessness

725(2) McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (1994)

Homeless children” means:

Individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and includes

– sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;

– 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; or awaiting foster care placement;

– primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;

– living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and

– migratory children

Stacy Dimino, Project Director [email protected] MA TTA Center at the Education Development Center, Inc. A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network Training and Technical Assistance for Head Start and Early Head Start

McKinney-Vento Resources

Every State Education Agency (SEA) has an Office of State Coordinator for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth

Responsibilities

– Collaboration responsibilities across agencies and with communities

– Technical assistance to Local Education Agencies (LEAs)

– Compliance

– Professional development

– Data collection and reporting

LEA Homeless Liaisons

Every LEA must designate a liaison for students in homeless situations

Responsibilities:

– Ensure that children and youth in homeless situations are identified through school and community

– Ensure that homeless students enroll in and have full and equal opportunity to succeed in school

– Make referrals for health, mental health, and other services, and ensure that homeless children receive Head Start and preschool programs administered by school districts

2007 Head Start Reauthorization

Homelessness provisions (Sec. 640. [42 U.S.C. 9835]

(m) The Secretary shall issue rules to establish policies and procedures to remove barriers to the enrollment and participation of homeless children in Head Start programs. Such rules shall require Head Start agencies—

(1) to implement policies and procedures to ensure that homeless children are identified and prioritized for enrollment;

(2) to allow families of homeless children to apply to, enroll in, and attend Head Start programs while required documents, such as proof of residency, immunization and other medical records, birth certificates, and other documents, are obtained within a reasonable time frame; and

(3) to coordinate individual Head Start programs with efforts to implement subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.)

Head Start/Early Head Start Eligibility

Homeless children are categorically eligible for Head Start [42 U.S.C. 9840(a)(1) (B)]

• Similar to existing provision for children in foster care & recipients of public assistance

• Verification of homeless living situation suffices; once a determination of homelessness has been made, a child is automatically eligible (i.e. no income documentation requirement)

HS Required Documentation for Homelessness

OHS – PC – I – 085: What is required for documenting/proving homelessness?

• Eligibility

• Recruitment

• Selection

• Enrollment

• Attendance

Head Start Act

• Section 640 (m) (1) of the Head Start Act as amended requires that homeless children be prioritized for enrollment

The Office of Head Start (OHS):

• recognizes that verification and documentation of the circumstances that fall within the federal definition of homeless children can present unique challenges to Head Start agencies.

• encourages agencies to enroll homeless children based on families’ descriptions of their living situations (if that description meets the definition) while required verification of circumstances and collection of documents are obtained within a reasonable time frame.

• Engagement - OHS encourages grantees to engage their school district homeless liaisons, private and public shelter providers, HUD Continuums of Care, and other homeless service agencies in their service area to assist in the verification and documentation process

• Verification - OHS urges agencies to exercise sufficient care to ensure that their verification activities do not increase the risk that families may be evicted or suffer other resulting adverse consequences

Websites on Homelessness and Children

Children’s Defense Fund – http://www.childrensdefense.org

Department of Housing and Human Development - http://portal.hud.gov

Head Start Bureau - http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs

Homes for the Homeless - http://www.hfhnyc.org

Horizons for Homeless Children - http://www.horizonsforhomelesschildren.org

McCormack Institute at UMASS Boston - http://www.mccormack.umb.edu

National Alliance to End Homelessness - http://www.endhomelessness.org

National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth - http://www.naehcy.org

National Black Child Development Institute - http://www.nbcdi.org

National Center on Family Homelessness - http://www.familyhomelessness.org

National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center - http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov

National Coalition for the Homeless - http://www.nationalhomeless.org

National Head Start Association - http://www.nhsa.org

National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty - http://www.nlchp.org

Zero to Three - http://www.zerotothree.org

Stacy Dimino, Project Director [email protected] MA TTA Center at the Education Development Center, Inc. A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network