NW Michigan Students in Transition Empowerment Program

October 28th, 2015

MCKINNEY-VENTO ANNUAL TRAINING

& HOMELESS LIAISON

TRAINING

Introduce yourself!Most of us wear many HATS!

Name; District & County; Other Hat(s); Years as a Liaison

Why does this matter?

• SCHOOL STABILITY

• REMOVE BARRIERS

• FULL PARTICIPATION

Determining Eligibility• Fixed: Stationary, permanent, and not subject to change

• Regular: Used on a predictable, routine, or consistent basis (e.g., nightly); consider the relative permanence

• Adequate: Sufficient for meeting both the physical and psychological needs typically met in home environments

Consider: Can the student go to the SAME PLACE (fixed) EVERY NIGHT (regular) to

sleep in a SAFE AND SUFFICIENT SPACE (adequate)?

Who Qualifies?• Children or youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including:

• Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason (“doubling up”)

• Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping grounds due to the lack of adequate alternative accommodations

• Living in emergency or transitional shelters

• Abandoned in hospitals

Who Qualifies?• Awaiting foster care placement

• Living in a public or private place not designed for humans to live

• Living in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or a similar setting

• Migratory children living in the above circumstances

• Unaccompanied youth living in the above circumstances

DOUBLED-UP!!

•What makes someone Doubled-up?

How do you identify an Unaccompanied Youth?

• An unaccompanied youth’s living arrangement must meet the Act’s definition of homeless for him/her to qualify for McKinney-Vento services

• The McKinney-Vento Act defines unaccompanied youth as a youth “not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian”

• Local liaisons must support unaccompanied youth in school selection and dispute resolution processes

MEET DAVID…

BREAK:15 minutes

Unaccompanied Youth

• “Age limits” Lower: There is no lower age limit for

unaccompanied youth Upper: The upper age limit (as with all

McKinney-Vento eligible students) is your state’s upper age limit for public education

• A youth can be eligible regardless of whether he/she was asked to leave the home or “chose” to leave; sometimes there is “more than meets the eye” for youth’s home life situations• A child in foster care is NOT considered Unaccompanied.

MEET CATHY…

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

FAFSA Letter…

Fostering Connections

• Susie Greenfelder, Education Planner

-Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)

• Collaboration for Fostering Connections

• DHHS and Private Agencies: Bethany Christian Services; Child and Family Services; Holy Cross WITH NW MI STEP

• Emphasis on school stability and continuity for highly mobile students.

REMINDER: EVALUATION

Lunch time…

School SelectionSchool of Origin

vs. Local Attendance Area School

• Students experiencing homelessness have the right to attend one of two schools:

• Local Attendance Area School• Any public school that students living in the same attendance area are eligible to attend

• School of Origin• The school attended when permanently housed; or• The school in which the student was last enrolled

• Reference NCHE’s Transporting Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness brief

• Checklist

Transportation

• Districts must transport homeless students to and from the school of origin, at a parent’s or guardian’s request (or at the local liaison’s request for unaccompanied youth)

• If the student’s temporary residence and the school of origin are in the same district, that district must arrange transportation

• If the student is living outside the district of origin, the district where the student is living and the district of origin must determine how to divide the responsibility and cost, or they must share the responsibility and cost equally

• Districts must provide students in homeless situations with transportation services comparable to those provided to other students

• Districts can consider other safe transportation options beyond the school bus

Challenging Scenarios Activity…

Self-Assessment-Following up You will probably be audited within the next two years….Ways to avoid “red flagging” your district…

1.Identify and serve

2.Report into MOISD

3.Keep student records

4.Be sure you have procedures in place

5.Contact me for technical support

BREAK: 15 minutes

REMINDER: EVALUATION

FUNDS and Reimbursement

-APPROX. $4000.00-REQUIRED DOCUMENTS-PROCEDURE-FIRST-COME FIRST-SERVE

$$

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Clarifying existing requirements:

Serving Homeless Children and Youth Under Title I, Part A Coordination is required between MV and Title I, Part A (Sections

1111(a)(1), 1112(a)(1), 1112(b)(1)(E)(ii) of ESEA).

Homeless children and youth are eligible to be served in Title I, Part A schools (Sections 1114 and 1115(b)(2)(E) of ESEA).

o Homeless children and youth are eligible for Title I, Part A services regardless of whether they attend a Title I school (Section 1113(c)(3)(A) of ESEA).

o Section 1113(c)(3)(A) requires a local educational agency with non-Title I schools to reserve the necessary Title I funds to provide comparable Title I services to homeless children in non-Title I schools.

2014 USED Guidance/ClarificationsTitle I, Part A and McKinney-Vento

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Clarifying existing requirements:

An LEA may also use Title I, Part A funds to provide: Educationally related services to homeless children and youth in

shelters and other locations where they may live. Services that may not ordinarily be provided to other Title I

students. For example: o Items of clothing, particularly if necessary to meet a school’s dress or

uniform requirement o Clothing and shoes necessary to participate in physical education

classeso Additional examples in MDE 2014 Q & A Guidanceo See USED Guidance from ARRA, 2009 for complete list

2014 USED Guidance/ClarificationsTitle I, Part A and McKinney-Vento

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Clarifying new authority:Serving Homeless Children and Youth Under Title I, Part A LEAs may use Title I-A funds to pay up to 100% of the salary

of a Homeless Education LiaisonLEAs may use Title I-A funds to provide transportation for

homeless students to the school of origino Under the MV Act, such transportation is a DISTRICT REPONSIBILITY*

o Allowable transportation costs for Title I-A are “incremental” costs (MV Guidance refers to these as “excess” costs)

o Examples of allowable transportation costs for Title I-A funds – Prepaid gas cards for parents/youth or others authorized to transport student to school Taxi fare paid for student transportation UNTIL School or Origin & School of Residence can work

out a bussing arrangement (“Stop-Gap” transportation) Bus passes/tokens/tickets for high school youth to get to/from school

2014 USED Guidance/ClarificationsTitle I, Part A and McKinney-Vento

*Neither MV nor Title I may supplant by providing this service with grant funds.

MOISDUpdates and New Capabilities

1. To enter students served go to www.tinyurl.com/homelessdata 2. To Edit and get list of your students go to www.moisd.org/admin/logon Use log-in and Password Edit student reportExport Data (list of your students to compare to PowerSchool)

Community Resources available to YOU!It takes a village…. •Women’s Resource Center Doula Program• Third Level Crisis/Child and Family Services• True North Energy Assistance-Diane Wemlinger• Northwest Community Action Agency• Goodwill Industries• Local agencies and churches• Local Collaboratives

Q & A

Thank you for all the work you do!

REMINDER: EVALUATION

Evaluation sheet in your folder. Feedback is WELCOMED!

Contacts Abby Jordan, Grant Coordinator and District Liaison

Traverse City Area Public Schools

jordanab@tcaps.net 231-933-8991

www.tcaps.net/step

Susie Greenfelder, NW Region Education Planner

Department of Health and Human Services

greenfelders@michigan.gov 231-735-3279

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MV Liaison Resources

National Center on Homeless Education (NCHE)

National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY)

MDE’s Homeless Education Program

Michigan’s Campaign to End Homelessness

Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness