The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) released “Housing + High School = Success” in 2009, highlighting seven communities in which McKinney-Vento school district liaisons and community partners were working together to provide housing to unaccompanied homeless youth. These innovative housing programs made creative use of minimal funding to give young people the safety and support they needed to complete high school and continue into higher education. Three years later we are pleased to offer this update to that original publication. We share new challenges and successes from four of the programs highlighted in 2009, as well as information about three new housing programs from: Beaverton, OR; the northwest Florida panhandle; and Shelton, WA.
Service Provider
Unaccompanied Youth Toolkits
The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY)has developed three unaccompanied youth toolkits. Each Toolkit contains a wealth of information about supporting unaccompanied youth in school and out, with a special focus on helping unaccompanied youth complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) when applying for aid for higher education.
The Toolkits consist of 1-2 page briefs on a variety of topics, including:
- Protocol for Enrolling Unaccompanied Youth in School: Whom Do We Call?
- Unaccompanied Youth Identification Checklist and Tools to launch an identification event in schools and shelters (“MV-FAFSA Week”)
- The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act Basics
- FAFSA Basics and Practical Tips
- Access to Services Tip Sheets (Medicaid, TANF, Social Security, SNAP, shelter)
Each Toolkit is designed for a special audience that often does not receive the information they need to be full partners in serving unaccompanied youth.
Click on the links below to access the each of the toolkits:
High School Counselors and McKinney-Vento Liaisons
Shelters and Service Providers
College and University Financial Aid Administrators
What Relief Agencies Should Know About the Educational Rights of Children and Youth Displaced by Disaster
Connecting Schools and Displaced Students Brief Series
What Relief Agencies Should Know About the Educational Rights of Children and Youth Displaced by Disaster
This brief is directed towards relief agencies. Relief agencies play a critical role in connecting families, children, and youth who have been displaced by disasters to needed services, including enabling children and youth to continue their education. By understanding the educational services and supports that are available to homeless children and youth under federal law, relief agencies will be able to coordinate more effectively with schools and school districts (know as local educational agencies or LEAs) after a disaster occurs in their community
A Homeless Educator’s Sourcebook
A Homeless Educator’s Sourcebook Perspectives on Educating Children and Youth in Highly Mobile and Homeless Situations
Checklist for McKinney-Vento School Selection Considerations: School of Origin or Local Attendance Zone?
Checklist for McKinney-Vento School Choice Considerations: School of Origin or Local Attendance Zone?
Side-by-Side Comparison of the school choice considerations.
Determining Eligibility for Rights and Services Under the McKinney-Vento Act
This NCHE brief: explores in detail the definition of homeless included in Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, and provides a step-by-step guide for making determinations of McKinney-Vento eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
Supporting the Education of Unaccompanied Students Experiencing Homelessness
Homelessness is a devastating circumstance for any child or youth; but for youth on their own, the stresses of homelessness are multiplied. The myriad of challenges faced by youth experiencing homelessness on their own puts these students at risk of dropping out or school failure. Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized in… Read more »
Who Is Homeless?
Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. § 11431 et seq.; hereafter the McKinney-Vento Act), reauthorized in 2015 by Title IX, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness. This brief explains the legislation and offers strategies for implementing it… Read more »
The Educational Rights of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness: What Service Providers Need to Know
McKinney-Vento Law Into Practice Brief Series
The Educational Rights of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness:
What Service Providers Need to Know
It is important for service providers to pay specific attention to the McKinney-Vento education subtitle’s definition of homeless, as this definition includes certain types of living arrangements that other federal laws omit. For instance, families living doubled-up or in motels or hotels are considered eligibile for services under the Act, while these same populations are not considered eligible under some other federal laws dealing with the issue of homelessness.