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
This NCHE brief: summarizes the key provisions related to the transportation of children and youth experiencing homelessness included in the McKinney-Vento Act; suggests transportation implementation strategies at the state and local levels; and recommends resources for funding transportation costs.
Facts on Trauma and Homeless Children from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Homelessness and Extreme Poverty Working Group (2005).
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 »
Natural disasters and other unexpected tragic circumstances place children and their families in very traumatic situations. Simply being in a homeless situation, regardless of the precipitating factors, is often very traumatic. Trauma causes children and families to feel out of control.
Their day-to-day existence becomes unpredictable and chaotic. They often feel that they are helpless to bring order and a semblance of “normalcy” into their own lives.
