Annual Homeless Education Meeting 2017 ESC of Lorain County Annual Homeless Education Meeting 2017

How do you track homeless data? Most common response: EMIS (54%) Keep a list with Excel or Word (54%) 2nd most common response: School database system (18%) 1 person keeps a paper list Respondents could’ve given more than one response; these don’t add to 100% as a result. Several people who keep a backup list indicated that they keep additional info with it, such as special education needs or the dates of homelessness.

Do you do follow ups? 45% leave it informal Rely on buildings to let them know if there’s a need Check in but no specific timeline given Rely on the families to let them know if there’s a need 27% said they check in quarterly Noted report cards give them a good opportunity to check in 1 respondent said they check in twice a year 1 respondent said they check in at end of year Only 1 respondent said no Rely on families: also find out when addresses change

Eligibility Homeless students are eligible for homeless services for A school year The duration of their homelessness Until the end of the year Answer: The duration of their homelessness

Joanie Joanie is 17 years old. She’s staying with a friend because “she and her mom can’t get along.” Her mom says she can come home any time. Is Joanie homeless? Yes Is Joanie unaccompanied? In this particular case, it later came out that mom had recently moved in with her boyfriend. The boyfriend said that Joanie wasn’t allowed to stay there because the relationship between her and her mom was too volatile. When asked about it, mom confirmed that her relationship with Joanie was violent, but continued to claim her daughter could “come home whenever she wanted.”

Jimmy After an incident at home, Jimmy was temporarily placed by child services with an aunt under an emergency order. Jimmy hasn’t been adjudicated yet. His case manager calls you, the liaison, to set up services because Jimmy is homeless. You: Agree, Jimmy is homeless Disagree; Jimmy is not homeless Disagree; Jimmy is not homeless but should be referred to the foster care point of contact

Transportation Louise was identified by your district as homeless at the end of October. Now it’s March, and her mom calls to say the family was able to get a new apartment in the district next door. Mom is requesting transportation from the new address. You Confirm the address is close enough to still be in the child’s best interest and set up transport Explain to Louise’s mom that the right to transportation ended when they became housed Confirm the address and set up transport

School Nutrition A student has recently enrolled in your district. From talking with the parents, you know that the student was considered McKinney-Vento eligible in a previous district. They’ve just moved to your district because they were able to get a home there. The parent asks if the student can continue to receive free lunches, as money is still tight and this would help them a great deal. You say: Of course. You don’t have to complete an application until next year. We’ll have to see if you still qualify. Of course; you’re eligible until the end of the year

Title I Under the new law, your district is no longer required to set aside funds for homeless students out of Title I, Part A. True False False: Districts must set aside funds for ALL schools for homeless students. This must be based on the district’s total allocation & before any expenditures or transfers.

Data Your district must now track the chronic absenteeism rate and discipline data for homeless students. True False False. Districts now have to provide absenteeism and graduation rate data to ODE.

Luke Luke’s grandmother calls you with questions. Her daughter and son-in-law are living in the woods, camping. They’re on a waitlist for housing, but they’ve had to camp out for two years. As a result, Luke has come to stay with his grandmother in the district next door. He has a pseudo brain tumor, so the family really doesn’t want to change his school as the staff have been great about working with his condition. The principal said Luke has to change schools because he’s housed with his grandmother. Luke is McKinney-Vento eligible and can stay In talking with grandmother, Luke had only been with her since the start of school. Prior to that, he was living at the campsite. He went to his grandmother’s so he could go to school.

Higher Education Liaisons, along with guidance counselors, should make sure that all homeless high school students receive information and counseling regarding college readiness, college selection, the application process, financial aid, and the availability of on-campus supports. True False This is taken almost verbatim from the ED Non-regulatory Guidance. Specifically, liaisons must help students with verifications if they are unaccompanied.

Higher Education One of your students calls you and asks you to verify her status as an unaccompanied homeless youth. You’ve stayed in contact with the student, but she graduated last year and is in her freshman year of college. You say: I’m sorry, you’ll have to have the financial aid office do it because you’ve graduated already. Sure, I’ll send you a copy of the letter later today. Dr. King issued a Dear Colleague Letter indicating that as long as the liaison has remained in contact with the student enough to know the circumstances of the student’s housing, the liaison may verify a student’s status in subsequent years.

Enrollment A school has up to three days to place a child experiencing homelessness in the classroom once the parent has requested enrollment. False; enrollment must be immediate

Contact Info Christina Endres cendres@serve.org 336-315-7438 800-308-2145 (NCHE Helpline)