Patricia Julianelle, Legal Director Project HOPE Conference December 2,

Legislative and Policy Issues Budget/Sequestration/FY2014 Appropriations SNAP (Food Stamps) ESEA Reauthorization (McKinney-Vento and Title I) Child Care Higher Education Act Universal Preschool Legislation 2

Federal Budget: Budget, Sequestration, FY2014 Appropriations Last year, Congress failed to reach an agreement on how to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion Sequestration resulted in a 5.5% across-the- board cut to FY2013 funding (school year ) McKinney-Vento funding is now funded $61.7 million 3

Federal Budget: Budget, Sequestration, FY2014 Appropriations Agreement to re-open the government includes a House-Senate budget conference committee charged with making recommendations for a budget resolution that sets overall numbers for discretionary and mandatory funding, and revenue for FY2014 The report is due by December 13 Appropriators must make funding decisions for individual programs, or implement sequestration, by January 15 4

What’s at Stake for Children, Youth, and Families McKinney-Vento and other education programs, as well as homeless and housing programs, subject to more cuts (across-the- board and/or individual) Income and health programs that keep people in housing subject also to cuts End result = more child and youth homelessness, and less support to help them out of homelessness 5

Federal Budget Action Steps Communicate the value of homeless programs, and the impact of cuts Visits during weekends or Congressional recesses are ideal, but calls/letters NOW Children’s Defense Fund alert: action/online.html 6

SNAP (Food Stamps) Good news: new USDA guidance on unaccompanied Youth and SNAP Bad news: House and Senate are working on a final version of the Farm bill House bill cuts $40 billion from SNAP; low- income working families lose benefits, children lose school meals ACTION NEEDED NOW 7

McKinney-Vento, Title I, and Elementary and Secondary Education A Reauthorization Reauthorization is the opportunity to make substantive changes to the law Congress has been working on this legislation since 2007, but partisan differences and other Congressional priorities have prevented it from moving forward Major action in 2007, 2011, and

Major Issues in ESEA Reauthorization McKinney-Vento Personnel: State Coordinators and Local Liaisons School Stability Provisions (“Feasibility”) Enrollment Transportation Disputes Credits/Academic Support Extra-curricular activities Unaccompanied Youth Preschool Children Funding Level Title I, Part A Setasides Children and Youth in Foster Care 9

Congressional Action This Year S. 1094, “Strengthening America’s Schools Act,” passed out of Senate HELP Committee  Contains most of NAEHCY’s recommendations for amending McKinney-Vento and Title I H.R. 5, “Student Success Act,” passed the full House on July 19  Contains some of NAEHCY’s recommendations See for more detailswww.naehcy.org 10

Child Care Reauthorization Senate HELP Committee passed S. 1086, a bipartisan CCDF reauthorization bill, to reauthorize the Child Care Development Block Grant on September 18 Requires States to establish a grace period for records/requirements for homeless families, use funds for identification, outreach, and services, sliding scale for fees Action possible next year 11

Higher Education and Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Unaccompanied homeless youth added to FAFSA in 2007 reauthorization; homeless students added to TRIO and GEAR UP in 2008 Some progress, but continuing barriers… 12

FAFSA Statistics Highest number of homeless applicants (CA, TX, IL, MI, WA, FL, OR, NY, OH, MO, CO) Applicants indicating homelessness on FAFSA through liaison, RHYA, HUD  – 25,953  – 27,492 Total number of FAFSA applicants with any homelessness indication (liaison, RHYA, HUD, or FAA)  – 53,705  – 58,151 13

NAEHCY Survey: Liaisons

Higher Education Act Reauthorization S., 1754, the Higher Education Access and Success Act for Homeless and Foster Youth  Clarifies that youth under age 24 who are determined to be unaccompanied and homeless are considered independent students;  Expands the entities authorized to make determinations of unaccompanied homeless youth status to include private and publicly funded shelters and homeless service programs, TRIO programs, and GEAR-UP programs;  Requires financial aid administrators to make determinations of unaccompanied homeless youth status for youth who cannot get determinations from other authorities 16

HEA Bill for Homeless/Foster, 2  Eliminates the requirement for unaccompanied homeless youths’ status to be re-determined every year. Creates a presumption that these students will continue to be independent unless the student’s circumstances have changed, or the financial aid administrator has conflicting information; and  Requires the Student Loan Ombudsman to receive, review and expeditiously resolve complaints regarding the independent student status of homeless and foster youth  Provides homeless and foster youth in-state tuition to reduce barriers to college attendance due to lack of financial support; 17

HEA Bill for Homeless/Foster, 3 Prioritizes homeless and foster youth for the federal work study program Designates a single point of contact to assist homeless and foster youth to access and complete higher education; Requires IHEs to:  Post public notice about financial and other assistance available to homeless and foster youth;  Develop a plan to assist homeless and foster youth to access housing resources during and between academic terms; and  Include in applications questions about homeless or foster status, that youth can answer voluntarily to receive assistance accessing financial aid and other resources. 18

HEA Bill for Homeless/Foster, 4 Requires TRIO and GEAR-UP Programs to: Identify, conduct outreach to, and recruit homeless and foster youth, in collaboration with child welfare agencies, homeless service providers, and school district homeless liaisons; Include information on homeless and foster youth in outcome criteria and data collection; Review and revise policies to remove barriers to the participation of homeless and foster youth; and Describe successful outreach activities and strategies to meet the needs of homeless and foster youth 19

Universal Pre-K Legislation S and H.R – Strong Start for America’s Children Act Establishes new federal-state partnership to increase access to high quality prekindergarten programs for low and moderate income children A phased-in federal-state match with formula grants to states based on the state population of low-income 4-year-olds Eligible states must offer state-funded preK, have early learning standards, and be able to link preK data to K-12 data States provide local grants to LEAs, early education providers, or consortia States can reserve up to 15% of funds for low-income children birth to three year-olds 20

Universal Pre-K Legislation S and H.R – Strong Start for America’s Children Act : Definition of homelessness consistent with McKinney-Vento education State applications must describe coordination with McKinney- Vento education programs In awarding subgrants for infants and toddlers, States must give preference to programs that have a plan to increases services to homeless children State performance measures must track progress in increasing school readiness in all domains for homeless children 21

Universal Pre-K Legislation Local entity applications must: Describe how parents will be engaged and ensure that parents are aware of services provided, including outreach to encourage eligible families to participate, including homeless families Describe how the entity will develop and implement a system to increase program participation of homeless children 22

Universal Pre-K Legislation Local entity applications must adopt policies and procedures that require: outreach to identify homeless children; immediate enrollment while records are obtained; continuous enrollment and participation, even if a child moves out of the service area, if that is in the child’s best interest, including providing transportation when necessary; professional development on homelessness for preK staff; and collaboration with homeless liaisons and service providers 23

Universal Pre-K Legislation Hearings expected next year Go to to write a letter showing support Edit the sample letter to voice support for homeless provisions 24