Falling Through the Cracks: Connecting Unaccompanied Youth to Education
By Brian Brinkerhoff, Program Manager, Colorado Youth for a Change

Nineteen year-old Kim arrived in Denver this winter with her boyfriend and one year-old daughter. They had left the warmer climate in Georgia to brave a cold winter in the mile high city with the hopes of creating a better life.  The plan was to stay with his extended family until getting a job and an apartment. Within two months, everything fell apart. Kim’s boyfriend started seeing another person and his family became abusive toward Kim, demanding that she give up her monthly food stamp allowance to them as compensation for rent. When Kim was finally told to leave, she had no money and no means of supporting herself or her daughter.

Kim was going to be 20 soon. Even though her high school education had been interrupted by her pregnancy, she desperately wanted to finish her diploma. She started looking for help with school right away and eventually connected with Urban Peak, a homeless service provider for unaccompanied teens and young adults. She spoke with the GED teacher and was asked specific questions about her educational goals and future plans. Because of Kim’s desire to finish high school, the GED teacher explained that Katie Neal, the Transitions Coordinator with Colorado Youth for a Change, would be there the next day and that she specialized in helping youth get back into school — no matter what their circumstances.

Kim is one of approximately 200 students who will be served by the Transitions Program at Colorado Youth for a Change (CYC) this year. CYC was started in 2005 by Steve Dobo. Having served at-risk youth and families for 25 years, Dobo was aware of the challenges these populations face. Prior to beginning CYC, Dobo had been the Education and Employment Manager at Urban Peak. Among his many duties there, Dobo managed the GED program, which was supported by Title I dollars from Denver Public Schools. While many youth were well served by the GED program, Dobo noticed that many students who could still graduate with a diploma were not exploring the possibility. After researching the current school options to determine the best fit for youth experiencing homelessness, Dobo came to the conclusion that there were, essentially, none, even in a city the size of Denver. 

“Unaccompanied youth,” as Dobo explained, “were flying under the radar and falling through the cracks in our systems.”

His first response was to create a new program in collaboration with a local charter school, called PS1 at The Spot. It served between 20 and 30 students, and was clearly reaching youth that no school was serving. Inspired by the success of this program, Dobo went on to create the Academy of Urban Learning, a unique charter school dedicated to helping youth in need of extra support. Dobo’s philosophy was simple: “We wanted to provide easy access, a flexible program and a welcoming environment. Three things research has shown to work with these youth.”

Yet Dobo realized that there was an even greater need for these kinds of programs. Not only did youth experiencing homelessness need options, but dropouts from many diverse backgrounds needed options as well. His successes demonstrated that new schools, once up and running, could sustain themselves with the right people in place. It quickly became clear that creating options for homeless youth & other dropouts would require an organization dedicated to this task.

Dobo contacted Nancy Connor, Title I Director for Denver Public Schools, to discuss possible collaborations. They created a position for a Homeless Outreach Specialist, paid for with Title I dollars, who would work exclusively with older, homeless youth. This position would also work directly with the Denver Public Schools Homeless Liaisons and augment their work. While many homeless liaisons were doing great work, due to resource limitations most of their time was spent working with families and young children. Because it is perfectly legal for a 17 year old to be out of school, these youth were not prioritized as highly as those who were younger. In addition, many older youth often pass through multiple social service systems, such as foster care, corrections, and drug treatment, bringing with them a bewildering history that is difficult to understand. While the position was paid for out of Title I funds, the Homeless Outreach Specialist could help ensure that there were more students enrolled within the school district by October Count, the census report that leads to direct funding for schools.  The partnership demonstrated how CYC would make sure that even more money was returned to the district by bringing students back who had not been factored into enrollment projections.

The students that CYC serves come from complex backgrounds and have diverse needs. Many of these youth are living on their own and are in need of intensive assistance in addressing multiple barriers. They are often highly mobile and engaged in a variety of systems, such as the courts and foster care. Special attention is often needed to locate and interpret their transcripts which are usually from multiple schools, other states, and facilities.

Katie met with Kim and explained the educational system and continuum of options available in Denver. The educational intake process specific to CYC collects information about the last school the student attended, where it was located, how long the student had attended that school, and how long since the student was last enrolled in or attending school. Given Kim’s age and the fact that she had only achieved freshman level credits, Katie discerned that Kim would not be able to finish a traditional high school program. It was also important to consider that Kim was a single mother with a very young child. With this information, Katie assessed that Kim would need something accelerated and flexible.

Katie suggested that Kim enroll in the Youth Opportunity Academy, a competency based learning curriculum that utilizes the WorkKeys program, a national job skills assessment. She explained that Kim would be able to design her own schedule and could change it later if she needed. If she worked hard, she could have her diploma in about four months, even with freshman level credits. 

CYC was active in developing programs to fill gaps for students like Kim in the educational continuum in Denver. Since its inception, CYC has helped to develop six programs that operate according to accelerated time frames or to accommodate schedules of nontraditional youth who have children and/or jobs. Three of those are in Denver, and three are located in Aurora, Colorado. One program involves a collaboration with a community college to help youth acquire a GED and work toward an Associate’s Degree at the same time.

Essential to the success of youth experiencing homelessness is assessing basic needs and coordinating transition services. Urgency is also important due to the fact that many community resources (e.g., housing, mental health, job training) have waitlists. CYC works closely with community partners to know what resources are available and to locate the best fit for students. For example, Katie immediately started working on housing programs for Kim. Using her contacts in the community, Katie knew which programs had openings and would be able to accommodate Kim and her daughter. Because Kim had been in foster care, the surest way to obtain housing would be through the Family Unification Program (FUP). Another important need is acquiring all the necessary identification (e.g., birth certificates, social security cards), which fortunately Kim had for both herself and her daughter. She had already applied for Food Stamps and Medicaid on her own. Katie also explored child care options, in anticipation of future need.

As Katie reiterated, “Key to working with unaccompanied youth is to coordinate resources simultaneously with the school enrollment process. This way, everything is built around school and not the other way around, as is often the case.”

Kim started the Youth Opportunity Program within three days of that first meeting with Katie. During the time that she was not enrolled in school, DPS Homeless Liaisons provided access to food resources. “We are so grateful to be able to offer our weekend meal program. We know that when our students are in school, they are receiving breakfast and lunch. Yet it is those times when school is not in session and over weekends that we worry. This program helps address the food insecurity that students face when school is not in session,” said Anna Stout, South Area Homeless Liaison for the Educational Outreach Program of DPS.

When Kim was finally made to leave her boyfriend’s home, she had been in school for two months and was on track to graduate. Katie tried to take her to emergency housing, but Kim was insistent that she could stay with a friend for the time being. Katie provided ongoing case management to prepare for that next phone call. When Kim needed housing the next time, Katie had already arranged for a place at a homeless motel. Here Kim could wait for her FUP voucher to come through. In the meantime, Kim was connected to additional resources such as the Community Youth to Employment Project (CYTE Project), which has provided clothing and food assistance. AmeriCorps support staff has also helped her apply for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) as well as create a resume and cover letter. Bright Beginnings connected her with books for her daughter and parenting resources. The DPS Homeless Liaisons paid for her graduation cap and gown.

By spring, Kim is close to having her own apartment and will have earned her diploma. She will be walking in the Youth Opportunity Academy graduation ceremony at the end of May… just in time for her 20th birthday.