The Beam Monthly News Articles:

July 2010

The Evolution of a Homeless Education Program

Beth McCullough, a well-seasoned homeless liaison from Adrian Public Schools in Michigan, discusses the development of programs geared to serving the needs of unaccompanied youth in Adrian. These programs provide local solutions where none previously existed, keeping youth housed within the familiar settings of their communities. Local financial support has allowed community members to ensure that youth have the resources to be successful in their academic pursuits – and graduate from high school. These programs provide short term support for youth and long term solutions for communities.

“The superintendent in Adrian who hired me in 2001 said in my interview, ‘I don’t know if we have any homeless kids here, but the feds say we have to hire someone to go look for them.’ Her interpretation of the mandates in the reauthorization of McKinney-Vento resonated with me because she was willing to hire a full time social worker to go find students who needed the district’s help. What she knew was that she didn’t know about homelessness.”

Read the full article and find links to additional resources.

US Department of Education Issues New Guidance on Financial Aid for Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

The US Department of Education’s “Application and Verification Guide” (AVG) provides instructions and guidance to financial aid administrators and counselors who help students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The 2010-2011 edition of the AVG was published on Monday, June 21st. It contains important new information regarding unaccompanied homeless youth.

A summary of the unaccompanied homeless youth provisions is available on NAEHCY’s page dedicated to technical assistance on higher education.

The entire guide may be downloaded from the US Department of Education.

US Department of Education Issues New Guidance on Accessing Student Records Under FERPA

This month, the US Department of Education (ED) released "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Disclosure of Student Information Related to Emergencies and Disasters." This guidance document contains information that can assist unaccompanied youth and their caregivers in accessing student educational records.

Question 3 clarifies that caregivers can access educational records, even if they are not legal guardians and are not related to the student: "If a student is living in the care of an individual on a day-to-day basis who is not his or her natural parent or guardian, such as a grandmother, another relative, or a family friend, that individual may be considered a “parent” under FERPA. As such, he or she may have access to the student’s education records and may provide consent for disclosures of information from the student’s education records."

Questions 5 and 6 explain that schools can give unaccompanied youth full access to their own records, even when the youth are under age 18. (Once they turn 18, students have the right to access their records.) The document explains that "FERPA permits an elementary and secondary school to provide students, who are not eligible students (i.e. under 18), rights in addition to those given to their parents, as long as it does not supersede the rights of parents under FERPA. For example, a school may permit a minor student to inspect and review his or her education records...." It also clarifies that while "FERPA does not specifically afford minors who are separated from their parents the rights that are afforded to parents...", "schools may use their judgment in determining whether an unaccompanied minor is responsible enough to exercise certain privileges, such as inspecting and reviewing education records and providing consent for disclosure."

While the document lacks detail regarding who makes these decisions and what to do if schools refuse access, it is a positive step toward greater independence for unaccompanied youth and should be a strong advocacy tool. This guidance is the result of NAEHCY's advocacy and participation in the National Commission on Children and Disasters' Subcommittee on Education, Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice.

The guidance is available at the US Department of Education.

US Department of Education Federal CSPR Data Collection Report for SY 2008-09

On June 30, 2010, the US Department of Education released the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program Data Collection Summary From the SY 2008-09 Federally Required State Data Collection for the McKinney-Vento Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001 and Comparison of the SY 2006-07, SY 2007-08, and SY 2008-09 Data Collections. 

This report provides a detailed summary of the data collected by the Education of Homeless Children Program for Section 1.9. of the SY 2008-09 Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR) and a longitudinal view of the Section 1.9 CSPR data over the last three school years.  Significant increases were evidenced in the data reported for all Section 1.9 questions.  Over 956,000 homeless students were reported enrolled in LEAs with and without subgrants, a 20 percent increase from SY 2007-08 and a 41 percent increase over the three-year period. Twenty-five states had 20% or more increase in total enrolled between SY 2007-08 and SY 2008-09. 

Read the full article and find a link to the report.

Preconference Sessions Provide Special Emphasis on Complicated Topics

On Saturday, November 6, 2010, the Annual NAEHCY preconference schedule offers clinical training for educators and support providers in addition to novel as well as established topics. Standard sessions on implementing the McKinney-Vento Act, connecting young homeless families to early childhood resources, serving unaccompanied youth in and out of school, and working with children and youth in foster care have been invigorated with new presenters and agenda. New sessions include working with the media and developing financial resources for homeless education programs. Two all day sessions address training needs of educators, social workers, administrators, mental health providers, and other support personnel. Elliott Connie will present a session on the Solution-Focused School, engaging educators and administrators in an orientation toward solutions – and results – rather than focusing on problems. Rich Allen will discuss Green Light Classrooms that provide high impact learning environments for today’s over-stimulated children and youth.

Solution-focused therapy asks “what would be different if this problem did not exist?” an approach that moves clients, therapists, educators, and families beyond the language and context of problems. Elliott Connie’s session will provide a framework for the school, or other agency, to adopt solution-based principles and to keep a focus on positive change.

Dr. Rich Allen applies the latest theories in accelerated learning, educational psychology and brain-based teaching to help educators, leaders, and administrators teach, communicate, motivate, and facilitate more effectively. People who teach or work with children and youth in a wide variety of settings will benefit from these practical solutions to lift academic results, improve classroom discipline, and foster creativity. They are particularly effective for students who are increasingly influenced by their contact with the online world and who often disengage in a traditional classroom environment.

Many liaisons have developed community-based funding streams to support project goals and to provide unrestricted funds to serve the emergent and unique needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness. Karen Fessler, Director of Project Connect in Cincinnati, Ohio; Beth McCullough, Homeless Education Coordinator in Adrian Public Schools, Michigan; and Staci Pratt, Homeless Liaison in Kansas City Public Schools, Missouri, will present replicable programs and strategies for developing local resources into solutions for children, youth, and families in homeless situations.

The lineup is rounded out by mainstay sessions led by seasoned presenters and national experts. Barbara Duffield, NAEHCY’s Policy Director, and Patricia Julianelle, NAEHCY’s Counsel, will present an in depth session for newcomers to McKinney-Vento, Educating Children and Youth in Homeless Situations. An interactive workshop on Effective Teachers led by Patricia Popp with researchers from The College of William and Mary will provide practical, take-with-you ideas and actions that teachers and their administrators can use to make a difference in the lives of the students they serve. Also on the agenda are sessions that will provide intensive treatment of strategies for serving special populations: preschool and early childhood education, unaccompanied homeless youth, and children and youth in foster care.

Read more about the preconference sessions and other conference details.

 

June 2010

Tip Sheet for Participating in Ten-Year Plans to End Homelessness and Continuums of Care

NAEHCY asked the experts to come up with a list of tips that will help liaisons collaborate effectively with other community stakeholders in devising and revising Ten-Year Plans to End Homelessness. These tips are also useful in participating with other homeless service committees, such as continuums of care.

See the tips and download a copy of the Tip Sheet.

Share Your Day-In-The-Life Stories

Quickly: define what you do in 10 words or less! How about 30 words? Hard to do, right? You enroll homeless children and youth, you educate your colleagues, you locate and pool resources, make connections and create opportunities in your community. NAEHCY would like to expand our public awareness efforts to include what a typical day is like as a homeless education liaison or allied advocate working with homeless children, youth, and families in public schools.

Read more about submitting pieces to this collection, and read Day-in-the-Life examples that have been written and published in past issues of The BEAM.

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.

Thankfully, Kim was connected with Colorado Youth for a Change, where she learned about educational options best suited to her academic needs and was connected with community resources that could help her and her daughter thrive.

Read the full article here...

 

NAEHCY Partners with Virgin Mobile to Bring Awareness to Homeless Education Programs

This year, Virgin Mobile partners with the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) to support homeless youth – with a special emphasis on unaccompanied homeless youth – as they complete their high school education. This partnership will raise awareness about the challenges homeless youth face in succeeding in school. It will also provide direct benefit to homeless students by collecting in-kind donations to assist them in achieving academic and social success.

For the past four years, Virgin Mobile USA – with the help of Virgin Unite, the charitable arm of the Virgin Group, has engaged in efforts to raise awareness about youth homelessness. Since that time, Virgin has launched a number of innovative programs to encourage and enable customers and mobile users at large to take an active role and be involved in making change in their communities – through donating, volunteering, and even text messaging and downloading.

Read the full article here...

 

Rounding Up Solutions: Educating ALL Our Children and Youth, will be held in Houston, Texas, November 6-9, 2010 at the Houston Intercontinental in the Galleria District.

EXHIBIT YOUR PROGRAM OR PROJECT!
Attendees at NAEHCY's 22^nd Annual Conference are interested in and would benefit from exhibits about services and programming geared to support the academic success of students in poverty and those who are affected by unstable housing and high mobility. Resources to support data collection and case management are also of interest. Organizations with similar missions whose work might enhance services to families, children, and youth experiencing homelessness are encouraged to exhibit. The exhibitor section of the conference will be open November 7-9, 2010, and will be located in a high traffic area.

Register as an exhibitor early before space fills up! All conference information can be found on the conference web site.

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