texas homeless education office rethinking homelessness their future depends on it! texas homeless...

TEXAS HOMELESSEDUCATION OFFICE

Rethinking Homelessness

Their Future Depends on it!

Texas Homeless Education Office | http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo 1


12th Annual Multidisciplinary Advocacy Training Conference

Edinburg, TexasOctober 3 , 20148:00 – 8:30 a.m.


Tim StahlkeTim StahlkeSenior Program CoordinatorSenior Program Coordinator

Phone: 512/ 475-9709Phone: 512/ 475-9709Fax: 512/ 471-6193Fax: 512/ 471-6193

[email protected]/theowww.utdanacenter.org/theo

Welcome

3Texas Homeless Education Office | http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo


How many individuals experience homelessness in TX?

Texas

estimate . . .

… on any given night.

79,000 +Texas Homeless Network, 2012



How many children and youth experience homelessness?

• The Urban Institute estimates that approximately 10% of all children experiencing poverty will experience homelessness in a year.

• Nationwide, 1,365,794 homeless students identified by public schools in SY 2012-2013.



How many children and youth experience homelessness in TX?

• According to the 2010 TEXAS census data –1,584,000 children lived below poverty level in TX –

• 10% would be 158,400

• Actual # between 160,000 and 180,000(some estimates as high as 320,000)



How many children and youth experience homelessness in TX?

Texas homeless

students served

by academic

year as reported

by the Texas

Education

Agency. . . .

53,2002007-2008

80,9402008-2009

7

76,0952009-2010

95,8682011-2012

2012-2013

85,1552010-2011

Over 101,607Texas Homeless Education Office | http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo


We have to adjust our schools to meet the situations in which

these children and youth are living.


Schools were not designed to serve homeless students!


McKinney-Vento Act

MAIN THEMES

– School access– School stability– Support for academic success– Child-centered, best interest decision making– Case-by-case determinations– Critical role of the homeless liaison



• Key to McKinney-Vento Act implementation:– Every school district must designate a liaison, in

charge of implementing the McKinney-Vento Act.

– Ensures identification, enrollment, transportation, services, dispute resolution, and awareness.

– Works in coordination with all the schools in the district, as well as the community.

McKinney-Vento Liaisons



McKinney-Vento Liaisons



Eligibility—Who is Coveredby the McKinney-Vento Act?

• Children who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including:– Sharing the housing of others due to loss of

housing, economic hardship, or similar reason• 80% of identified homeless children and youth in

Texas• Where would you go if you couldn’t stay here?• What led you to move in to this situation?



• Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping grounds due to lack of adequate alternative accommodations[Motels: 5.5% of identified homeless children and youth in Texas]

• Living in emergency or transitional shelters[11.5% of identified homeless children and youth in Texas]

• Living in a public or private place not designed for humans to live




• Living in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings [3% of identified homeless children and youth in Texas are “unsheltered”]

• Migratory/migrant children living in above circumstances

• Awaiting foster care placement– Relatively restrictive definition in Texas




Unaccompanied Immigrant (Alien) Chidlren (UIC)


22,00050,000


Dealing with the UIC Crisis

• Under Supreme Court decision Plyler v. Doe, undocumented students entering the US from Mexico, Central America, and other countries have the right to enroll in and attend public schools in the US, just as any citizen would.

• While children are in detention and temporary shelter, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has the legal obligation to meet their basic needs, including shelter, food, health care and education.




• UIC exist in a complex legal limbo that affects their housing status. From their initial apprehension to their transfer to temporary DHHS custody awaiting longer-term placement, they are essentially in federal custody. Generally, children in this status are not eligible for McKinney-Vento services, because they would not be considered “homeless.” They may be incarcerated or in a short-term placement under DHHS care (such as on a military base).




• Education services generally are provided on-site, include English language classes and other activities, and may be provided by a non-profit organization, contractor, or in partnership with the LEA.

• According to DHHS, children’s average stay in temporary placement is 35 days, until they are moved to a longer-term placement in the community. Once children are placed in the community, they are more likely to be eligible for McKinney-Vento services.




• Once children have been placed in longer-term accommodations, whether in a group home, shelter, foster family or with another individual, their education becomes the responsibility of the local school.



Dealing with the UIC CrisisSimplified Immigration/Custody Flowchart


Terminology

DHS: Department of Homeland Security, the federal agency that oversees immigration law and enforcement.

ICE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the subdivision of DHS that handles immigration investigations and enforcement and takes unaccompanied immigrant children into custody. Includes HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) and ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations).

DHHS: Department of Health and Human Services, the federal agency that takes custody of and provides services to unaccompanied immigrant children as they await adjudication.

ORR: Office of Refugee Resettlement, a subdivision of DHHS with the responsibility to provide for the custody, care and placement of unaccompanied immigrant children until their immigration case is completed.




NOTES2. The legal requirement is 72 hours. However, recent reports indicate many children are being held by DHS longer than 72 hours as DHHS searches for less restrictive placements.

3. Other sponsors include a parent (32% of children released to sponsors are placed with a parent); another adult relative, such as a sibling (9%), aunt/ uncle (19%) or grandparent; another adult, such as a family friend or acquaintance (27%); or a legal guardian.



• May 8, 2014, the Departments of Education and Justice issued a Dear Colleague Letter, fact sheet and frequently asked questions document, reminding states and school districts of these rights.

http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo/downloads/factsheets/USDE_colleague_ltr_undoc_May2014.pdf

http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo/downloads/factsheets/USDE_TEA_FAQ_uic_Aug2014.pdf

• The National Association for the Eduation of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) has released a fact sheet on UIChttp://www.utdanacenter.org/theo/downloads/factsheets/NAEHCY_uic-brief_Aug2014.pdf




• School districts are required to identify students who need language services and provide programs that meet their linguistic, cultural and academic needs, while not segregating them unnecessarily from English-speaking peers.




• Districts should apply the same procedures to determine the homeless status of UIC students as they do for other students in their district.

• Case-by-case determinations are essential; eligibility hinges upon the child’s living situation.

• Challenges of multiple definitions of homelessness that do not pertain to the education arena; i.e., HUD definition.





• While many of the entering students under the scenarios described in the UIC crisis may share similar circumstances and may be homeless, others of them may have custodial arrangements, family ties, and other considerations or circumstances that would not make them eligible for homeless status.

• Each student must be evaluated as to their homeless status on a case-by-case basis, just as districts/LEAS currently do with all the students enrolling in the district/LEA.




• UIC living situations tend to be extremely unstable. A child who may not be McKinney-Vento eligible upon arrival in the school district very well may become homeless shortly thereafter. (This is particularly true if the child is placed with an adult other than a parent.)




Consider:

1. Immigrant children placed with family members often have never met, or cannot remember, the adults with whom they are placed. Essentially, the adults are foster parents, but without financial or service coordination support and with the added challenges of managing the children’s legal proceedings, English language limitations, and the extent of integration.




2. Children placed with family friends or acquaintances (27% of unaccompanied immigrant children) commonly have no relationship whatsoever with that adult and are at a particularly high risk of Labor and sex trafficking. There have been multiple reports of children placed with supposed acquaintances only to be sold to sex or labor traffickers within days of placement. The children are afraid to inform authorities that they do not know these supposed acquaintances.

3. According to children’s advocates and McKinney-Vento liaisons, many unaccompanied immigrant children are forced out of their sponsor’s home or leave after experiencing abuse or exploitation.




4. Sponsors sign an agreement stating they will care for the child placed with them. However, there is little, if any, monitoring of compliance with this agreement.

5. Sponsor agreements do not grant any kind of legal guardianship, leaving the children with no one legally empowered to get them medical care, enroll them in school, or take other actions on their behalf that would require legal guardianship.

The result of these factors is a high rate of homelessness among unaccompanied immigrant

children over time.




• Since no official determinations have been made about how to process and treat UIC students, then we must operate under the existing law and procedures for the time being.

• There are many agencies and departments at the state and federal levels that are working on the details as to how these students should be identified and served and are working on the issues regarding custody, guardianship, etc. We must await direction from these authorities to be able to make any other determinations regarding these students beyond the measures that are currently in place.


How McKinney-Vento Comes into Play with Children in Foster Care

• When McKinney-Vento applies to children involved with CPS

• When a McKinney-Vento-type provision exists for children in foster care – Fostering Connections & some state laws

• When McKinney-Vento does not apply and no similar provision exists for children in foster care



When McKinney-Vento Applies

When child is “awaiting foster care placement” –federal MV language

Children in CPS custody in certain particularly unstable placements are considered McKinney eligible, i.e., ran away from foster placement, in a shelter or transitional living program

Children in care under a “safety plan” will likely qualify

Children with a 2085FC will likely NOT qualify



• “Awaiting” foster care• In a shelter• Ran away from foster care and living in a

homeless situation – NOT in another foster home

• Aged out and is living in a homeless situation• Other - living in a homeless situation

When McKinney-Vento Applies



When M-V does not Apply

• When child is in foster care they are not

“awaiting foster care placement” and therefore are not McKinney eligible

• Texas discerns between formal and informal out of home care



Substitute and Foster Care

36

Substitute Care = Care of childrenoutside immediate family

– Formal processes - not homeless(foster home, group home, residential treatment centers, kinship care, adoption, legal guardianship)

– Informal processes - homeless(relative care, non-relative care, shelter care, transitional living, unaccompanied youth who meet M-V guidelines)

Texas Homeless Education Office | http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo


• Does CPS have custody/ward of state?• Is the home licensed or certified?• Is it a kinship or foster home?• Has there been a home study?• Is the family receiving financial support from CPS?

If the answer is no = informal & MV eligibleIf the answer is yes = formal & not MV eligible

Substitute and Foster Care



Awaiting Foster Care: MV Eligible?Awaiting Foster Care: MV Eligible?The JonesThe Jones’’ family is a kinship home for family is a kinship home for their grandchildren who were removed their grandchildren who were removed from their motherfrom their mother’’s care when CPS s care when CPS substantiated allegations of abuse. CPS substantiated allegations of abuse. CPS has custody of the children, and provides has custody of the children, and provides services and financial support to the services and financial support to the Jones family. Are the children considered Jones family. Are the children considered ““awaitingawaiting”” foster care? NO. Are they MV foster care? NO. Are they MV eligible? No. How do you know? What eligible? No. How do you know? What questions should you ask?questions should you ask?

Handout



The updated foster care liaison database with contact information is available at:

www.tea.state.tx.us/FosterCareStudentSuccess/liaisons

Foster Care Liaison Database



• Some instances are clear; others require judgment call

• Use “fixed, regular, and adequate” as your standard

• Follow a process Get the facts Analyze the facts• Is the living situation listed in the MV definition?• Is the living situation another kind of situation that is

not fixed, regular, and adequate?

Determining Eligibility



• Doubled-up situations: “Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason”– Why did the family move in together?– How permanent is the arrangement meant to be?– Is it fixed, regular, and adequate?

• “Awaiting foster care placement”– Collaborate with your local child welfare

community– Consider whether the placement is temporary /

emergency or intended to be permanent




• “Substandard housing”– Communities vary; evaluate housing according to local

standards/norms, e.g., building codes, definition of substandard, etc.

– Sample considerations:• Health and safety concerns• Number of occupants per square foot• Age of occupants• State and local building codes

– Collaborate with local housing agencies to establish guidelines that incorporate state and local legal requirements and community standards.




The McKinney-VentoAct requires public

notice of educational rights of children and youth

experiencing homelessness disseminated in

every school districtat every campus --

and wherever servicesare accessed.

Required Posting and Notification



When is a person no longer considered “homeless”?

When they become “Permanently Housed.”

Developing a working definition for district procedures

Recommended time-frames to consider

Challenges of ‘doubled up” families



45

Length of eligibility for MV

• Once identified, students are eligible for services for the duration of the school year, even if they become permanently housed (includes foster care children if identified as homeless prior to the end of the school year)

OR

• For the duration of homelessness



46

Length of eligibility for MV

• Currently identified students should not “roll” to next year’s identification list without proper verification



• Homeless students may attend one of two schools:– School of Origin: School the child/youth attended when

permanently housed or school in which child/youth last enrolled

– Local Attendance Area School: Any public school that nonhomeless students living in the attendance area in which the child/youth is actually living are eligible to attend

• Best Interest: In determining the best interest, the local educational agency shall to the extent feasible, keep a homeless child or youth in the school of origin, except when doing so is contrary to the wishes of the child’s or youth’s parent or guardian.

School Selection



• Texas law allows homeless students to enroll in the DISTRICT of their choice if they meet the definition of homeless –- not dependent on residency of student, guardian(s), or parent(s)- districts are not obligated to transportation

School Selection



• Homeless children have the right to enroll immediately, even if they do not have required documents

• If a student does not have immunizationsor immunization or medical records, the liaison must assist with obtaining them and the student must be enrolled in the interim

• Enrolling schools obtain school records from the previous school

School Enrollment



• USDA policy allows homelessstudents immediate access to freemeals upon identification by liaisonsor shelter providers (categorical eligibility)

• In doubled-up situations, host families may count guest family on application

• Foster care children are eligible, as well

• Covering/reimbursing costs incurred during eligiblity determination

Child Nutrition Programs



• All homeless students have 30 days provisional enrollment to supply immunization records or begin the required course of immunizations

• Liaison must be notified when immunizations are lacking and must help student obtain them

• Provisional enrollment applies regardless if the student is enrolling in school for the first time or is entering the district from out-of-state, or is entering the school from out of the country.

Immunizations



• Provisional enrollment applies regardless of any immunization “delinquencies” that might exist, or that would keep non-homeless students from enrolling and attending school

• 30 day provisional enrollment is counted from the time of enrollment in the current district

Immunizations



• Admit child or youth immediately pending resolution of dispute

• School must provide parent/guardian or youth with written explanation of decision including statement of rights

• Referral to liaison for dispute resolution

• Liaison ensures unaccompanied youth is immediately enrolled

Resolution of Disputes



Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

• MV defines UY as a youth “not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian”

• Living arrangement must meet the Act’s definition of homeless to qualify for McKinney-Vento services

• No lower age limit; upper age limit (as with all McKinney-Vento eligible students) is the state’s upper age limit for public education (Texas‘ age limit = 26)

• Can be eligible regardless of whether he/she was asked to leave the home or chose to leave; remember that sometimes there is “more than meets the eye” in a youth’s home life situation.



Independent Status forUnaccompanied Youth

• College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2008 (CCRAA)– Grants independent student status to unaccompanied

homeless youth and self-supporting youth at risk of homelessness.

– These youth can apply for aid without parental signature or consideration of parental income.

– Status must be verified by Local liaison, RHYA-funded shelter director or designee, HUD-funded shelter director or designee, OR College Financial Aid Administrator (FAA)



Challenges / Solutions -- Homelessness

Nothing will work if YOU don’t work!Texas Homeless Education Office | http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo 56

texas homeless education office rethinking homelessness their future depends on it! texas homeless...

Documents

texas homeless students

texas homeless network

texas education agency

homeless liaison

texas estimate

texas census data

youth experience homelessness

school district