Latest news with #McKinney-VentoAct
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nonprofit helps unsheltered kids achieve their dreams
The Arizona Consolidated State Performance Report for the 2021-22 school year – the most recent available – identified over 6,000 homeless students enrolled in grades nine through 12, though other reports have indicated that homelessness has grown in Maricopa County since then. Homeless Youth Connection (HYC) aims to keep homeless high school children from falling through the cracks. HYC's mission is to 'eliminate barriers to graduation for youth experiencing homelessness and create lasting solutions for a successful future through community support and increased awareness.' It offers a comprehensive services program to high school students ages 13-21 who are experiencing homelessness in Maricopa and Coconino counties. Recently, Higley Unified School District Governing Board approved a memorandum of understanding with the nonprofit. HYC also partners with 12 other school districts and two charter school districts, serving around 700 youths per year. In the East Valley, HYC also works with Mesa Public Schools, Tempe Union High School District and Scottsdale Unified. Co-CEO Dana Bailey said there are a number of common ways and reasons youth might experience housing insecurity or homelessness. Families may be living in a short-stay motel, with family members, or in a shelter. Bailey said oftentimes those families' homelessness experiences can result from a loss of income or financial insecurity due to unemployment, medical issues, vehicle issues, or a family death. She said 70% of the youth HYC serves are part of an entire family experiencing homelessness while 30% are unaccompanied, experiencing homelessness without a parent or guardian. Unaccompanied youth often experience homelessness because they have been kicked out of, or driven away, from their home. 'Even though an entire family may be experiencing homelessness, they've got each other,' Bailey said. 'They can encourage each other and they've got somebody they're in the trenches with. These youth who are on their own, they really are feeling very isolated, alone, guarded, and protective of their space.' Students who meet the criteria outlined in the federal McKinney-Vento Act are referred by school staff to HYC. If their household is experiencing homelessness, HYC reaches out to their parents or guardians for consent to provide services. Schools will help provide consent for unaccompanied youth. Once a student is referred, a youth coach from HYC meets with him or her to review available resources and support. The memorandum of understanding that HYC holds with Higley and the 14 other districts it serves allows the nonprofit's staff to provide services directly on campus, making access seamless for students. The McKinney-Vento Act defines homelessness as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. The definition includes situations such as sharing housing of others due to loss of housing or economic hardship; living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations; staying in emergency or transitional shelters; and sleeping in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, or other places not meant for regular habitation. Through HYC, each student receives case management and has access to basic needs like hygiene products, school supplies and clothes. Instead of handing out old donations of clothing, students are provided with gift cards, allowing them to select new shoes or outfits themselves, which boosts their confidence and teaches them how to budget at the same time. The Homeless Youth Connection teaches homeless high school students without families basic life skills like cooking. For youth who need more, the nonprofit can help with medical care, counseling, and even housing. Coaches help connect the students to essential services like AHCCCS health coverage, tutoring, and assist with completing paperwork for scholarships, FAFSA, and other opportunities, ensuring students have the resources they need to stay on track. 'They're recognizing that their life experiences are giving them dreams, but HYC is really helping them to be able to fulfill those,' Bailey said. 'To stabilize so they can finish high school, be able to have the resources, and be able to put the plan in place to be able to work toward fulfilling those dreams.' Bailey said after the pandemic, HYC continued to see a greater need for more comprehensive services – especially as more young people reached out for counseling services on account of heightened stress and anxiety. Meeting that growing need for wraparound support also means creating stable living environments where youth can safely learn these skills and focus on schools. In January, an Arizona Department of Housing grant enabled HYC to secure a permanent home for a transitional housing program. The building houses 20 youth who live and learn in the home as any adolescent would. Bailey said a large disadvantage unaccompanied youth face is missing out on life skills that are commonly taught by families, such as money management, hygiene, and cooking. 'You can't really be successful if you're worrying about a place to lay your head, support, case management, removing barriers, or just getting the information you need to progress,' said Michael Lasitte, director of homeless youth services at Native American Connections. In addition to the transitional living home, HYC runs a host family program. Carefully screened families open their homes to youth, offering stability and care so teens can focus on school instead of survival. Many host families build lasting connections with the students they help, often continuing to cheer them on and support them well into adulthood. In one case, a host family's bond grew so strong that they ultimately adopted the student. By providing housing options and other forms of ongoing support, HYC helps break the cycle of homelessness and gives youth the tools to succeed up to and long after they graduate. This May alone, 150 HYC students graduated with aspirations to become academics, service members, tradespeople, lawyers, social workers, educators, and more. One HYC youth planning to go to Grand Canyon University captured this ambition best in a grant application: 'My story is no longer about what I can't do. It's about everything I will do.' Helping youth graduate and plan their future has ripple effects far beyond individual success. According to the 2018 Arizona Mayors Education Roundtable report on the economic effects of high school non-completion and disconnected youth, each non-completer represents a nearly $500,000 lifetime loss for Arizona. 'We're really working on providing that safe, stable environment for youth to come in, remove barriers, and learn independent living skills so that they can continue their education,' Lasitte said. Bailey encourages local businesses, volunteer groups, and individuals to reach out to HYC's community engagement manager to find a volunteer opportunity that fits what they're looking for. Previously, they've even brought volunteer events to the participating businesses. Youth groups like school clubs have also contributed to HYC in the past and are welcomed to volunteer. HYC also accepts donations. Bailey said gift cards are a large need with the back-to-school season approaching, but the nonprofit also is looking forward to the holiday season as it tries give the youth some kind of small celebration for Thanksgiving and Christmas. 'Our kids at HYC aren't that different from the teens that we've raised,' Bailey said. 'They have hopes, they have dreams, they want to do differently than the situation they're currently in. They just need somebody to believe in them' 'We have outstanding outcomes and we have very grateful young people who are appreciative of the support that they've received in our program and they are so proud of themselves.' Information:
Associated Press
02-07-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Homeless student counts in California are up. Some say that's a good thing
In Kern County, the first rule in counting homeless students is not saying 'homeless.' Instead, school staff use phrases like 'struggling with stable housing' or 'families in transition.' The approach seems to have worked: More families are sharing their housing status with their children's schools, which means more students are getting services. 'There's a lot of stigma attached to the word 'homeless,'' said Curt Williams, director of homeless and foster youth services for the Kern County Office of Education. 'When you remove that word, it all changes.' Largely as a result of better identification methods, Kern County saw its homeless student population jump 10% last year, to 7,200. Those students received transportation to and from school, free school supplies, tutoring and other services intended to help them stay in school. For the purposes of this data, the definition of homelessness is broader than the state's point in time count. The trend is reflected statewide. In the latest state enrollment data released last month, California had 230,443 homeless students — a 9.3% increase from the previous year. Some of the increase is due to the state's ongoing housing shortage, but most of the increase is because of better identification, advocates and school officials said. Homeless students face numerous obstacles in school. They have higher rates of discipline and absenteeism, and fare worse academically. Last year, only 16% of homeless students met the state's math standard, some of the lowest scores of any student group. 'Schools can't solve homelessness, but they can ensure the students are safe in the classroom and getting the education they need to get out of homelessness,' said Barbara Duffield, executive director of Schoolhouse Connection, a national homeless youth advocacy group. 'That starts with identifying the child who's homeless.' Challenges of counting homeless students Under the federal McKinney-Vento Act, schools are required to count their homeless students throughout the school year and ensure they receive services. Homeless students also have the right to stay enrolled in their original school even if they move. For many years, schools struggled to identify homeless students. Under state law, schools must distribute forms at the beginning of the school year asking families where they live — in their own homes, in motels, doubled-up with other families, in shelters, cars or outdoors. Some schools were less-than-diligent about collecting the form, or reassuring families understood the importance. Often, homeless families were reluctant to submit the form because they were afraid the school might contact a child welfare agency. Immigrant families sometimes feared the school might notify immigration authorities. And some families didn't realize that sharing quarters with another family — by far the most common living situation among homeless families – is technically defined as homeless, at least under McKinney-Vento. A 2021 bill by former Assemblymember Luz Rivas, a Democrat from Arleta in the San Fernando Valley, sought to fix that problem. The bill requires schools to train everyone who works with students — from bus drivers to cafeteria workers to teachers — on how to recognize potential signs of homelessness. That could include families who move frequently or don't reply to school correspondence. The bill seems to have helped. Last year, the state identified 21,000 more homeless students than it had the previous year, even as overall enrollment dropped. Still, that's probably an undercount, researchers said. The actual homeless student population is probably between 5% and10% of those students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, according to the National Center for Homeless Education. In California, that would be a shortfall of up to 138,713 students. Influx of funding Another boost for identifying homeless students came from the American Rescue Plan, the federal COVID-19 relief package. The plan included $800 million for schools to hire counselors or train existing staff to help homeless students. Nearly all schools in California received some money. About 120 districts in California won grant money through the McKinney-Vento Act, which last year dispersed about $15.9 million in California to pay for things like rides to school, backpacks, staff and other services. Districts are chosen on a competitive basis; not all districts that apply receive funds. But those funding sources are drying up. Most of the pandemic relief money has already been spent, and President Donald Trump's recently approved budget does not include McKinney-Vento funding for 2026-27. The cuts come at a time when advocates expect steep increases in the number of homeless families over the next few years, due in part to national policy changes. Republican budget proposals include cuts to Medicaid, food assistance and other programs aimed at helping low-income families, while the immigration crackdown has left thousands of families afraid to seek assistance. For families living on tight budgets, those cuts could lead to a loss of housing. And in California, the shortage of affordable housing continues to be a hurdle for low-income families. Even Kern County, which has traditionally been a less pricey option for families, has seen a spike in housing costs as more residents move there from Los Angeles. Joseph Bishop, an education professor at UCLA and co-author of a recent report on homeless students nationwide, said the loss of government funding will be devastating for homeless students. 'California is the epicenter of the homeless student crisis, and we need targeted, dedicated support,' Bishop said. 'Folks should be extremely alarmed right now. Will these kids be getting the education they need and deserve?' Better food, cleaner bathrooms In Kern County, identification has only been one part of the effort to help homeless students thrive in school. Schools also try to pair them with tutors and mentors, give them school supplies and laundry tokens, and invite them to join a program called Student Voice Ambassadors. There, students can tour local colleges, learn leadership skills and explore career options. As part of the program, staff ask students what would make school more enticing — and then make sure the suggestions happen. At one school, students said they'd go to class if the bathrooms were cleaner. So staff improved the bathrooms. At another school, students wanted better food. They got it. Williams credits the program with reducing absenteeism among homeless students. Two years ago, 45% of Kern County's homeless students were chronically absent. Last year, the number dropped to 39% – still too high, he said, but a significant improvement. 'Without McKinney-Vento funds, the Student Voice Ambassador program would go away,' Williams said. 'How will we keep it going? I don't know.' ___ This story was originally published by CalMatters and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ohio High Schooler Was Actually 24-Year-Old Man Who Overstayed Visa: Police
A 24-year-old Venezuelan man is accused of fraudulently enrolling himself in an Ohio high school as a 16-year-old, which allowed him to stay in the U.S. undetected for over a year until a woman came forward last week, contending that he is the father of her child. Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra was arrested near Toledo on forgery charges Monday and also faces a detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement after allegedly overstaying a work visa that expired in 2023, local and federal authorities said. According to police records, Labrador Sierra enrolled himself in Perrysburg High School in late 2023 using a fake birth certificate that listed him as born in Venezuela as Anthony Labrador on Dec. 2, 2007. He allegedly told school officials that he was unhoused and trafficked into the U.S. Under the federal McKinney-Vento Act, passed in 1987, public schools are required to enroll unaccompanied minors without standard enrollment paperwork. He was taken in by a local couple, known for adopting and housing exchange students, who helped him legally obtain an Ohio driver's license and a Social Security card, according to a Perrysburg Police Division incident report obtained by HuffPost. Over the next 16 months, Labrador Sierra attended classes and participated in extracurricular activities, including junior varsity soccer and swimming. He also obtained Temporary Protective Status through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services using a fraudulent birth certificate, Perrysburg Schools said in a statement. 'Our school district—along with state and federal agencies—were misled by an intentional act of fraud,' the school system said. It wasn't until last week, May 14, that a 22-year-old Toledo woman came forward, identifying Labrador Sierra to his local guardians as a 24-year-old man and the father of her child, police said. The woman allegedly shared a photo of an Ohio driver's license and Social Security card showing Labrador Sierra's full name and a birthday of March 27, 2001. She also shared photos from Facebook showing her with him and a small child. Labrador Sierra's guardians immediately alerted his school about the fraud allegations, and the next day, school officials said they confronted him about it. He denied the allegations but was still directed to stay off school property until a district review, the school system said. Later, police said the school system provided authorities with pictures of several Facebook posts by a woman who identified herself as Labrador Sierra's mother. The woman on March 27 posted a photo of him wearing a Perrysburg soccer uniform and wished him a happy birthday. Further investigation found that a vehicle Labrador Sierra owned was registered to Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra under his old Ohio driver's license. Border Patrol accused that same individual of overstaying his work visa in 2023, the same year that he enrolled in the local high school, police said. He was taken into custody during a traffic stop on Monday. Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, celebrated Labrador Sierra's arrest and detainer in a statement, claiming he is 'no longer able to prey on the students of Perrysburg High School.' A police spokesperson told HuffPost on Thursday that the incident remains under investigation. It was not immediately clear whether Labrador Sierra had an attorney. Kid Rock Distances Himself From Nashville Restaurant After It Reportedly Dodged ICE Raid Democratic Rep. McIver Charged With Assault After Skirmish At ICE Center, New Jersey Prosecutor Says Trump Plans To Yank Officers From Ports And Borders To Help Juice Deportation Numbers Stop Comparing ICE To The Gestapo, Homeland Security Says
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The number of homeless students rising fast in Thurston County's urban districts
The number of homeless students attending North Thurston Public Schools, the largest school district in Thurston County, has risen to more than 1,000, nearly twice as many as the district reported in 2021. The increase can be partly attributed to the district doing a better job of identifying students who qualify for services under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, but there's also a too-familiar culprit: the cost of housing and the lack of affordable housing in the area. Amanda Yonker, who works with homeless students as a River Ridge High School student navigator, delivered those sobering comments at a recent joint meeting of the NTPS school board and Lacey City Council. 'There's a lack of affordable housing, and there is a continuous rise in rental prices,' Yonker told those gathered at River Ridge High School last Tuesday. 'So time and time again, we're seeing families, two-income families, that cannot afford the rent because it continues to go up.' Some of those families are still feeling the effects of the pandemic, a time when some families lost their housing, which forced them to double up with others, she said. As a result, their credit took a hit and now some people won't rent to them. Thurston County is an expensive place to live. The median price of a single-family home was $540,000 in April, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data, and average rents in the county last year were $1,592, Thurston Regional Planning Council data show. Yonker told those at the meeting that the district has 1,024 homeless students, up from 556 in 2021. Of that larger total, more than 800 students have doubled up to live with someone else, while close to 200 are considered unaccompanied. Although the numbers have increased since 2021, the year-over-year period has been stable, she said. However, the number of homeless high school students has climbed from 136 in 2023 to 351 this year. 'We define homelessness as those who are without fixed, adequate or regular nighttime residency,' Yonker said. That is the definition under the federal McKinney-Vento Act. 'This can look like students who are living in tents, or in their cars, or on the street,' she said. 'It can also look like being in an RV, or couch surfing, or living with your family, but perhaps your family is living with another family, and their name is not on the lease. You can also be living with your grandparents or another family member who's raising you, but they are not your legal guardian.' Olympia and Tumwater school districts also have seen dramatic increases in their student homeless population since 2021, according to data shared with The Olympian. Since the 2021-22 school year, the Olympia School District has seen an increase of 85 students experiencing homelessness, with 285 identified for the 2024-25 school year, spokesman Conor Schober said. 'Stigma around being unhoused continues to make self-identification a challenge for many families,' he said. Housing — the cost or availability of it — is among the contributing factors to higher homelessness in Olympia schools, he said. 'There has been a noticeable rise in families relying on motels or hotels when financially possible, as well as a sharp increase in evictions due to unaffordable rent, unpaid balances or occupancy violations,' Schober said. Tumwater, too, has seen a rise in its homeless student population, increasing from 159 in the 2021-22 school year to 225 this school year. 'We have found that lack of affordable housing is a significant factor,' spokeswoman Laurie Wiedenmeyer said. 'We have families with HUD vouchers to help with rent, yet some have had them for two years and are still waiting for housing.' Yonker's comments at Tuesday's meeting prompted Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder to seek an update about a low-income, city-initiated housing project that has been proposed across from Komachin Middle School at College Street and Mullen Road. 'We reached a purchase and sale agreement with the LOTT Clean Water Alliance (the owners of the property), and we're almost complete with the due diligence period,' said Lacey City Manager Rick Walk. Walk said the authorization for the purchase and sale agreement is expected to come before the council in June. 'We've been talking with the Thurston County Housing Authority about doing a multi-generational, low-income type of project there that would serve both low-income seniors as well as low-income families, targeting school-age families,' he said. Once authorized by the council, the next step would be to formulate a memorandum of understanding with whatever partner wants to step up and move that project forward, Walk said. The proposal has called for cottage-style housing that would be developed over two phases, totaling 60-80 units, he said. Despite the challenges of being homeless, a range of services are available to those students, Yonker said. For example, North Thurston has the Family Youth Resource Center, which is near North Thurston High School. It's a place where students can get clothes and hygiene products, touch base with community partners about benefits and health insurance, or take advantage of coordinated entry services to find housing, Yonker said. Tumwater, too, has a similar arrangement. 'We are grateful for our Community Schools Managers that are housed in our schools,' Wiedenmeyer said. 'Each of the CS Managers has a dedicated work area in their assigned school that is stocked with food, hygiene supplies, and more, and students know they are able to stop by any time if they are hungry or need assistance with essential resources.' Yonker said these students do move on and succeed. 'These kids are going to school,' she said. 'They're going to college. They're doing amazing things, which is fantastic because we know that the chance of homelessness rises 4.5% if kids leave high school without a high school diploma or a GED.' Site near Komachin Middle School could get affordable housing. Here's how it would work
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Regional education office, schools partner to pinpoint, provide for Sauk Valley area's homeless students
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways May 7—STERLING — A federal program is working behind the scenes to ensure students experiencing homelessness, including those in the Sauk Valley, do not fall between the cracks. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Program is an initiative designed to support children and youths experiencing homelessness to gain equal access to a free, public education. Students are identified through registration, staff and community outreach; services include academic support, transportation, and necessities such as toiletries and clothing. Deb Sweeney is the Area 2 lead liaison for the program at the Regional Office of Education No. 47 in Sterling, which serves students across Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties. She said every school is required to ask specific questions during student registration that are designed to help identify students experiencing homelessness or forms of housing instability, such as "couch surfing." "That's why there's training needed for all the district staff, because it may be the bus driver that is seeing something when they're dropping kids off, the nurses need to know the doctor, all of the teaching staff, everybody," Sweeney said. "And some of it's just eyeballs, something's different, and then someone paying attention to that. Other times, it can be the community reaching out to the school." The McKinney-Vento Act requires school districts to post information about the educational rights of homeless children and youths on their websites, registration forms and common areas such as laundromats, public libraries, homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Sweeney said school districts' homeless liaisons undergo yearly training. She also regularly shares updated information and specialized training opportunities with other liaisons and ROEs across the region that can be shared with school staff, such as nurses and social workers. The program is funded through a state grant that helps provide students with items from laptops and school supplies to shoes and incidentals. "People so often just think of the paper, pencil part, and that's usually the easy part to say to a local church, 'Hey, could you get us five book bags,'" Sweeney said. "But that's just the basics. They need to have laundry soap so their clothes could be clean. They need transportation help, oftentimes, to get from where they're living to where they want to go to school. So, it's much bigger than paper, pencils." The program also aims to assist a special segment of the student homeless population — "unaccompanied youths." "These are kids that are not living with a parent or a legal guardian, and some are living with good, stable adults," Sweeney said. "Most are having a tendency to be couch surfing. So, two weeks here, one week there. The best we can do for those kids is to help them feel that there's someone safe at the school that they can talk to. Other counseling support may be needed, helping them with getting applied for a medical card for themselves, food stamps, or if they're going to be in college, the FAFSA." Kris Smith, the McKinney-Vento liaison for Rock Falls Township High School, reported the school currently has 20 identified McKinney-Vento-eligible students, most of whom are an unaccompanied youth. Assistant Superintendent of Dixon Public Schools Doug Stansford said DPS currently has 36 students who are classified as homeless. "The district has been using a grant to purchase needed items for students," Stansford said. "This may include gift cards for meals, gas, clothing, etc. The district has also used grant funds to cover short-term temporary hotel stays for families waiting to get housing." Sweeney said parents have the final say in decisions affecting their child's education in the program. "Our goal as the educating society side of it is to make sure that the family is understanding what all their rights are," Sweeney said. One of the most important decisions involves school placement. Under McKinney-Vento, students experiencing homelessness have the right to stay at their "school of origin" — the school they attended before their housing situation changed — or enroll in the "school of residence," which is based on where they are currently living. "Maybe now they're living in a different community, and so the child would have the right to continue where they had been going," Sweeney explained, adding that most families prefer to keep their children in the school they are familiar with, a choice schools typically support. "It's transportation that's usually the biggest problem," Sweeney said. "So, then we have to be creative." If a student's housing situation improves mid-year, they still qualify for support under the program through the end of the school year. This continued support remains even if a family signs a lease and moves into permanent housing. The reason, Sweeney explained, is rooted in national data. "Unfortunately, three times a year, these children statistically, nationwide, will become homeless again," Sweeney said. "So you do not take them off the supports just because they have reached that." There is also no limit to how long a student can be considered in transition. Each school year begins with a re-evaluation to determine if the family qualifies. "And unfortunately, many times it's yes, they do," Sweeney added. Program support does not end at high school. As students transition into higher education, McKinney-Vento liaisons help connect them with designated contacts at colleges and universities. For more information on the program or to get started, contact the school your child is attending or call Sweeney at 815-266-1221.
