Department of Education
Ensuring equal access to educational opportunity is a cornerstone in the mission of the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Children experiencing homelessness are often first identified as such through their schools. As reported to ED by State educational agencies in the Consolidated State Performance Report, in school year 2008-2009, a total of 956,914 children were identified by public schools as not having a stable place to call home. (This is the year for which the most recent data are available.) ED works to ensure that these vulnerable children and youth have the opportunity to achieve success in school despite their precarious living situations.
ED administers the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program through the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE). EHCY provides formula grants to States to support activities and services targeted to meeting the academic and social needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness. Discussions on implementing Opening Doors and coordinating technical assistance across ED for programs serving homeless students include a number of offices, such as OESE and the Offices of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Vocational and Adult Education, Postsecondary Education, and Federal Student Aid*.
Programs like Promise Neighborhoods in the Office of Innovation and Improvement, which have a clear goal of breaking down agency “silos,” are a vehicle for interagency collaboration to help stabilize both children and youth in schools and their communities.
*FSA has updated the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to address students being homeless – here is a link to a 2009 announcement on that issue http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/080609Enha0910FOTWFAAAcc.html.
Helpful Websites
National Center for Homeless Education
http://center.serve.org/nche/ibt/ibt.php The SERVE Center contains resources for state and local governments and service providers ...
Programs
Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program
When families become homeless, the experience is traumatizing, especially for children. Research compiled by the National Center on ...
Promise Neighborhoods
The Promise Neighborhoods program began in fiscal year 2010 and its vision is to improve the educational and developmental outcomes of ...
Related Research
Students on the move: reaching and teaching highly mobile children and youth
Patricia A. Popp, James H. Stronge, Jennifer L. Hindman November 2003 The purpose of this handbook it to synthesize research on ...
Effective Teaching and At Risk/Highly Mobile Students: What Do Award Winning Teachers Do?
Leslie Grant, James H. Stronge, and Patricia Popp May 2008 This study was designed jointly between the National Center for ...
A Look at Child Welfare From a Homeless Education Perspective
Jan Moore Fall 2007 More and more frequently, local homeless education liaisons are asked to determine whether students involved ...
Collaborations of Schools and Social Service Agencies
Jan Moore December 2005 In the past two decades, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of homeless students enrolled in US ...
School stability and school performance: a review of the literature
Beth Garriss Hardy 2004 While the topic of student mobility and its effects on school performance is of growing concern to ...
Increasing school stability for students experiencing homelessness: overcoming challenges to providing transportation to the school of origin
Diana Bowman 2004 Underscoring the importance of school stability for children and youth experiencing homelessness, the ...
Students on the move: reaching and teaching highly mobile children and youth
Patricia A. Popp 2003 The purpose of this handbook it to synthesize research on the education of various subpopulations of ...
Unaccompanied and Homeless Youth Review of Literature (1995-2005)
Jan Moore July 2005 This project is based on a review of 1995 to 2005 literature on issues concerning unaccompanied youth ...
Resources for Accessing Technical Assistance
Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program - National Center for Homeless Education
http://www.serve.org/nche Department of Education, Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs The National Center for ...
State Resources
