Preschool Aged Homeless Children in Mississippi: Removing Barriers to their Education Diana Bowman...

Preschool Aged Homeless Children in Mississippi: Removing

Barriers to their Education

Diana Bowman dbowman@serve.org National Center for Homeless

Educationwww.serve.org/nche

Helpline: 800-308-2145 or homeless @serve.org

NCHE is the U.S. Department of Education’s homeless education technical assistance and information center

NCHE has A comprehensive website: www.serve.org/nche A toll-free helpline: Call 800-308-2145 or e-mail

homeless@serve.org A listserv: Visit www.serve.org/nche/listserv.php for

subscription instructions Free resources: Visit

www.serve.org/nche/products.php Homeless Liaison Toolkit (2013 edition): http://

center.serve.org/nche/pr/liaison_toolkit.php

Get to Know NCHE

50% of homeless children in shelters are under the age of 5.

Research in neuroscience indicates that poverty and stress in babies can irreversibly alter brain development.

Early detection and intervention of developmental problems can impact future school success. Preschool and other early childhood services can

mitigate the impacts of homelessness and ensure that developmental and health problems are addressed early.

Importance of Preschool Services for Homeless Children

Safe, orderly environment – eliminate toxic stress

Love and attention Basic needs met: food, sleep, warmth Medical attention: illness, developmental

delays Stimulation (being read to, engaged in

conversation) Routine

What do Young Homeless Children Need?

McKinney-Vento and Young Homeless Children

Local liaisons must ensure that homeless children receive educational services for which they are eligible, including Head Start and Even Start, and preschool programs administered by the school district.

Local liaisons must provide homeless children with referrals to health care, dental, mental health, and other appropriate services.

School districts may use subgrant funds to provide developmentally appropriate early childhood education programs for homeless children.

State Plans must establish procedures that ensure that homeless children have equal access to public preschool programs administered by the state education agency

Mississippi State Plan

McKinney-Vento and Young Homeless Children

Preschool-aged homeless children are automatically eligible for Title I preschools. School districts should prioritize access to Title

I preschool programs for homeless preschool-aged children.

School districts may utilize Title I, Part A funds set aside for homeless students to provide services for preschool-aged homeless children, such as Screenings for developmental delays or Developmentally appropriate educational

activities.

Allowable Uses of Title I, Part A Funds

School districts are required to collect data annually on number of preschool-aged homeless children (ages 3-5, not kindergarten) that are Enrolled in public preschool programs and Are served with subgrant funds in LEAs

receiving subgrants. LEAs receiving subgrants must collect data

on children (ages 0-2) who are served through the LEA subgrant.

Data Collection

School districts should make every effort to identify and serve preschool-aged homeless children.

Preschool-aged homeless children should be enrolled immediately in programs in the district for which they are eligible even if the family does not have records.

What This Means for School Districts

Because preschool is not considered compulsory education, programs that are at legal capacity are not required to enroll homeless children, but should prioritize them on a waiting list.

The U.S. Department of Education does not require school of origin transportation for preschool-aged homeless children; however, some SEAs and LEAs enable these children to continue in their programs despite a residential move that would affect enrollment.

What This Means for School Districts

Purpose Activities

Creates awareness of one another’s programs

Joint trainings, sharing data and information

Provides an opportunity to share or leverage resources

Joint needs assessments, identify common needs, joint resource document, memorandum of agreement

Demonstrates strong, unified advocacy

Serve on task forces to create awareness of needs of young homeless children

Creates easy access for parents to multiple programs

Create a system of referrals, have enrollment forms available at each program facility

Importance of Collaboration

On December 20, 2014 the Mississippi Board of Education awarded competitive Early Learning Collaborative funding to 11 collaboratives over the next 3 years

Purpose: to support and facilitate the implementation of voluntary prekindergarten (preK) programs

Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013

Clarke County Early Learning Coahoma County Pre-K Collaborative Initiative Corinth-Alcorn Prentiss Early Learning Collaborative DeSoto County Early Learning Collaborative Gilmore Early Learning Initiative Collaborative Lamar County Early Learning Collaborative McComb Community Collaborative for Early Learning

Success Petal Early Learning Collaborative Picayune School District Sunflower County Early Learning Collaborative Tallahatchie Early Learning AllianceContact Deputy Director of Policy Angela Bass at Mississippi First by e-mail at angela@mississippifirst.org or by phone at 601.398.9008

Mississippi Early Learning Collaboratives

Part C requires representation of the homeless State Coordinator on the Interagency Coordinating Council; Child Find identifies and evaluates children with disabilities, including homeless children

Part B serves preschool-aged children with disabilities ages 3-5.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Programs for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities: Ages Birth through 2

First Steps Early Intervention SystemMississippi Department of HealthPO Box 1700, 570 E. Woodrow Wilson, Jackson, MS 39215

Susan Boone, Part C CoordinatorSusan.Boone@msdh.state.ms.us800- 451-3903 in MS601-576-7816601-576-7540http://www.msdh.state.ms.us/msdhsite/index.cfm/41,0,74,html

MS Early Intervention (IDEA, Part C)

Programs are required to serve young homeless children, prioritize them for enrollment, and enroll them even when records are not present

McKinney-Vento definition of homeless Requires collaboration with school district homeless

programs In 2009-2010, national data show that nearly 4% of

Head Start families were homeless; in MS, .5% were identified as homeless (Institute for Children, Poverty, & Homelessness)

Head Start and Early Head Start

Required to coordinate with school districts and Head Start programs;

MS programs: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/states/mississippi/homeless/2006-12-27

HUD (Housing and Urban Development funded programs)

Child Care and Development Fund oversees grant funds to states for providing low-income working families with affordable, high-quality early care and after-school programs http://www.mdhs.state.ms.us/early-childhood-care-development/ Annual public hearing: advocate for prioritizing

homeless families for childcare support Home Visiting Programs

Help for parents Can be an alternative when preschool programs are

full

Early Childhood Programs

Identify resources for preschool aged homeless children in your school district.

Link with other programs to create a coordinated approach to serving preschool-aged homeless children, create awareness

Develop a “Collaboration Landscape”

To Dos for Local Liaisons

Train school staff in identifying preschool-aged homeless children.

Help staff understand the needs and rights of young homeless children.

NCHE Resource: Early Care and Education for Young Homeless Children http://center.serve.org/nche/downloads/briefs/early-childhood.pdf

To Dos for Local Liaisons

Share a new resource from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Birth to 5:Watch Me Thrive initiative A Housing and Shelter Provider’s guide to

Developmental and Behavioral Screening at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ecd/shelter_screening_guide.pdf

To Dos for Local Liaisons

Collect data on the number of preschool-aged homeless students. Determine if this number is consistent with the

level of poverty in your area and estimated high percentage of young children among all children who experience homelessness

Compare with number of young children experiencing homelessness in Head Start, HUD programs

To Dos for Local Liaisons

Discuss the needs of preschool-aged homeless children with your Title I coordinator and ensure that Services are covered in the Part A set aside for

homeless children and Homeless children are prioritized for

enrollment in Title I preschool programs.

To Dos for Local Liaisons

Contact an Early Learning Collaborative in your area Discuss how with administrators how they can

identify and prioritize services for young homeless children

Ensure they understand the definition of homeless

Share the NCHE brief with them

To Dos for Local Liaisons

Contact Barbara Greene – bgreene@mde.k12.ms.us

Contact NCHE – homeless@serve.org or 800-318-2145 dbowman@serve.org

NCHE web page on preschool homeless children: http://center.serve.org/nche/ibt/sc_preschool.php

NAEHCY web page on preschool homeless children: http://www.naehcy.org/educational-resources/early-childhood

For More Information

26th Annual NAEHCY Conferencewww.naehcy.org

Only national conference that focuses specifically on educating homeless children and youth: Pre-k, K-12, Higher Education