Adapted from a presentation at NAEHCYs 2013 Annual Conference,
by Grace Whitney 1 Slide 2 Young Homeless Children: National
Numbers and Trends 53% of all children in HUD homeless shelters are
under the age of 6. Nearly 30,000 homeless children ages 3-5 (not
kindergarten) were enrolled in public preschool programs in
2008-2009; this is only 4% of all students identified as homeless
by public schools. Slide 3 Impacts of Homelessness on Young
Children Impacts of Homelessness on Young Children Higher rates of
developmental delays: Infants who are homeless start life needing
special care four times more often than other babies Homeless
toddlers show significantly slower development than other children
Higher rates of chronic and acute health problems Higher exposure
to domestic and other types of violence Slide 4 Reflection 1 Take a
moment to reflect on the impact of homelessness on very young
children and their families and the relevance of this information
to your work. Jot down a phrase or two to record your thoughts.
Slide 5 Early Care and Education Landscape Child Care Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act State Pre-Kindergarten Programs
McKinney-Vento and Preschool Head Start & Early Head Start HUD
programs- HEARTH Act Maternal, Infant and Early Child Home Visiting
(MIECHV) Affordable Care Act Slide 6 Early Care and Education
Landscape: Child Care Federal CCDF block grant that states can
supplement State and local child care funding supplements States
can use federal TANF block grant funds Designated state child care
administrator State administrative rules, e.g., eligibility,
priorities State and some local regulations CCDF requires
coordination of ALL child care through Child Care Resource &
Referral Agencies (CCR&R) CCDF designates set-asides for
quality initiatives and services for infants and toddlers Slide 7
Early Care and Education Landscape: Child Care Subsidized Child
Care State-funded child care centers, networks of family child care
homes through contracts and grants to local agencies Child Care
Subsidies, or Vouchers Used by families to purchase care from
licensed and unregulated care providers, including relatives and
friends, for the care that best meets their needs Serve children
from infants through school-age Slide 8 Early Care and Education
Landscape: IDEA Parts B & C Federal funds to states under
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B Preschool
Special Education for ages 3-5 Part C Infants and Toddlers Uses
McKinney-Vento definition of homeless Provides for identification,
location, evaluation and education of children with disabilities
who are experiencing homelessness Individualized Plan Home-based,
classroom & consultation models Goal of mainstreaming Slide 9
Early Care and Education Landscape: State Pre-K Programs State
funding of preschool services for 4-year-olds or for 3- and
4-year-olds State agencies provide leadership and provide funding
to local school districts Both school based and community providers
Both targeted and universal designs State Cabinets and integrated
state agencies and departments Local councils and community
partnerships Most states now have some type of state pre-K system
Slide 10 McKinney-Vento and Preschool School district
McKinney-Vento liaisons must ensure that families and children have
access to Head Start, Even Start, and other public preschool
programs administered by the LEA. State McKinney-Vento plans must
describe procedures that ensure that homeless children have access
to public preschool programs. School districts are required to
remove barriers to the enrollment of homeless children, including
preschool children. Slide 11 Head Start: Basic Overview 1,600
grantees in the U.S and territories that serve over 1 million
children age birth to 5 and pregnant women annually Early Head
Start Early Head Start pregnant women and children ages birth to 3
years Less than 5 % of those eligible Head Start Head Start
preschool aged children 3-, 4-and 5- year-olds Less than 50% of
those eligible Slide 12 Head Start: Basic Overview COMPREHENSIVE
SERVICES for children and families Health, mental health, dental
and nutrition services Education and special education/disabilities
services Family services thru Family Partnership Agreements, parent
involvement and governance, fatherhood initiatives, etc. Community
partnerships The following families are categorically eligible for
HS: *Families receiving public assistance (e.g. TANF) *Foster
children *Homeless children (McKinney-Vento education definition)
Slide 13 Head Start: Basic Overview Head Start Program Options
Full-day/full-year School day/school year Part day/part year
Home-based Model Family child care home (Home Start) Locally
designed option Head Start Act of 2007 allows programs to explore
changing program designs to meet changing community needs. Slide 14
Head Start: A Perfect Match for Homeless Families Head Start
provides comprehensive services that homeless children may not
otherwise receive. The Head Start focus on entire family means
parents receive assistance in reaching their goals. Community
partnerships put Head Start in an excellent position to work with
all agencies serving homeless families. Head Start programs are
required to identify and prioritize homeless children for
enrollment; allow homeless children to enroll while required
paperwork is obtained; and coordinate with LEA liaisons and other
community agencies. Slide 15 Homeless Children as Percent of
Cumulative Enrollment in Head Start and Early Head Start Programs
Source: Head Start Program Information Reports 2008-2012 Slide 16
Project applicants must demonstrate that programs that provide
housing or services to families are designating a staff person to
ensure that children are enrolled in school and connected to the
appropriate services within the community, including early
childhood programs such as Head Start, Part C of the Individuals
with Disabilities Act, and McKinney-Vento education services HEARTH
Act: Providers Assurances Related to Young Children Slide 17 Early
Care & Education Landscape in Your World: A Grid Work with
someone sitting near you to complete the Early Care and Education
Infrastructure in My State/ Community for either the state or local
level If you cannot complete a cell, use the Early Care and
Education Resource List to find a resource for obtaining the name,
contact information you need to complete our grid. You will have 5
minutes for this activity. Slide 18 Reflection 2 Take a moment to
reflect on the various resources that support early learning. Which
do you currently partner with and who might you become more
familiar with in the future? Jot down a phrase or two to record
your thoughts. Slide 19 getting started strategies for
collaboration. Slide 20 Barriers to Early Childhood Programs for
Families Experiencing Homelessness Lack of awareness: Head Start
programs may not be working from MV definition of homelessness, MV
liaisons may not be fluent in early childhood systems, HUD
providers may not know lay of the land of ECE Lack available slots
for all eligible children, especially infants and toddlers,
including those who are homeless Lack of capacity for
McKinney-Vento liaisons and Head Start programs to do outreach and
targeted assistance High mobility Lack of transportation Lack of
documentation for enrollment Slide 21 Removing Barriers: Strategies
for Awareness and Identification Head Start programs/school
districts can incorporate questions on housing status on
applications McKinney-Vento liaisons can inquire about young
siblings of school-age children Homeless service providers can
document ages of all children at intake, and make referrals to Head
Start, ECEAP, and other ECE programs Slide 22 Removing Barriers:
Strategies for Awareness and Identification Early childhood
programs can include information on how to recognize homelessness
in staff development/trainings/in-services Shelters can make sure
that young children are assessed for developmental delays New HUD
contacts can be trained in assessment programs (Ages and Stages,
Early Intervention programs, and Special Education Child Find) that
provide indicators of potential developmental delaysAges and
StagesEarly Intervention programsSpecial Education Child Find Slide
23 Removing Barriers: Strategies for Identification and Responding
to Mobility Obtain parental consent for release of information from
providers or liaison in order to share information between
agencies, and obtain new addresses and continue to provide services
when families move In anticipation of mobility, develop joint
procedures to expedite services and provide continuous services for
highly mobile children. Slide 24 Removing Barriers: Strategies to
Expedite Access Liaisons and homeless service staff can provide
Head Start applications to identified families and help them fill
them out Expedite records by working together; e.g. liaisons can
get immunization records, etc. for young siblings of school-age
children Develop joint or streamlined procedures and forms (e.g.
housing intake forms) Many programs have changed their enrollment
criteria to put homeless families at the top of the list Slide 25
Removing Barriers: Strategies to Facilitate Attendance Train family
advocates to provide information on housing resources, emergency
shelters, DSHS services, domestic violence and substance abuse
support, counseling, & medical. Transportation some programs
dont have program-wide transportation, but do provide it for
homeless families Slide 26 Putting it All Together: Strategies for
Collaboration For ECE Programs: Develop relationship with K-12
Homeless Liaison for referrals Assign staff member to be the
liaison with local homeless shelters/service providers Training for
family advocates to continue identifying homeless families
throughout the year as circumstances change Presentations and
visits to (and from) homeless shelters and advocacy groups about
services available Create connections with food banks, churches,
health department, and housing groups in the community Slide 27
Reflection 3 Take a moment to reflect on existing and potential
resources in your community and how you could create new
relationships to support the work you are doing. Jot down a phrase
or two to record your thoughts. Slide 28 Reflections to Actions 1.
Using your three reflections on the work weve done today, take a
moment to record an action or two that you will take when you
return to your program 2. Share your Action Plan with another
person, or two, or three.....
