Young Homeless Children: Key Strategies for Success in School

1
Young Homeless Children Key Strategies for
Success in School

• Staci Perlman, University of Delaware
• Francine Hahn, NAEHCY
• Grace Whitney, CT Head Start State Collaboration
  Office
• Vicki Hodges, Illinois State Board of Education
• Carie Bires, Ounce of Prevention Fund

2
Session Overview

• Impact of homelessness on young children
• Relevant laws and regulations
• 5 minute break
• Early childhood landscape and activity
• Barriers and strategies
• 5 minute break
• Scenarios and small group discussion
• Reflection worksheet
• Q and A

3
Impact of homelessness on young children

• Dr. Staci Perlman

4
National Picture of Homelessness
5
Ages of Children Experiencing Homelessness
6
And, if we turn the microscope up
Homeless (N 906)
Infant 33
Toddler 33
Preschool 23
Elementary 11
7
Challenges Facing Families Experiencing
Homelessness

• Transience
• Schedules
• Histories of family violence/trauma
• Stressed attachments to caregivers
• Lack of access to food health care
• Lack of developmentally-appropriate living spaces
• Invisibility

8
Top Five Reasons Why the Homeless System Needs to
be Concerned About Children Youth

1. Infants and toddlers have the highest r_____ of
   po_____ of any age group in America 
2. Infants and toddlers in the U.S. are a "maj_____
   mi______"
3. The majority of m_____ of infants and toddlers
   are e________.
4. Experiencing ____whelming or t____" levels of
   s_____ harms the ____ brain development of
   inf____ and tod_____. 
5. Current se_____ and su_____ for infants,
   toddlers, and their parents reach only a ____
   fraction of families who ____them

9
Child Development 101
10
Development Happens
11
Synaptic Density
12
(No Transcript)
13
Prevalence Co-Occurrence of Risks

Caucasian
African-American
Hispanic
Asian
Sex (male)
Poverty
Prenatal Care
Lead Exposure
Low Maternal Education
Substantiated Maltreatment
Unsubstantiated Maltreatment
Foster Care
Emergency Housing (EH)
Cohort
11.3
68.0
16.2
3.7
50.2
54.7
32.8
25.9
25.1
10.5
11.8
5.2
12.0
EH
3.7
91.0
5.3
0
51.4
71.1
52.2
39.5
41.6
24.6
18.6
21.4
-
23 Housed NO Risks 3 EH had NO Risks
20 Housed gt 3 Risks 50 EH gt 3 Risks
14

• Children who have experienced homelessness

15
DNA does not control our destiny
We can do something about this
16
The good news is
Developmental science tells us what works to
promote early development!
17
Early Childhood Services
18
Reflection 1

• Take a moment to reflect on the impact of
  homelessness on young children and their families
  and the relevance of this information to your
  work. Jot down a phrase or two to record your
  thoughts.

19
Laws and regulations

• Francine Hahn

20
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

21
HEARTH Act Who is Covered?

• Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid
  Transition to Housing (HEARTH)
• The Continuum of Care agencies
• Shelter Care providers
• Emergency Solutions Grants
• Supportive Housing Project
• To find your Continuum of Care, go to
  www.hudhre.gov

22
HEARTH Definition of Homelessness

• Families must meet criteria before M-V definition
  applies
• Do not otherwise qualify
• Homeless for 60 days or more
• Moved at least 2Xs in 60 days
• Expected to remain homeless
• Definition of chronic homelessness includes
  families where a head of household has a
  disability.

23
HEARTH Act HUD Assurances Related to Children

• Shelters and service providers must
• Establish policies and practices consistent with
  M-V and they cannot interfere with a childs
  education
• Entities that provide housing or services to
  families must identify a point person who is
  responsible for ensuring all children are
  enrolled in school and connected to services,
  including early childhood programs such as Head
  Start, Part C of the Individuals with
  Disabilities Act, and McKinney-Vento education
  services.

24
Hearth Act HUD Assurances Related to Children

• Continuum of Care and HUD-funded homeless service
  programs
• Continuums must
• Collaborate with school districts to identify and
  inform homeless families of M-V education rights
• Must consider childs educational needs when
  placing in shelter and/or providing services

25
How Can Providers Meet the HEARTH Education
Requirements?

• Assess education needs at intake
• Inform families of education rights and options
• Assist discussion regarding school selection
• Connect families with schools/education programs
• Advocate for enrollment and access to services
• Collaborate with school districts around
  provision of supportive services
• Monitor attendance and achievement
• Ensure shelter policies do not create barriers to
  education
• Discuss education as part of exit planning

26
Head Start Early Head Start

• Categorical eligibility
• HS EHS must ID and prioritize for enrollment
• Allow to attend while waiting for documents
• HS EHS must collaborate with school districts
• Every state has Head Start Collaboration Office

27
IDEA Part B Child Find

• Evaluations must be completed within 60 days from
  parents request
• If family changes LEAs during evaluation period
  the same 60 day time frame applies to new LEA
• Assessments must be coordinated between former
  LEA and receiving LEA
• When homeless child has IEP and enters new LEA,
  the IEP must be implemented
• If LEA is in a new state, the IEP must be
  implemented while the school conducts its
  evaluation.

28
IDEA Part C Infants Toddlers

• Homeless infants toddlers 0-3 must be
  identified and served
• Homeless family shelters are a primary referral
  source
• 7 day referral time frame
• States can opt for screening process to determine
  if there is suspected disability
• At screening level parents must receive notice of
  right to request an evaluation

29
IDEA Part C Final Regulations

• Enhanced due process option lead agency may
  establish procedure allowing aggrieved party at
  hearing to request reconsideration (appeal)
• Copies of evaluations, assessments and IFSPs must
  be provided to parents at no cost

30
Child Care Subsidy

• Child Care Development and Block Grant Act of
  2015
• Provide grace period for homeless children to
  become up-to-date on immunizations
• Allow immediate enrollment w/o all required
  documents
• Structure co-payments on sliding scale fee basis
• Lead agency must coordinate w/ M-V school liaison
  and other community providers

31
Early childhood landscape

• Grace Whitney and Carie Bires

32
Early Care and Education Landscape

• Child Care
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
• State Pre-Kindergarten Programs
• Head Start Early Head Start
• Home visiting
• Federal initiatives
• State Advisory Councils
• Early childhood collaborations

33
Child Care Development Fund the Basics

• Primary Federal funding source for subsidized
  child care supplemented with state funds and
  TANF
• Goals of CCDF (1) Promote self-sufficiency by
  making child care more affordable to low-income
  parents (2) Foster healthy child development and
  school success by improving the quality of child
  care
• 1.7 million children monthly
• CCDF designates set asides for quality
  initiatives and services for infants and toddlers
• States must submit a biennial CCDF plan

34
CCDF Family Eligibility

• CCDF serves children under the age of 13 up to
  age 19 for children with disabilities
• Children must be citizens or qualified aliens
• Parents must be working or participating in
  education or training activities
• Family income must be below 85 SMI
• Protective services category
• Priority required for children with special needs
  or very low income families
• States have a lot of discretion

35
CCDF Provider Eligibility

• CCDF regulations define four types of child care
  center-based, family child care, group home child
  care, and in-home care
• Providers must be licensed/regulated under
  State/Tribal law or must be legally exempt from
  regulation
• Providers must meet basic health and safety
  requirements
• Because licensing/regulation requirements vary by
  state, so do eligible providers

36
CCDF Payment

• Certificate subsidy issued directly to a parent
• Contract States can contract with providers for
  child care slots that are then available to
  children participating in CCDF
• Parent co-pays

37
CCDF Finding Child Care

• Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR)
• CCDF requires coordination of ALL child care
  through CCRR
• Resource to help families find child care
• Consumer education, provider training, data
  collection, administer subsidies
• Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS)
• System to assess, improve, and communicate the
  quality of early care and education programs
• Operating in nearly half of all states
• www.qrisnetwork.org

38
Increasing Access to Child Care

• States can
• Cover homeless children under the protective
  services category, and waive work/school
  requirements
• Offer priority access
• Allow for a period of job search
• Waive co-payments for families at or below
  poverty level
• Exempt housing assistance from income
  determination
• Use grants or contracts to build supply for
  vulnerable populations

39
IDEA Parts B C

• Federal funds to states under Individuals with
  Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• Part B Preschool Special Education 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 IFSP/ISP
• Home-based, classroom consultation models
• Goal of mainstreaming, integrating into ECE

40
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 federal funds coming

41
Head Start Basic Overview

• Created under LBJs War on Poverty 1965
• Early Head Start pregnant women and children
  ages birth to 3 years
• Less than 5 of those eligible
• Head Start preschool-aged children 3-, 4-and
  5-year-olds
• Less than 50 of those eligible
• Intended to achieve 2 primary goals
• break the cycle of poverty
• empower low-income families
• school readiness

42
Head Start Basic Overview

• Comprehensive Services mandated for children and
  families a unique feature
• Health, mental health, dental and nutrition
• Education and special education/disabilities
• Approximately 20 of children with IEPs served by
  Head Start
• Family support thru Family Partnership
  Agreements, parent involvement/governance,
  fatherhood initiatives, etc.
• 20-25 of Head Start staff current/former parents
• Community partnerships

43
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.

44
Head Start Basic Overview

• Enrollment primarily based on federal poverty
• Not less than 10 of each HS EHS programs
  enrollment must be children with special needs
• The following families are categorically eligible
  for HS
• families receiving public assistance (e.g. TANF)
  
• children in foster care
• children experiencing homelessness
  (McKinney-Vento definition)

45
Children in Head Start
46
Head Start A Perfect Match for Homeless Families

• Head Start provides comprehensive services that
  homeless children may not otherwise receive
• The Head Start focuses 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

47
Early Childhood Home Visiting

• Home visiting programs match at-risk parents with
  trained professionals who provide information,
  advice, and support during pregnancy and
  throughout the first few years of the childs
  life
• Funded with federal, state, and private dollars
• Targets pregnant women, families with young
  children
• Multiple evidence-based models Parents as
  Teachers (PAT), Healthy Families America (HFA),
  Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), Home Instruction
  for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY)

48
Proven Benefits of Home Visiting

• Improved prenatal, maternal, and child health
  outcomes
• Enhanced social-emotional and language
  development
• Supports cognitive and physical development
• Reduces child maltreatment and injury
• Increased school readiness
• Improved coordination with community resources

49
How Does Home Visiting Support Homeless Families?

• Addresses and buffers negative impacts of
  homelessness
• Helps families build resilience and strengthen
  family functioning
• Mobile service visits can take place in
  families homes, in shelter programs, or in other
  settings
• Connects families to other community resources

50
Federal Initiatives

• Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge
  (RTT-ELC)
• Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships
  (EHS-CCP)
• Preschool Development/Expansion Grants
• Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting
  Program (MIECHV)

51
State Advisory Councils

• Charged with developing a high-quality,
  comprehensive system of early childhood
  development and care
• Ensure statewide coordination and collaboration
  among the wide range of early childhood programs
  and services in the State, including child care,
  Head Start, IDEA preschool and infants and
  families programs, and pre-kindergarten programs
  and services
• Can be a great opportunity to influence early
  childhood policies, practices, and investments in
  your state

52
Early Learning Coalitions

• Early Learning Coalitions at state, county and/or
  community levels
• Wide variety of participation and funding support
• Homeless service providers and liaisons should
  consider attending to create connections and
  learn local resources
• The Foundation for Early Learning guides the
  coalition-building process www.earlylearning.org/
  grantmaking/coalitions

53
Early Care Education Landscape 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.

54
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.

55
Barriers and strategies

• Vicki Hodges

56
Barriers to Early Childhood Programsfor Families
Experiencing Homelessness

• Lack of Awareness
• Families and agency staff unaware that homeless
  children are prioritized for EC programs
• Head Start programs unaware of definition of
  homelessness
• MV liaisons may not know lay of the land of ECE
• Lack of available slots
• For 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

57
Barriers to Early Childhood Programsfor Families
Experiencing Homelessness

• High Mobility
• Lack of Transportation
• Lack of documentation for enrollment
• School selection

58
Removing BarriersStrategies for Awareness and
Identification

• Head Start programs/school districts
• incorporate questions on housing status on
  applications
• McKinney-Vento liaisons
• Participate in community based and cross-agency
  events
• Inquire about young siblings of school-aged
  children
• Homeless service providers
• Document ages of all children at intake
• Make referrals to Head Start, ECEAP, and other
  ECE programs

59
Removing Barriers Strategies for Awareness and
Identification

• Early Childhood programs
• Include information to staff on how to recognize
  homelessness
• Shelters
• Ensure that young children are assessed for
  developmental delays
• New HUD Contacts
• Train on assessment programs, e.g. Ages and
  Stages, Early Intervention programs, and Special
  Education Child Find
• Provide indicators of potential developmental
  delays

60
Removing BarriersStrategies for Identification
and Responding to Mobility

• Obtain parental consent for release of
  information from providers or liaison
• to share information between agencies
• To obtain new addresses to be able to continue to
  provide services when families move
• Develop joint procedures to serve highly mobile
  children
• To expedite services
• To provide continuous services to highly mobile
  children

61
Removing BarriersStrategies to Expedite Access

• Liaisons and homeless service staff
• provide and assist with completing Head Start
  applications to identified families
• Expedite records
• e.g. liaisons can get immunization records, etc.
  for young siblings of school-aged children
• Develop joint or streamlined procedures and forms
  (e.g. housing intake forms)

62
Putting it All TogetherStrategies for
Collaboration

• Head Start ECEAP Programs could adopt a number
  of strategies to reach homeless families
• Develop relationship with K-12 Homeless Liaison
• Assign staff member to be the liaison with local
  homeless shelters/service providers
• Training for family advocates to identify
  homeless families throughout the year
• Conduct presentations and visits to and from
  homeless shelters and advocacy groups regarding
  services available
• Establish connections with food banks, churches,
  health departments, and housing groups within
  communities

63
Reflection 3

• Take a moment to reflect on the various
  strategies that can be used to overcome barriers
  and new approaches you might try in your program
  and community. Jot down a phrase or two to
  record your thoughts.

64
Scenarios and discussion

• Carie Bires

65
Scenarios and Discussion

• In your small group, read through the scenarios
  on your table and answer the question What would
  you do?

66
Reflections to Actions

• 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
• Share your Action Plan with another person, or
  two, or three.....

67
Resources - ECLKC

• Office of Head Start Early Childhood Learning
  and Knowledge Center Search ECLKC - enter
  homelessness
• Go to Training and Technical Assistance System
• http//eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system
• From there, go to Parent, Family, and Community
  Engagement
• From there, go to Crisis Support
• From there, go to Homelessness Online Lessons

68
Recent ACF Efforts
Building Partnerships to Address Family
Homelessness
Promising Practices for Children Experiencing
Homelessness A Look at Two States
69
ACF Efforts in Review

• Early Childhood Self Assessment for Family
  Shelters

70
General Resources

• National Association for the Education of
  Homeless Children and Youth
• http//www.naehcy.org
• National Center on Homeless Education
• http//www.serve.org/nche
• National Early Childhood Technical Assistance
  Center
• http//www.nectac.org
• Horizons for Homeless Children
• http//www.horizonsforhomelesschildren.org
• Washington State Association of Head Start
  ECEAP
• -- http//wsaheadstarteceap.com
• Parent Training and Information Centers
• http//www.taalliance.org/centers/index.htm
• [phone]

71
Policy Resources

• NAEHCY www.naehcy.org, Barbara Duffield,
  bduffield_at_naehcy.org, 202.364.7392
• National Center on Homeless Education
  www.serve.org/nche
• National Law Center on Homelessness Poverty
  www.nlchp.org
• Zero to Three, http//www.zerotothree.org
• National Head Start Assoc., http//www.nhsa.org/
• National Center for Children in Poverty,
  http//nccp.org/
• Institute for Children, Poverty Homelessness,
  http//www.icphusa.org/
• Center for Law and Social Policy,
  http//www.clasp.org/
• Center on Budget Policy and Priorities,
  http//www.cbpp.org/

72
Contact Information
Vicki J. Hodges Principal Consultant Illinois
State Board of Education 100 N.
First Springfield, Il. 62777 217-782-8535 vhodges_at_
isbe.net
Carie Bires, MSW Policy Manager Ounce of
Prevention Fund 33 W. Monroe, 24th Floor Chicago,
IL 60606 309-261-3138 cbires_at_ounceofprevention.org
Francine K. Hahn, J.D. NAEHCY, Board of
Directors Baltimore, MD Phone [phone] fhahn1
229_at_gmail.com
Staci M. Perlman, MSW, PhDAssistant
Professor  University of Delaware Human
Development and Family Studies  Delaware
Education Research Development Center106
Alison HallNewark, DE 19716 302.831.4724 sperlman
_at_udel.edu
Grace C. Whitney, PhD, MPA, IMH-E(IV) CT Head
Start State Collaboration Office CT State
Department of Education 165 Capitol
Avenue Hartford, CT 06106 Phone
860-713-6767 Email grace.whitney_at_ct.gov