McKINNEY-VENTO HOMELESS ASSISTANCE ACT

 Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program (EHCY) Homelessness among families, single parents with children, and children on their own is increasing dramatically nationwide. The growth in the size of Wisconsin's homeless population is the result of many factors, including insufficient appropriate housing, increasing inability of those with no or low income to purchase or rent the available housing, domestic violence, and lack of education. While the problem appears most dramatic in the cities, it can be just as devastating in rural areas and small towns where there are few, if any, services and often no emergency shelter facilities.

Homeless children and youth, whether they are with, or separated from their families, have a right to a free and appropriate public education. Recognizing the need for public policy ad attention to this problem, Congress enacted in 1987, and revised in 2002, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, Part B (P.L. 100-77), as amended by No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Title X, Part C (P.L. 107-110). Through the consolidated state plan under NCLB, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction affirms its commitment to fully address the educational needs of homeless children and youth and provides direction for school districts to serve these pupils consistent with the Act.

EVERY CHILD'S RIGHT

If a child is between the ages of 4 and 20 years, that child has the right to attend school even if she/he:

* lives in a shelter or motel;

* has no permanent address;

* is abandoned in hospitals or awaiting foster care placement;

* has a previous address in another state or lives in a campground, a car, an abandoned building, a trailer home, transitional housing or other temporary shelter, or is doubled up with someone else;

* Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above.

DEFINITION OF HOMELESSNESS

The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children and youth as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence. The term includes children and youth who:

* share the housing of other persons due to the loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;

* are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping ground due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;

* are living in emergency or transitional shelters;

* are abandoned in hospitals;

* are awaiting foster care placement;

* have a primary night-time residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;

* are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;

* migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above.

For more information about homelessness issues contact:

Mary Maronek, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Coordinator, Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program, 125 S. Webster Street, Madison, WI 53707, (608) 261-6322, or mary.maronek@dpi.state.wi.us

CESA #11 Contacts:

Melissa Moe, Educational Consultant, melissam@cesa11.k12.wi.us or Karen Chilson, Educational Consultant, karenc@cesa11.k12.wi.us