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What is the purpose of this program?
Formula grants help SEAs ensure that homeless children, including preschoolers and youths, have equal access to free and appropriate public education. States must review and revise laws and practices that impede such equal access. States are required to have an approved plan for addressing problems associated with the enrollment, attendance, and success of homeless children in school. States must make competitive subgrants to LEAs to facilitate the enrollment, attendance, and success in school of homeless children and youths. This includes addressing problems due to transportation needs, immunization and residency requirements, lack of birth certificates and school records, and guardianship issues.
How can these funds be used?
LEAs that serve homeless children and youth may use funds for direct services to support programs and activities designed to facilitate the enrollment, attendance, and academic success of homeless children and youth in school. States must distribute at least 75% of their allocation for subgrants. Smaller States minimally funded at $150,000 must distribute at least 50% for subgrants. Subgrants represent about 5% of the total school districts in the country.
With subgrant funds, LEAs offer such activities as coordination and collaboration with other local agencies to provide comprehensive services to homeless children and youths and their families. LEAs also offer expedited evaluations of the needs of homeless children to help them enroll in school, attend regularly, and achieve success.
LEAs that do not receive a subgrant under the McKinney Act are also required to eliminate barriers to the enrollment, retention, and success in school of homeless children and youth. Generally, these barriers involve transportation issues and enrollment delays caused by immunization requirements, residency requirements, lack of birth certificates, school records, and other documentation, and guardianship issues. All LEAs are required to identify a local liaison to serve homeless students in their districts.
What are the eligibility requirements?
Exact eligibility requirements vary from state to state, but funds typically serve children and families defined as homeless. A homeless individual is one who (1) lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate residence or (2) lives in doubled-up accommodations or (3) has a primary night time residence in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter for temporary accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill), an institution providing temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (Section 103 (a)(1)(2) of the Act).
What is the application or allocation process?
Formula grants are made to SEAs in 50 States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and BIA based on each state's share of Title I, Part A, funds. Then SEAs award competitive subgrants to LEAs on the basis of need and quality of application.
Funding Process for Schools:
Formula-based funding
Total FY 2004 Funding:
$59,646,800
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
This information also appears at the US Department of Education:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/homeless/index.html?exp=0
Authorizing Legislation:
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, Title VII, Subtitle B, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 11431-11435
Name: Gary Rutkin
Phone: (202) 260-4412
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