Congress passed three coronavirus relief acts within a 1-year period that provided more than $275 billion for an Education Stabilization Fund to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus, which the President declared as a national emergency in March 2020. This included $189.5 billion for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief…

For youth separated from their parents or guardians because of a disaster, school provides a stable and secure environment, offering structure and supports to help them overcome the trauma they have experienced and regain their academic, social, and emotional footing. Therefore, schools and school districts or local educational agencies (LEAs) and…

Approximately 1.3 million public school students in the United States were identified as experiencing some form of homelessness in 2019-20. Due to their unstable living situations, students experiencing homelessness often have additional educational, social, emotional, and material needs compared to their stably housed peers. Housing instability…

This brief is directed towards relief agencies. These agencies play a critical role in connecting families, children, and youth who have been displaced by disasters to needed services, including enabling children and youth to continue their education. The brief: (1) explains the importance of school attendance for children and youth who have lost…

With an increase in students arriving to the U.S. from other countries, many local educational agency (LEA) homeless liaisons have questions about eligibility for services under the McKinney-Vento Act, as well as strategies for best serving these students. This resource provides an overview of the rights of immigrant, migrant, and undocumented…

The ARP Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) program focuses on increasing state educational agencies' (SEAs) and local educational agencies' (LEAs) capacity to provide wraparound services by hiring staff, dedicating resources, and planning partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs). This brief: (1) summarizes the role and expertise…

The purpose of this guide is to provide timely and useful best practice information for collecting and managing data about students who have temporarily or permanently enrolled in another school or district because of a crisis. It includes lessons learned and provides recommendations for collecting and maintaining data about students who may move…

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP), Congress' most recent package for COVID-19 relief, includes billions of dollars dedicated to infants, toddlers, and children under the age of six. In addition to the $800 million in education funding included for identifying and supporting children and youth experiencing homelessness, there are opportunities…

During a disaster, youth may be separated from their parents or guardians. Parents who have lost their homes may place youth temporarily with friends or relatives; or youth may be separated from their parents during an emergency evacuation. Additionally, some youth could be on their own before a disaster occurs. Unaccompanied youth who lack a…

In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the immediate demand for data about displaced students overwhelmed many school districts that had gained or lost students because of the disasters. The scale of these crises and their effects on school operations and management were in many ways unprecedented. This guide reflects "lessons…

The people of Boston made a commitment that no homeless person will be denied a bed, a meal, quality health care, and transportation to shelter during the winter of 1989-90. This commitment was difficult to fulfill due to a decline in services for the mentally ill, federal housing cutbacks, and an increase in the number of families living in…

This report reviews the three-year funding levels for the major Federal programs that primarily benefited the homeless from fiscal year 1987 through fiscal year 1989. Most of these programs were enacted by the Stewart B. McKinney Act and began receiving appropriations in fiscal year 1987. The following programs are described: (1) Emergency Food…

This document discusses the status, impact, and administration of the following programs implemented under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987: (1) the Emergency Food and Shelter Program; (2) the Emergency Shelter Grants Program; (3) the Supportive Housing Demonstration (SHD) Program; (4) the Supplemental Assistance for…

The objectives of this study were to determine the following: (1) what actions Federal agencies have taken to reduce or eliminate barriers to obtaining and using funds provided by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act; (2) the adequacy of Federal program oversight; and (3) the status of program expenditure rates. The programs reviewed…

Although hundreds of state and local organizations provide homelessness prevention assistance, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) could not determine the effectiveness of this assistance because few assistance providers have the resources available to collect the client follow-up data needed for evaluation. Homelessness prevention programs,…