2022 Education magazine

Page 48 2022 Education Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS February / March 2022 (iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and (iv) migratory children (as such term is defined in section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii). Typically, a homeless situation that we encounter for school-aged youth is the product of a fire or other disaster displacement; a domestic situation, or an eviction. Often families have to ‘double- up’ at a friend or family residence; the displaced school-aged members of the family are considered homeless in all of these situations under MKV. Homeless outreach workers from the Regional Office respond to referrals from Logan County schools when they identify a homeless student/family situation and work with the schools and families to determine what supports are needed. Sometimes it is simply facilitating transportation if the family is displaced to a different district temporarily to ensure that the students have a continuity of process and learning in their current school. Other instances include arranging temporary housing at a hotel for families who are displaced and have no other options or resources to achieve a stable housing situation immediately. According to the National Center for Homeless Education, the national average of students considered eligible for McKinney Vento Act (MKV) services falls in the eight to 10% range of students eligible for free-reduced lunch. In Logan County, this results in approximately 116 of the registered 3,132 students being our targeted number experiencing homelessness. The actual number of students experiencing homelessness will vary from year to year. Our targeted number of Logan County students has been on a decline since the beginning of the 2020 school year when COVID started, ending that year with a 37% decrease from the previous school year in identifying students and their families. Logan County schools have faced barriers in ensuring students are accounted for and receiving appropriate services when remote learning was in place in the last school year, as some families simply did not return/enroll in school. This year our office received additional funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to supplement our MKV Homeless funds in the wake of the pandemic and the increased need for rapid re-housing of students and families. We have leveraged these funds to provide rapid re-housing of displaced families into hotels and shelters as well as rental assistance when they are eligible for a rental property. Our dedicated staff of outreach workers continue to partner with our Logan County principals, social workers and teachers to identify and assist homeless students and their families so that there are minimal disruptions to the educational experience. If you would like to learn more about our outreach services, please contact Kimberly Maddox at maddoxk@roe17.org