EHCY Economic Recovery and Reinvestment

Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY)

Program Description:
The Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Program's major responsibility is to implement the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act. Homeless children and unaccompanied youth must have access to public school educational programs and services that allow them to meet the same challenging state academic standards to which all students are held.

The McKinney-Vento Act defines children and youth who are homeless 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 grounds 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.

Program Elements include:

designate a homeless liaison in each school district;
identify and immediately enroll any homeless child or youth (preschool to grade 12), even without academic or medical records;
continue children or youth in their "school of origin" for the duration of their homelessness;
inform parents/guardians of the educational rights of their children;
provide transportation, at the request of the parent or guardian, to the school of origin;
ensure no barriers exist (for example, residency requirements, lack of transportation or school fees) for full educational participation;
develop partnerships with community agencies to identify and assist with basic services for homeless families, children, and youth; and
ensure homeless students are not segregated or stigmatized.

Funding:
The DPI has received $900,000 in ARRA funds that will be distributed to public school districts through a competitive grant application process. In addition, standard EHCY grant funds of $835,000 are also available through Three-Year EHCY competitive grants.

Four principles guide the distribution and use of ARRA funds:

Spend funds quickly to save and create jobs.
Improve student achievement through school improvement and reform:

o Making progress toward rigorous college- and career-ready standards and high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable for all students, including English language learners and students with disabilities;
Establishing pre-K to college and career data systems that track progress and foster continuous improvement;
Making improvements in teacher effectiveness and in the equitable distribution of qualified teachers for all students, particularly students who are most in need;and
Providing intensive support and effective interventions for the lowest-performing schools.

Ensure transparency, reporting and accountability.
Invest one-time ARRA funds thoughtfully to minimize the “funding cliff.”

Application Process:
The following two EHCY grant applications are available under Forms, Applications, and Guidance.

ARRA EHCY Grant Application. All public school districts are eligible to apply.
Three-Year EHCY Application. Districts with an annual average of 31 homeless students over three years are eligible to apply; districts already receiving Three-Year grant funding will benefit by applying for ARRA funds through the Three-Year grant application if available.

Timeline:
Both the ARRA and Three-Year EHCY grant applications are due to the DPI by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 12, 2009.

Guidance:
FAQs

Contacts:

State Contacts: Mary Maronek, Coordinator
Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY)
Title I & School Support Team
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
(608) 261-6322

Shelly Greller, Assistant Director
Title I & School Support Team
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
(608) 267-9146

Federal Contact: John McLaughlin, Ed.D., Education Program Specialist
Federal Coordinator, Education of Homeless, Neglected & Delinquent Education Programs
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 3C106
Washington, DC 20202-6132
(202) 401-0962

Links and Resources:

Reporting:
DPI awaits ARRA guidance to determine reporting requirements.

For questions about this information, contact Mary M. Maronek (608) 261-6322

Last updated on 5/12/2009 7:54:17 AM