Mc KinneyVento Update Tennessee Student Data Attendance Supervisors

Mc. Kinney-Vento Update Tennessee Student Data & Attendance Supervisors Conference Justin Singleton| Mc. Kinney-Vento Coordinator| CPM| Sept. 14, 2018

Contact Information Justin Singleton, MSSW Mc. Kinney-Vento Coordinator Consolidated Planning & Monitoring Division justin. singleton@tn. gov Office: 615 -253 -3101 Cell: 615 -917 -3750 2

Overview § Homeless and Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Eligibility. § Homeless Student Stability and Opportunity Act § Common Data Discrepancies 3

Homeless and Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Eligibility

Defining Homelessness § Children or youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including children and youth: – Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; – Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; and – Living in emergency or transitional shelters, or are abandoned in hospitals. ESSA removes “awaiting foster care placement” from the definition of homeless with a staggered implementation timeline.

Defining Homelessness § The definition also includes children and youth: – Living in a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; – Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and – Migratory children living in the above circumstances.

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth (UHY) § For any child or youth, including an unaccompanied child or youth, to be eligible for Mc. Kinney-Vento services, his/her living arrangement must meet the Mc. Kinney-Vento definition of homeless. § A guardianship issue alone (without homelessness) does not convey Mc. Kinney-Vento eligibility.

M-V Eligible Student’s living arrangement (1) meets the Mc. Kinney-Vento definition of homeless and (2) the student is not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian Yes □ Yes Homeless? Unaccompanied? □ Unaccompanied homeless child or youth/ Mc. Kinney-Vento eligible The student is served under Mc. Kinney-Vento as an unaccompanied homeless youth.

M-V Eligible § Two important questions to consider when determining unaccompanied homeless youth status: – Is the student residing with someone who is not a parent or court-appointed legal guardian? – Why is the student with this person? 9

Common UHY Scenarios § A family was evicted from their home. The family could not find a place where the entire family can reside. The scholar is staying with a friend or relative on a temporary basis. UHY. § Parent is incarcerated and a relative agreed to care for the scholar. Parent made arrangements for the student prior to incarceration. Not an UHY. * *They are an UHY if the caregiver arrangement is not fixed, regular, and adequate. 10

Common UHY Scenarios § The student was put of home by parent and they are residing with someone that is not their parent or courtappointed legal guardian. UHY. § The parent enrolled the student into school but left the area due to work schedule complications. Before leaving the area, the parent made arrangements for the student to reside with a family member. Not an UHY. 11

Homeless Student Stability and Opportunity Act

Homeless Student Stability and Opportunity Act § The act went into effect on July 1, 2018. § “A minor may obtain a birth certificate from the department of health and a state-issued identification card from the department of safety; provided, that the minor has been verified as a homeless child or youth by at least one (1) of the following: – A director or designee of a governmental or nonprofit agency that receives public or private funding to provide services to homeless people. – An LEA liaison for homeless children and youth designated to 42 U. S. C. § 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii), or a school social worker or counselor. – The director of a federal TRIO program or Gaining Early Awareness for Undergraduate Programs program (GEAR UP), or the director’s designee; – A financial aid administrator. ” 13

Homeless Student Stability and Opportunity Act § An affidavit to obtain an identification card was created by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Driver Services Division. – Personnel eligible to make the determination of homeless must sign the form. – The unaccompanied homeless youth or parent/guardian is responsible for submitting the affidavit to the driver services center. 14

“Homeless Earlier This Year” Query

“Homeless Earlier This Year” Query § “Homeless Earlier This Year” is a new field that flags students that were identified as homeless in a previous enrollment during the school year. § Use this field to check the homeless status of students who transfer into the district or school during the school year. 16

Common Data Discrepancies

H-Homeless Student Classification § The H-homeless student classification is the core homeless identifier for: – – funding, assessment, accountability, and other reporting. 18

Homeless Data Discrepancy § All homeless students should be identified with: – the homeless (H) student classification AND – one of the four homeless residence codes (01, 02, 03, 04) § But as shown below for the state, over 500 students were identified with only one of the codes at the end of the 2017 -18 school year. 19

Homeless Discrepancy Example § As shown in the table below, there are discrepancies If: – homeless residence is “ 01 -04, ” but the homeless (H) student classification is “N; ” or – the homeless student classification is “Y, ” but the homeless nighttime residence is blank, 0, or 00; or – homeless earlier this year is “Y” but the homeless (H) student classification is “N” Discrepancies Homeless Sch # Homeless Mc. Kinney. Vento Served Homeless Residence Last Name State ID 15 XXX Y 45 XXX XXX N 55 XXX 02 00 Earlier This Year Homeless Unaccomp. Youth Homeless (H) Stu. Class. Y N N Y N Y 20

Solutions

Solutions § Make sure that you obtain a valid homeless residence code (01 -04) from the person enrolling the student into the school. – Never leave this section blank or insert (00). § Homeless Student Classification (H) obtains a “Y” if the student is an unaccompanied homeless youth and meet the Mc. Kinney-Vento definition of homeless. 22

Solutions § Train staff on the location of the homeless fields in your SIS. § Use the homeless student list research query to check your homeless data at least once per month. § Enter corrections in SIS and restage your data to EIS. 23

Solutions § Year-end procedures should include: – Making sure the homeless fields do not rollover into the next year; – Enter end dates at the end of the school year; – Contacting your SIS vendor to determine whether other “anti -rollover” measures are needed. 24

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