Serving Young Children
Experiencing Homelessness:
The Early Childhood
Landscape
National Association for the Education of Homeless
Children and Youth
25th Annual Conference | Atlanta, Georgia
November 2, 2013
Young Homeless Children:
National Numbers and Trends
In 2008-2009, 52% of all children in HUD
homeless shelters were under the age of 6
 Nearly 30,000 homeless children ages 3-5 (not
kindergarten) were enrolled in public preschool
programs in 2008-2009; this is only 4% of all
students identified as homeless by public schools
 The number of homeless children served by
Head Start nationally increased by 44% between
2007 and 2009
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Homeless Children as Percent of Cumulative Enrollment in
Head Start and Early Head Start Programs
Source: Head Start Program Information Reports 2008-2012
The Reality of Family Homelessness
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Lack of structure, routine, stability
Trauma
Loss
Lack of access to food
Lack of health care
Inappropriate living conditions (no play space,
overcrowded, unhealthy, over-stimulation or understimulation)
Stressed attachments to caregivers
Invisibility
Impacts on Young Children
Higher rates of developmental delays:
◦ Infants who are homeless start life needing
special care four times more often than
other babies
◦ Homeless toddlers show significantly slower
development than other children
 Higher rates of chronic and acute health
problems
 Higher exposure to domestic and other types
of violence
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Reflection 1
Take a moment to reflect on the impact of
homelessness on very young children and
their families and the relevance of this
information to your work. Jot down a
phrase or two to record your thoughts.
“Project applicants must demonstrate that
programs that provide housing or services to
families are designating a staff person to ensure
that children are enrolled in school and
connected to the appropriate services within
the community, including early childhood
programs such as Head Start, Part C of the
Individuals with Disabilities Act, and McKinneyVento education services”
Early Care and Education Landscape
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Child Care
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
State Pre-Kindergarten Programs – ECEAP
McKinney-Vento and Preschool
Head Start & Early Head Start
MIECHV –Home Visiting/ Affordable Care Act
Early Care and Education Landscape:
Child Care
Federal CCDF block grant that states can supplement
◦ State and local child care funding supplements
◦ States can use federal TANF block grant funds
 Designated “state child care administrator”
 State administrative rules, e.g., eligibility, priorities
 State and some local regulations
 CCDF requires coordination of ALL child care through
Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (CCR&R)
 CCDF designates set asides for quality initiatives and
services for infants and toddlers
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Early Care and Education Landscape:
Child Care
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Subsidized Child Care
◦ State-funded child care centers, networks of family
child care homes through contracts and grants to local
agencies
Child Care Subsidies, or Vouchers
◦ Used by families to purchase care from licensed and
unregulated care providers, including relatives and
friends, for the care that best meets their needs
Serve children from infants through school-age
Early Care and Education Landscape:
IDEA Parts B & C
Federal funds to states under Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA)
◦ Part B – Preschool Special Education for ages 3-5
◦ Part C – Infants and Toddlers
 Uses McKinney-Vento definition of homeless
 Provides for identification, location, evaluation and
education of children with disabilities who are
experiencing homelessness
◦ Individualized Plan
◦ Home-based, classroom & consultation models
◦ Goal of mainstreaming
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Early Care and Education Landscape:
State Pre-K Programs
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State funding of preschool services for 4-year-olds or
for 3- and 4-year-olds
State agencies provide leadership and provide funding to
local school districts
◦ Both school based and community providers
◦ Both targeted and universal designs
◦ State Cabinets and integrated state agencies and
departments
◦ Local councils and community partnerships
Most states now have some type of state pre-k system
McKinney-Vento and Preschool
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School district McKinney-Vento liaisons must ensure
that families and children have access to Head Start,
Even Start, and other public preschool programs
administered by the LEA
State McKinney-Vento plans must describe procedures
that ensure that homeless children have access to public
preschool programs
School districts are required to remove barriers to the
enrollment of homeless children, including preschool
children
Head Start: Basic Overview (1)
Created under LBJ’s “War on Poverty” initiative ~
1965
 included other programs & initiatives like Job Corps
and Community Action Agencies
Originally part of the Office of Economic Opportunity;
later transferred to HEW (now HHS) ~ 1969
Intended to achieve 2 primary goals:
~ break the cycle of poverty
~ empower low-income families
Head Start: Basic Overview (2)
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1,600 grantees in the U.S and territories that
serve over 1 million children age birth to 5
and pregnant women annually
◦ Early Head Start – pregnant women and
children ages birth to 3 years
 Less than 5 % of those eligible
◦ Head Start – preschool aged children 3-, 4-and
5-year-olds
 Less than 50% of those eligible
Head Start: Basic Overview (3)
Head Start mandates the provision of
COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES to
children and families - a unique feature of
the program
◦ Health, mental health, dental and nutrition services
◦ Education and special education/disabilities services
 Approximately 20% of children with IEPs served by Head Start
◦ Family services thru Family Partnership Agreements, parent
involvement and governance, fatherhood initiatives, etc.
 20-25% of Head Start staff are current or former Head Start
parents
◦ Community partnerships
Head Start: Basic Overview (5)
Head Start Program Options
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Full-day/full-year
School day/school year
Part day/part year
Home-based Model
Family child care home (Home Start)
Locally designed option
Head Start Act of 2007 allows programs to
explore changing program designs to meet
changing community needs.
Head Start: Basic Overview (6)
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Enrollment primarily based on federal poverty
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Not less than 10% of each HS & EHS program’s enrollment
must be children with special needs
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The following families are categorically eligible for HS:
*Families receiving public assistance (e.g. TANF
benefits)
*Foster children
*Homeless children (McKinney-Vento education
definition)
Head Start: A Perfect Match for
Homeless Families
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Head Start provides comprehensive services that homeless
children may not otherwise receive
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The Head Start focus on entire family means parents receive
assistance in reaching their goals
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Community partnerships put Head Start in an excellent
position to work with all agencies serving homeless families
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Head Start programs are required to identify and prioritize
homeless children for enrollment; allow homeless children to
enroll while required paperwork is obtained; and coordinate
with LEA liaisons and other community agencies
Early Care & Education Landscape in Your World:
A Grid
Work with someone sitting near you to complete the
Early Care and Education Infrastructure in My State/
Community for either the state or local level
If you cannot complete a cell, use the Early Care and
Education Resource List to find a resource for obtaining
the name, contact information you need to complete
our grid.
You will have 5 minutes for this activity.
Reflection 2
Take a moment to reflect on the various
resources that support early learning.
Which do you currently partner with and
who might you become more familiar
with in the future? Jot down a phrase or
two to record your thoughts.
“getting started” strategies for
collaboration…….
Barriers to Early Childhood Programs
for Families Experiencing Homelessness
Lack of awareness: Head Start programs may not be
working from MV definition of homelessness, MV liaisons
may not be “fluent” in early childhood systems, HUD
providers may not know “lay of the land” of ECE
 Lack available slots for all eligible children, especially
infants and toddlers, including those who are homeless
 Lack of capacity for McKinney-Vento liaisons and Head
Start programs to do outreach and targeted assistance
 High mobility
 Lack of transportation
 Lack of documentation for enrollment
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Removing Barriers:
Strategies for Awareness and Identification
Head
Start programs/school districts can
incorporate questions on housing status on
applications
McKinney-Vento liaisons can inquire about
young siblings of school-age children
Homeless service providers can document ages
of all children at intake, and make referrals to
Head Start, ECEAP, and other ECE programs
Removing Barriers:
Strategies for Awareness and Identification
Early childhood programs can include
information on how to recognize homelessness
in staff development/trainings/in-services
 Shelters can make sure that young children are
assessed for developmental delays
 New HUD contacts can be trained in
assessment programs (Ages and Stages, Early
Intervention programs, and Special Education
Child Find) that provide indicators of potential
developmental delays
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Removing Barriers:
Strategies for Identification and Responding
to Mobility
Obtain parental consent for release of
information from providers or liaison in order
to share information between agencies, and
obtain new addresses and continue to provide
services when families move
 In anticipation of mobility, develop joint
procedures to expedite services and provide
continuous services for highly mobile children.
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Removing Barriers:
Strategies to Expedite Access
 Liaisons and homeless service staff can
provide Head Start applications to identified
families and help them fill them out
 Expedite records by working together; e.g.
liaisons can get immunization records, etc. for
young siblings of school-age children
 Develop joint or streamlined procedures and
forms (e.g. housing intake forms)
Putting it All Together:
Strategies for Collaboration
Head Start & ECEAP Programs could adopt a
number of strategies to reach homeless families:
 Develop relationship with K-12 Homeless Liaison for
referrals
 Assign staff member to be the liaison with local
homeless shelters/service providers
 Training for family advocates to continue identifying
homeless families throughout the year as circumstances
change
 Presentations and visits to (and from) homeless shelters
and advocacy groups about services available
 Create connections with food banks, churches, health
department, and housing groups in the community
Services Program Provide
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Many programs have changed their enrollment criteria
to put homeless families at the top of the list
Family advocates are trained to provide information on
housing resources, emergency shelters, DSHS services,
domestic violence and substance abuse support,
counseling, & medical.
Transportation – some programs don’t have programwide transportation, but do provide it for homeless
families
Services Program Provide
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Programs provide donations of food, clothing, baby
items, and other necessary items to families on a
weekly basis and have started new partnerships with
grocery stores who host food drives and schools
hosting coat drives
One program has set up a gated “safe park” area with
shower facilities for families living in cars, along with
an indoor “camp” where families can set up tents out
of the weather
Early Learning Coalitions
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Early Learning Coalitions in every county in
Washington
state
Wide variety of participation and funding
Homeless service providers and liaisons should
consider attending to create connections and learn
local resources
The Foundation for Early Learning guides the
coalition-building process –
www.earlylearning.org/grantmaking/coalitions
Reflection 3
Take a moment to reflect on existing and
potential resources in your community and
how you could create new relationships to
support the work you are doing. Jot
down a phrase or two to record your
thoughts.
Reflections to Actions
1.
Using your three reflections on the
work we’ve done today, take a moment
to record an action or two that you will
take when you return to your program
2.
Share your Action Plan with another
person, or two, or three.....
Contact Information
Grace C. Whitney, PhD, MPA, IMH-E(IV)
CT Head Start State Collaboration Office
CT Office of Early Childhood
165 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 06106
Phone: 860-713-6767
Email: [email protected]