A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Biennial Evaluation Report - FY 93-94

Chapter 133

Education for Homeless Children and Youth

(CFDA No. 84.196)

I. Program Profile

Legislation: Title VII, Subtitle B of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.) (expires September 30, 1999).

Purpose: To provide formula grants to State education agencies (SEAs) to ensure that homeless children and youth have access to a free, appropriate public education. Funds are distributed to SEAs in the same proportions as under Part A of Chapter 1 of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, except that no State receives less than $50,000, and 0.1 percent of the appropriation is allocated to the Outlying Areas. The Secretary is authorized to reserve up to 1 percent of the appropriation for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Funding History

Fiscal Year	Appropriation
1987	$4,600,000
1988	4,787,000
1989	4,834,000
1990	7,404,000
1991	7,313,000
1992	25,000,000
1993	24,800,000
1994	25,470,000

II. Program Information and Analysis

Population Targeting

The target population is homeless children and youth, especially those who may not be receiving a free, appropriate public education. Because the eligibility of preschoolers is unclear, the Department's reauthorization proposal encourages services to preschool children.

Services

This program provides assistance to States to: (1) establish or designate an Office of Coordinator of Education of Homeless Children and Youth; (2) prepare and carry out a State plan for the education of homeless children; (3) develop and implement programs for school personnel to heighten awareness of the specific problems of homeless children and youth; (4) provide activities for and services to homeless children and youth that enable them to enroll in, attend, and achieve success in school; and (5) award subgrants to local education agencies to facilitate the enrollment, attendance, and success of homeless children and youth in schools.

Program Administration

Each State may reserve up to 5 percent of its allocation, or an amount equal to its 1990 allocation, whichever is greater, to conduct authorized State-level activities. The remainder is awarded to local districts.

Management Improvement Strategies

An FY 1990 case study report describes 15 particularly promising or innovative education-related activities being conducted by projects that serve homeless children (III.1). In addition to illustrating promising practices, these case studies highlight ways in which schools and agencies are mobilizing existing community resources to support homeless students. All of these programs, in addition to providing educational instruction, are also working to address school access and placement issues, as well as working with other service providers to develop more comprehensive community service networks for homeless students and their families.

In FY 1991, the Department of Education (in consultation with the Departments of Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development) contracted to conduct a study on methods of locating, counting, and identifying homeless children and youth--as required by Section 724(b)(2) of the McKinney Act. The final report of the study was sent to Congress on August 14, 1991. The report found that:

A reanalysis of HUD and other available survey data would cost, at a minimum, $320,000. This option, however, would not yield valid information in the areas that Congress has requested.
A "stand-alone" study to determine the aggregated count of homeless children and youth nationally would cost $2.06 to $2.44 million to conduct and only provide national figures.
A "stand-alone" study to determine aggregate national data of homeless children and youth in each of the 50 states and in the 30 largest cities would cost $12.35 million. This would dwarf the $7 million 1991 budget for P.L. 101-645 programs related to homeless children and youth.

Based on the costs, the Secretary recommended that a further independent study not be pursued.

The report also contains a schedule for obtaining and analyzing the required data no sooner than August 1994, which is more than one year later than the date set in the statute. However, the Congress did not appropriate additional FY 1992 funds for the authorized study.

III. Sources of Information

Education and Community Support for Homeless Children and Youth: Profiles of 15 Innovative and Promising Approaches (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1990).
Program files.
Urban Institute, Alternative Methods to Estimate the Number of Homeless Children and Youth (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, 1991).

IV. Plannes Studies

The Department has begun a study of the program, and a report is due early 1995.

V. Contacts for Further Information

Program Operations:: Pat McKee, (202) 260-0991
Program Studies:: Joanne Wiggins, (202) 401-1958

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