McKinney-Vento Provider Training, Sept. 22, 2022
Hello members, Thanks to all that took precious time away from their busy days to attend our McKinney-Vento Provider Training! In this two-hour training, we covered many topics, which we will recap below, and have also included our presentation slides. What is the McKinney-Vento Program? Who does it serve? We were lucky enough to have program offerings and eligibility explained by Kayla Blau, who has worked in the Seattle Public Schools McKinney-Vento program office, Sammie Iverson, who worked as a homeless student liaison and myself, who was a McKinney-Vento student. McKinney-Vento is a federal program allocated through every school district in the U.S. It is designed to act as an advocacy hub for youth experiencing homelessness attending a K-12 school, who need unique supports to remain in school and attain academic goals. Major takeaways include: Students are deemed homeless if they lack fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This includes students who are undocumented and youth you are no longer minors but still attending a K-12 school Youth experiencing homelessness are entitled to immediate enrollment in school Youth have the right to attend their school of origin, or the last school they attended when they were last stably housed Schools are obligated to facilitate and fund transportation to a youth’s school of choice and should consider creative options to make sure that youth’s needs are met Unaccompanied minors have recently gained new legal protections, such as primary health care and access to state ID cards without parent or guardian consent. The Coalition on Homelessness was also joined by passionate youth-serving organization providers, who provide important advocacy and direct service for youth experiencing homelessness. Team Child Youth experiencing homelessness experience major barriers that can lead to legal challenges, such as truancy, detention, and having unmet needs at school or in their …