The Mckinney-Vento Act

Homelessness has been a prevalent and contentious topic since its public emergence in the 1980’s. In fact, according to the most recent estimates, on any given night in the United States, there are roughly 645,000 people residing in homeless shelters or unsheltered street locations (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2011). And based on a local study done by the Mental Health Unit at the Houston Police Department in 2011, Houston has the largest homeless population in Texas and the eighth largest in the United States. While many great efforts have been put forth to aid the homeless population in Houston, “the public health epidemiology task of quantifying and tracking child and family homelessness over time has been complicated…by increasing rates of…shortages [in] affordable housing” (Grant et al., 2013), and restrictions on temporary encampments (Loftus-Ferren, 2013). In order to successfully reduce, prevent and combat homelessness, more policies must be put in place to create sustainable, affordable housing for homeless families and to modify current laws that harm homeless individuals.

The author, Barbara Duffield, Policy Director for National Association for the education of homeless children and youth, writes for CQ Researcher the article “Should federal agencies use the same definitions of homelessness?” Duffield aims to substantiate that federal agencies, using different definitions of the law create complications. That clear guidelines need defined for establishing what is best for families and youth found in a homeless situation. Justification for changing the definition of

Currently, the rates of homelessness in America continue to drastically increase. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2012) depicted how many people are homeless in a single night in America. The findings revealed that there were approximately 633,782 people who are homeless in America or 20 out of every 10,000. Approximately 394,379 are single individuals and 239,403 are people in families with 77,157 homeless families in a single night, and approximately 162, 246 are children. Veterans are more likely to be homeless than those who are non-veterans, approximately 29 out of every 10,000 veterans are homeless. Unfortunately, 38 percent of those who are homeless are unsheltered, either living on the streets or in places that are not suitable for human inhabitation. Most states account of for less than 1% of homeless population, whereas Texas contains approximately 5.4% of America’s homeless population. In San Antonio, there are approximately 2,981 people who are homeless each day, and 1,243 are unsheltered. Through a sociological perspective, the social problems of homelessness can be analyzed through the concept of sociological imagination, the comparison of the person-blame approach and the system-blame approach, and through the analysis of one’s own community’s effort in helping those who are homeless.

Under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, the fifty states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia received funding to investigate the number and the needs of homeless children, to identify obstacles that would prevent them from receiving an education and to develop a plan to overcome these problems (Pawlas, 1996). The McKinney Act also provides emergency food assistance, adult literacy instruction, job training, health services and other programs. Under this act, homeless children are ensured access to the same, free appropriate public education other children in the state receive.

Homelessness is one of the oldest problems that exist, fast forward almost 40 years since it’s been recognized as one and still there has been no avail to finding a real solution. The definition of homelessness under the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act is defined as an individual: “who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and a person who has a nighttime residence that is supervised publicly or privately operated shelter, and c) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or a private or public place not designed for, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.”

Homelessness has always been a problem for the United States. Since its birth as a nation, there have consistently been individuals who find themselves without a place to live, looking for shelter with family, friends, or simply anywhere they can find it. These individuals have been targeted as candidates for social aid, but this was primarily provided by churches and other care organizations. However, in the past thirty years the homeless population has increased almost exponentially in numbers. While the cause of this is undetermined, it is quite certain that while the

With the informing of the nation, next comes the awareness of the government. The most influential Americans, the ones capable of written, federal change, have turned an ear to the cause. Legislation so far has helped greatly. Acts like the Housing and Community Act of 1974, which gave housing opportunities for lower income families, and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, an organization aimed at helping communities and with which the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program was added to in 1987, have supported the cause to this day. The aforementioned Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program ensured homeless children and youth equal access to an education. Even with this help, many schools found conflict arising in areas such as residency, guardian requirements, incomplete or missing documentation (Dealing with 114). There is

Homelessness began to emerge as a US national public policy and global issue in the 1980s, as a consequence of widening income disparities in the developed world, and in the developing world, growing urbanization and natural disasters (Daiski, 2007). In the US, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines homelessness as:

First, government provides housing assistance to low-income families. Low-income families just need pay 30% of their total income for rent. Second, mainstream programs provide a safety net for homelessness. This net makes mainstream programs like housing assistance, welfare, and substance support could provide what homelessness need quickly. Third, Communities created a data system to record information about homelessness. These information could be analyzed to help people know the cause of people become homeless, how long people become homeless, what exactly homeless people need, and the effect of mainstream’s support. Government already saw some positive influence of these programs. The number of family homelessness decreased 43 percent in Hennepin Country. New York creased 11 percent of homeless families was placed by a permanent housing. (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2010)

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, a non-profit organization that voices the issue of homelessness, enlightens, “On a single night in January 2014, 578,424 people were experiencing homelessness – meaning they were sleeping outside or in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program” (The State of Homelessness in America 2015). Staggering statistics similar this inspired Matt Lynch to write his article titled ‘The Homeless Lack a Political Voice, But Not American Ideals’ and it also motivated Anna Quindlen to express her emotions in ‘Homeless.’ Both articles posed by Lynch and Quindlen contain comparative flaws, which range from logical fallacies to the utilization of unfair information. Each writing, however, incorporates multiple pieces of significant information relative to the topic at hand, yet Lynch’s work manages to pull ahead with the addition of minor, yet important, details that Quindlen failed to propose.

The McKinney-Vento Act originally provided a range of services to homeless people, including emergency shelter, transitional housing, job training, primary health care, education, and some permanent housing. Since the passage of the original McKinney Act in 1987, the now McKinney-Vento Act programs have been expanded and funding throughout the years has significantly increased. However, due to the increased persistence of homelessness across the country, the McKinney-Vento programs have suffered recent setbacks. Support for the McKinney-Vento programs has significantly declined. Several McKinney-Vento programs saw their funding eliminated entirely. These programs included the Adult Education for the Homeless program, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Project, the Emergency Community Services Homeless Grant Program, and the Family Support Centers (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2006). The McKinney-Vento Act has created valuable programs that have helped many Americans to regain stability, as homelessness shows no signs of abating, the programs created by the McKinney-Vento Act are needed now more than

The McKinney-Vento Act not only provides immediate shelter and food to the homeless, but it also guarantees a homeless child’s right to an education. McKinney-Vento assures that homeless students who struggle attending school have access to a proper education and gain other necessary services necessary (Katel). The McKinney-Vento Act recognizes the importance of an education by providing homeless students with basic educational rights, transportation and other basic school necessities. Although there are still major complications in educating homeless students, this act

Homelessness does not discriminate. Families with children, single adults, teenagers and older individuals of all races struggle with the devastating effects of homelessness. According to North Carolina Coalition to End Homeless (NCCEH), on one night during the last week of January 2017, 8,962 people experienced homelessness. 73% were sleeping in emergency shelters or transitional housing. 27% were sleeping in unsheltered locations,33% were people in families with children, 67% were adults with no dependent children, and <1% were accompanied children. (NCCEH Data Center) Data plays a crucial role in informing policy decisions about housing and services for homeless persons. Understanding who is homeless and why they are homeless is necessary to end

This act has been amended four times since being signed into law in 1987, in 1988, 1990, 1992, and 1994. The amendments in 1988 were relatively minor, and added a few additional places where funds from this act could be distributed (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2006). In 1990, the amendments changed far more of the act than with previous amendments, and many new programs were created, including Shelter Plus Care program (providing assistance to those with disabilities and addictions), and the Community Mental Health Services was amended and given a new name, Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2006). The amendments in 1992 both expanded and modified Title IV, which included several programs that were overseen by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to include the creation of “safe havens”, which are very low-cost shelters available to people who do not wish to utilize other services, and the Rural Homeless Housing Assistance grant program (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2006). The most recent amendments to the McKinney-Vento Act took place in 1994, and these amendments focused on Education of the Homeless Children and Youth program, and the

The McKinney‐Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized in December 2001, ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness (CDE). Make sure that any students identified as homeless enroll in school, and receive the same opportunity to do well in school. Make sure that homeless families be provided with any services they are eligible for. Homeless Liaison assists students at Angela Davis College Prep.