What’s Hot and What’s Not: A Federal Policy Update

1. Barbara Duffield, Policy Director, NAEHCY 25th Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA November 4, 2013 What’s Hot and What’s Not:A Federal Policy Update

2. Current Legislative and Policy Issues • Budget/Sequestration/FY2014 Appropriations • SNAP (Food Stamps) • ESEA Reauthorization (McKinney-Vento and Title I) • Child Care Development Block Grant Reauthorization • Higher Education Act reauthorization • SNAP and Unaccompanied Homeless Youth • Missing Children’s Assistance Act reauthorization

3. Federal Budget: Budget, Sequestration,FY2014 Appropriations • Last year, Congress failed to reach an agreement on how to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion • Sequestration resulted in a 5.5% across-the-board cut to FY2013 funding (school year 2013-2014) • McKinney-Vento funding is now funded $61.7 million

4. Federal Budget: Budget, Sequestration,FY2014 Appropriations • Agreement to re-open the government includes a House-Senate budget conference committee charged with making recommendations for a budget resolution that sets overall numbers for discretionary and mandatory funding, and revenue for FY2014 • The report is due by December 13 • Appropriators must make funding decisions for individual programs, or implement sequestration, by January 15

5. Federal Budget: Budget, Sequestration,FY2014 Appropriations • If the budget conference committee agrees on levels, appropriators will have until January 15 to make decisions on individual programs • If sequestration continues, there will be more across-the-board cuts to education, housing,and homeless programs • If an alternative to sequestration is found, appropriations committees will set individual program funding levels to comply with budget caps

6. What’s at Stake for Children,Youth, and Families • McKinney-Vento and other education programs, as well as homeless and housing programs, subject to more cuts (across-the-board and/or individual) • Income and health programs that keep people in housing subject also to cuts • End result = more child and youth homelessness, and less support to help them out of homelessness

7. Federal Budget Action Steps • Communicate the value of homeless programs, and the impact of cuts • Visits during weekends or Congressional recesses are ideal, but calls/letters NOW Children’s Defense Fund alert: • http://www.childrensdefense.org/take-action/online.html

8. SNAP (Food Stamps) • Good news: new USDA guidance on unaccompanied Youth and SNAP • Bad news: House and Senate are working on a final version of the Farm bill • House bill cuts $40 billion from SNAP; low-income working families lose benefits, children lose school meals ACTION NEEDED NOW • www.feedingamerica.org

9. McKinney-Vento, Title I, and Elementary and Secondary Education A Reauthorization • Reauthorization is the opportunity to make substantive changes to the law • Congress has been working on this legislation since 2007, but partisan differences and other Congressional priorities have prevented it from moving forward • Major action in 2007, 2011, and 2013 • Even with Congressional staff changes, old drafts are often used as starting points

10. Major Issues in ESEA Reauthorization • McKinney-Vento Personnel: State Coordinators and Local Liaisons • School Stability Provisions (“Feasibility”) • Enrollment • Transportation • Disputes • Credits/Academic Support • Extra-curricular activities • Unaccompanied Youth • Preschool Children • Funding Level • Title I, Part A Setasides • Children and Youth in Foster Care

11. Elementary and Secondary Act Reauthorization • S. 1094, “Strengthening America’s Schools Act,” passed out of Senate HELP Committee • Contains most of NAEHCY’s recommendations for amending McKinney-Vento and Title I • H.R. 5, “Student Success Act,” passed the full House on July 19 • Contains some of NAEHCY’s recommendations • See www.naehcy.org for more details

12. Foster Care and ESEA: Senate Bill • Creates a new section of Title I for all youth in foster care • Requires SEA and state child welfare agency to develop a plan for school of origin stability and immediate enrollment • Requires LEAs and child welfare agencies to collaborate to develop a plan on transportation within one year of enactment • LEAs provide transportation if the child welfare reimburses the LEA, or LEA agrees to split or provide transportation

13. Foster Care and ESEA: Senate Bill, Contd. • Points of contact for foster youth required only if child welfare provides written notice that it has an education coordinator. Foster point of contact must be different than homeless liaison in “high needs” LEAs. Homeless state coordinators can never be the same as foster care state coordinator • “Awaiting foster care placement” removed within two years of enactment

14. Child Care and Homeless Families • Barriers to child care for homeless families, include mobility, lack of paperwork, lack of outreach and identification, and fees • Without quality child care, homeless families struggle to find employment and stay homeless longer • Without quality child care, homeless children are often in substandard arrangements • Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) – opportunities in reauthorization

15. Child Care Reauthorization, 1 • Senate HELP Committee passed S. 1086, a bipartisan CCDF reauthorization bill, on September 18 • Requires States to: • Establish a grace period that allows homeless children to receive child care while their families take action to comply with immunization and other health and safety requirements • Use funds for activities that improve access to child care services, including procedures to permit immediate enrollment of homeless children while required documentation is obtained, training and technical assistance on identifying and serving homeless children and their families, and specific outreach to homeless families

16. Child Care Reauthorization, 2 • Requires States to: • Coordinate services with programs serving homeless children, and with school district homeless liaisons for homeless children and youths • Establish a sliding fee scale that is not a barrier to families receiving federal child care assistance. • Requires that children who initially qualify for child care receive it for at least a year, and that parents have opportunity to prove continued eligibility. • House may take up CCDF in Spring or Summer

17. Child Care Reauthorization, 3 Missing from the Senate bill: • Definition of homelessness consistent with Head Start, McKinney-Vento education • Categorical eligibility for all homeless families who meet income guidelines • Plan to meet the need of homeless families

18. New Guidance on Head Start and Child Care • In January, HHS issued information to all Head Start programs and state child care directors • Information re-states the law, offers suggestions for coordinating with liaisons and providing services • May be useful in building or renewing partnerships • Information may be downloaded at:http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd/news/expanding-ece-for-homeless-children

19. Higher Education and Unaccompanied Homeless Youth • Unaccompanied homeless youth added to FAFSA in 2007 reauthorization; homeless students added to TRIO and GEAR UP in 2008 • Some progress, but continuing barriers…

20. FAFSA Statistics • Highest number of homeless applicants (CA, TX, IL, MI, WA, FL, OR, NY, OH, MO, CO) • Applicants indicating homelessness on FAFSA through liaison, RHYA, HUD • 2011-2012 – 25,953 • 2012-2013 – 27,492 • Total number of FAFSA applicants with any homelessness indication (liaison, RHYA, HUD, or FAA) • 2011-2012 – 53,705 • 2012-2013 – 58,151

22. NAEHCY Survey: Liaisons

23. Higher Education Act Reauthorization • We expect a stand-alone Senate bill soon to: • Clarify that youth under age 24 who are determined to be unaccompanied and homeless are considered independent students; • Expand the entities authorized to make determinations of unaccompanied homeless youth status to include private and publicly funded shelters and homeless service programs, TRIO programs, and GEAR-UP programs; • Require financial aid administrators to make determinations of unaccompanied homeless youth status for youth who cannot get determinations from other authorities

24. HEA Bill for Homeless/Foster, 2 • Eliminate the requirement for unaccompanied homeless youths’ status to be re-determined every year. Creates a presumption that these students will continue to be independent unless the student’s circumstances have changed, or the financial aid administrator has conflicting information; and • Require the Student Loan Ombudsman to receive, review and expeditiously resolve complaints regarding the independent student status of homeless and foster youth • Providing homeless and foster youth in-state tuition to reduce barriers to college attendance due to lack of financial support;

25. HEA Bill for Homeless/Foster, 3 • Prioritizing homeless and foster youth for the federal work study program • Designate a single point of contact to assist homeless and foster youth to access and complete higher education; • Post public notice about financial and other assistance available to homeless and foster youth; • Develop a plan to assist homeless and foster youth to access housing resources during and between academic terms; and • Include in applications questions about homeless or foster status, that youth can answer voluntarily to receive assistance accessing financial aid and other resources.

26. HEA Bill for Homeless/Foster, 4 Require TRIO and GEAR-UP Programs to: • Identify, conduct outreach to, and recruit homeless and foster youth, in collaboration with child welfare agencies, homeless service providers, and school district homeless liaisons; • Include information on homeless and foster youth in outcome criteria and data collection; • Review and revise policies to remove barriers to the participation of homeless and foster youth; and • Describe successful outreach activities and strategies to meet the needs of homeless and foster youth

27. SNAP and Unaccompanied Homeless Youth • Liaisons reported many barriers; youth turned away for lack of guardian, address, and age • NAEHCY and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities met with SNAP in January • Policy clarification issued to regional offices in May • There is no age minimum for food benefits; No parent signature is required; and food benefits cannot be denied due to lack of address or photo ID. Eligibility is based on the “household”http://www.naehcy.org/educational-resources/food

28. Missing Children’s Act Reauthorization • Passed House and Senate in September 2013, and presented to the President on Sept. 27 • Funds the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children • Requires the Center to coordinate with USICH to ensure that homeless service professionals are aware of the resources and assistance available • Include educational stakeholders and homeless service providers in the list of recipients of the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) education and prevention activities

29. Contact Information Barbara Duffield, Policy Director NAEHCY Phone: 202.364.7392 Email: bduffield@naehcy.org Web: www.naehcy.org Legislative Email Updates: www.naehcy.org