Young Homeless Children and Families: Strategies for Increasing Access to Services and Support

1. Young Homeless Children and Families:Strategies for Increasing Access to Services and Support NAEHCY 19th Annual Conference November 10, 2007 Portland, Oregon

2. Goals for Today Greater awareness and understanding of: • Challenges that face young children experiencing homeless • Overview of early care landscape • Review of key policies and programs • Provide strategies for increasing access to services and support

3. Challenges for young children who are homeless: • Inadequate and unstable housing • Health and mental health issues • Inconsistent and inadequate health care • Inadequate nutrition • Adolescent mothers • Disrupted or limited family support • Emotional stress or depression • Mobility: loss of routine, consistency, stability

4. Impact on Behavior • Withdrawal • Aggression • Boundaries • Hoarding • Depression • Independence • Care-taking • Sleeping and Eating

5. Challenges for young homeless children Homelessness can have far-reaching negative impacts on young children • 54% of children in homeless situations experience some form of developmental delay • 40% of children living in homeless shelters are under the age of five • 15% of young homeless children are enrolled in preschool programs

6. Early Care and Education Landscape • Early care and education (ECE) system includes child care and education for children birth to age 5 • ECE is a fragmented “system” of parallel systems • Various settings, locations • Different originating legislation and regulations, governing structures, systems for monitoring and quality control • Separate and combined public and private funding that varies state to state, city to city, year to year

7. Early Care and Education Landscape • Head Start & Early Head Start • Child Care • IDEA • State Pre-Kindergarten Programs • Parent-Child Home Program • Other Early Care and Education Partners

8. Early Care and Education Landscape – Head Start • Federal funds directly to local communities - over 2,500 grantees/delegate agencies • Some states provide supplemental funding • Head Start began in 1964; Early Head Start began in 1994 • Comprehensive child development program: • Head Start serves ages 3 to 5 –Head Start is in nearly every community nationwide • Early Head Start serves pregnant women and children birth to age 3 –Several grantees per state

9. Early Care and Education Landscape: Head Start • Comprehensive and two-generational services • Health and learning, disabilities, family development and support, community partnerships • At least 90% at or below federal poverty • At least 10% with identified disability • Federal Bureau with Regional Office oversight and State Collaboration Offices • Federal Program Performance Standards and monitoring system

10. 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

11. Early Care and Education Landscape: Child Care • 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

12. 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

13. Early Care and Education - State Pre-K Programs • State funding of preschool services for 4-year-olds or for 3- and 4-year-olds • State Departments of Education 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

14. Other Potential ECE Partners • ESEA Title I - Children birth to school entry at risk of school failure can be included • Non-profit and philanthropic initiatives - e.g., United Way Success-by-Six • Local Government - County and city programs, children’s libraries, recreation programs • Religious and family service organizations

15. 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 needs to completer our grid. You will have 5 minutes for this activity.

16. Barriers to Early Care and Education • Program enrollment requirements (residency, birth certificates, immunizations, documentation of income) • Lack of available slots and/or programs due to insufficient funding • Waiting lists—High mobility prevents children from reaching the top • Lack of transportation • Lack of awareness, understanding of homelessness • Lack of full day programming

17. Federal Legislation: The McKinney-Vento Act • McKinney-Vento applies to preschool programs operated by LEAs and SEAs • State plans must ensure that children have access to preschool programs. • Liaisons must ensure that families and children receive Head Start, Even Start and preschool programs. • State Coordinators must coordinate with social services agencies, child development and preschool program personnel and other agencies to provide comprehensive services to preschoolers

18. Federal Legislation: Title I • Children and youth experiencing homelessness are automatically eligible for Title I services, no matter what school they attend. [Title I Part A, 1115(b)(2)(E)] • LEAs must reserve (set aside) funds to provide comparable services to homeless children, including educationally related support services. [Title I Part A, 1113(c)(3)(A)] • LEA Title I plans must describe the services that will be provided to homeless children, including services from the set-aside. [Title I Part A, 1112(b)(1)(O)]

19. Federal Legislation: Head Start In 1992, HHS issued guidance describing how Head Start grantees should collaborate with State Coordinators, liaisons and community agencies and adjust their programs to serve children in homeless situations, and clarified misperceptions about average daily attendance. Guidance available at: www.naehcy.org/federalpolicy.html

20. Federal Legislation: Head Start Pending changes to the Head Start Act: • Required identification, prioritization,and enrollment while documents are obtained • Required collaboration with liaisons and state coordinators • Categorical eligibility • Planning requirements • Data requirements • Technical assistance requirements

21. Federal Legislation: IDEA 2004 • IDEA includes a definition of homeless that is consistent with the M-V definition • Any state that receives IDEA funding must comply with M-V for children who are homeless with disabilities • IDEA’s child find provisions require that all children with disabilities experiencing homelessness be identified, located and evaluated • States must adopt policies and procedures to ensure that homeless families and children have access to Part C planning and implementation

22. Who provides services under Part C of IDEA? • Part C services are provided under state supervision through local Part C agencies and may include school districts; educational service centers; local health, developmental disabilities, or mental health agencies; and/or private agencies • To find your Part C agency, visit: http://www.nectac.org/contact/ptccoord.asp

23. Who can receive services under Part C? • Infants and toddlers under age three who need early intervention services because they are experiencing a developmental delay or have a condition that has a high probability of resulting in a developmental delay • States determine the criteria for the definition of developmental delay • States have the option of providing services to infants and toddlers “at risk of developmental delay” (California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, and West Virginia)

24. What services does Part C provide? Wide range of services based on needs and Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) • Family training, counseling, home visits • Audiology services • Speech-language services • Medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes • Occupational or physical therapy

25. Part C services, cont. • Psychological services • Social work services • Assistive technology devices and services • Health services necessary to enable an infant or toddler to benefit from other early intervention services • Service coordination • Transportation and related costs necessary for an infant or toddler and family to receive other services

26. Strategies for Identification • When providing services to families who have children (K-12), inquire about the possibility of having younger children not in primary education • Partner with family shelter agencies (family, DV, emergency foster care) to identify young children • Develop community awareness of who is eligible for services (MV definition of homelessness)

27. Strategies for Identification • Participate in community early childhood program outreach activities • Provide professional development to local early childhood education programs and engage their agreement to identify children-particularly in doubled-up situations • Remember, we cannot do it alone!

28. Strategies for Accessing Early Care and Education Programs • Connect with local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency CCRRs find them in the yellow pages of your phone book or online • CCRRs can help you understand the early care and education system in your community

29. Strategies for Accessing Early Care and Education Programs • Identify the existing early care and education programs and contacts within your district and community • Provide awareness and education about the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act • Engage early care and education program staff as well as school district staff personnel to: - Foster relationships and build trust - Create awareness and understanding - Share data and resources

30. Strategies for Accessing Early Care and Education • Participate in and organize meetings with community service agencies on: • needs of young children and families experiencing homelessness; • availability of early childhood programs • enrollment, transportation, and family services. • Develop services and programs to “fill in community gaps”

31. Strategies for Accessing Early Care and Education • Identify available slots for children experiencing homelessness, and/or prioritize these children on waiting lists. • Include homelessness in the list of criteria for priority enrollment, classify homelessness as an “at risk” factor, and/or include homelessness specifically as a criterion for "most in need.” • Permit children to enroll in early care and education programs immediately, even without meeting enrollment document requirements, while documents are obtained.

32. Strategies for Accessing Early Care and Education • Develop a strong plan to address mobility through close coordination with families, shelters and community agencies. • Have a plan to help children and staff adjust to turnover in enrollment during the year.

33. Strategies for Accessing Special Education Services for Young Children • Establish partnerships with existing Child Find agencies to assist with the identification of children who are homeless and are delayed/or at risk of delay • Provide outreach activities to shelters to offer developmental screenings and referrals to early intervention services • Establish relationships with the school district’s special education Pre-K programs to encourage the expedition of evaluations • Explore offering on-site structured play groups with parents with children with delays, facilitated by speech, occupational, and/or physical therapists, or parent educators

34. How can parents request Part C services for their child? • A parent can refer their child to a Part C agency for evaluation and assessment • How can Part C programs encourage parents to seek services? • Build cooperative, respectful relationships • Explain to parents what Part C is and how the evaluation process works • Talk to parents about developmental milestones for children • Connect parents with Parent Training and Information Centers (http://www.taalliance.org/centers/index.html or 888-248-0822

35. Can service providers refer a family to Part C programs? • Yes. Part C identifies several service providers as “primary referral sources” who can refer a child for initial screening • If the screening indicates a possible disability, the Part C program must complete a comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation • Primary referral sources include: schools, shelters, social service agencies, day care providers, child welfare agencies, health agencies

36. Can Part C programs expedite the evaluation process or provide services before evaluations are finished? • Yes – can provide services immediately while completing evaluations (parental consent, service coordinator, interim IFSP) • Should expedite evaluation for homeless children • Ask parents about upcoming moves • Ask parents if an evaluation has been initiated at another school or with a provider elsewhere • Obtain copy of prior evaluation; obtain consent

37. Strategies for Accessing Early Care and Education: MOPCHP • Mobile Outreach Parent-Child Home Program (MOPCHP) is a home visiting, early intervention, early literacy and family support program serving families challenged by poverty, limited education, language and literacy barriers • Supports the parent-child relationship and verbal interaction as a critical component of early childhood cognitive and social development. • Serving families with children ages 18 months- four years old in the home • Research supports the success of the program in preparing children for school

38. Strategies for Accessing Early Care and Education: MOPCHP • Successfully serving homeless families in Suffolk County, New York since 2001. • Families receive approximately 48 new books and toys over the course of two years • Successfully serving homeless families in Suffolk County, New York since 2001. • Refer to: www.parent-child.org for more about the program and how to apply to begin a program

39. Strategies for Accessing Early Care and Education: Playspaces • Designs and equips age-appropriate, child-friendly Playspaces • Develops relationships with residents and staff in shelter • Recruits, trains and places volunteers • Provides young homeless children in shelters with opportunities to play and grow • Technical Assistance Department - Provides help to national and local organizations

40. Save the Date: April 15-17

41. Putting it All in Action: Problem-Solving Scenarios • Work with people seated near you • Assign a recorder/reporter • Read scenario and answer questions • We’ll report out in 15 minutes

42. Scenario One: Lorraine Lorraine has relocated from another state with two children, ages 8 and 3. She discloses that her oldest is in school with an IEP, she refers to him as being ADHD and “just slow.” The school papers she provides to you clarifies the child was born with cocaine in his blood system. She has not provided any disclosing information about the younger child, however you observe that when the child talks, he is extremely difficult to understand and generally only says one or two words.

43. Scenario Two: Sam You arrive at a shelter. When you get to the children’s room, you find a man with two small girls. Sam is reading to the girls in a room that has a conference table with five unmatched chairs, two bookcases and books for all ages strewn all over the floor. You learn that the two girls, ages 3 and 4, are his youngest children. His other daughter and two sons, ages 5, 7, and 10, are in school and his wife is a work.

44. Scenario Two Continued: Sam The girls are appropriately reticent at first and you notice that the 4-year-old’s left eye is turned in. You begin speaking with the dad and learn that the 5-year-old had not attended any preschool program prior to entering school and his 4-year-old has also never been in any type of early care and education program. When you ask whether he is familiar with Head Start he says he is not going to use any programs for which he will have to pay back for services once he is on his feet.

45. Scenario Two Continued: Sam You ask about health care needs and about his daughter’s vision and he says they have been meaning to go back to the clinic but have just never had the time. When you return to the shelter manager’s office and ask about the relationship with Head Start she says that Head Start always has a waiting list and it is impossible to get anyone in.

46. Scenario Three: Rachel Rachel is a parent of five children under the age of seven. Two are in elementary school and three are five and under. She reports she has found housing and has also obtained a job. She shares she does not know how she’s going to get to work on time. Rachel reports that her work day begins at 8:00 a.m. She asks for help getting daycare.

47. Scenario Four: Tim Tim has recently moved into the local family shelter with his four children, Steven age 6, twin girls Susie and Rochelle, 4 and Matthew age 2. As the local liaison, you stop by the shelter to see how you can help. Tim opens his room door and one of the girls wraps her arms around your legs and asks if she can come home with you. Matthew is crying strapped into a car seat on the floor. Tim shares that he has recently been given his children by Child Protective Services and feels overwhelmed. He has not spent more than a few months with his children in the past and blames their mom for the children's situation. (Continued)

48. Scenario Four, Continued: Tim Steven is enrolled in school across town and Tim thinks he may have speech problems though no one from the school has contacted him about his concern. Susie is overly friendly and Rochelle does not make any eye contact. Tim does not think the younger three children have seen a doctor in a very long time. You mention to Tim that there is a neighborhood preschool program at the local elementary school that Susie and Rochelle could attend. Tim says he does not know where any of the children's records are. Matthew continues to cry and you ask Tim if you can remove him from the car seat. Once soothed he is placed on the floor where he crawls.

49. Scenario Five: Tina Tina is a pregnant young mom, age 19, with a three year old and a two year old. She and her husband lost their housing in Jonesville and are in a shelter. It is apparent the children are language delayed. Tina needs to have them evaluated and see if they qualify for services. While she is thinking about this, they are moved to a shelter in a nearby town, Clark. How does Tina get her children evaluated and who provides the services if they qualify?

50. Scenario Five, Continued: Tina The family receives special education services for the older child. She is placed in a special ed preschool. The family is then moved to three different towns, successively. How does the child stay in the preschool program? The younger child is still not evaluated.