The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act was enacted in 1987 as the first federal legislation intended to comprehensively combat homelessness. Title VII-B of the Act created the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program, which authorizes the appropriation of federal funds to ensure that children and youth experiencing homelessness receive a free, appropriate public education. This book focuses on (1) "Issues of Homelessness and Education: Causes, Consequences and Definitions"; (2) "State, Local and Federal Responsibilities Regarding Access to Education: Removing Barriers to Enrollment, Attendance and Success"; (3) "School Responsibilities and Implementation Strategies" (stability and school selection, discrimination and segregation, and identification of and outreach to families and youth experiencing homelessness); (4) "Supporting Academic Achievement: Title I, Part A Requirements"; and (5) "You Are Not Alone! Resources for Understanding and Implementing the McKinney-Vento Act." Two appendices contain a list of state coordinators for the education of homeless children and youth and statutory provisions defining the role of the U.S. Department of Education in the administration of the McKinney-Vento Act. (SM).

“Quint has done a valuable service in describing one effort to make school a good place for kids who live on the dangerous margin of society.” —The Washington Post

This book is for educators who wish to serve students who temporarily share housing with other families, live in homeless shelters or motels, nd/or camp out in cars and other stopgap places.

This publication summarizes issues relating to the education of homeless children and youth and reviews programs that are effective in the delivery of educational services to this population. The report is comprised of five sections. The first section, "Introduction," surveys factors contributing to homelessness and indicates the special needs of young people who are homeless. The second section, "Problems in Educating Homeless Children and Youth," examines the following situations: (1) legal barriers, including residency requirements and guardianship requirements; (2) financial constraints, including family-related financial problems and school-related financial problems; (3) institutional impediments, including lack of records, placement in inappropriate programs, lack of coordination, and educational performance problems; and (4) social and psychological concerns, including stress, social acceptance, and self-esteem. The third section, "Federal Legislation for the Homeless," describes provisions of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act for homeless education. The fourth section, "Programs that Work," describes transitional programs in Tacoma (Washington), Salt Lake City (Utah), and San Diego (California), and mainstreamed programs in Venice (California), and New York City. The fifth section, "Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness," restates the need for more innovative educational programs along with economic, domestic, and other changes. A list of 19 references is appended. (AF)

The inspiring true story of the first Girl Scout troop founded for and by girls living in a shelter in Queens, New York, and the amazing, nationwide response that it sparked “A powerful book full of powerful women.”—Chelsea Clinton Giselle Burgess was a young mother of five trying to provide for her family. Though she had a full-time job, the demands of ever-increasing rent and mounting bills forced her to fall behind, and eviction soon followed. Giselle and her kids were thrown into New York City’s overburdened shelter system, which housed nearly 60,000 people each day. They soon found themselves living at a Sleep Inn in Queens, provided by the city as temporary shelter; for nearly a year, all six lived in a single room with two beds and one bathroom. With curfews and lack of amenities, it felt more like a prison than a home, and Giselle, at the mercy of a broken system, grew fearful about her family’s future. She knew that her daughters and the other girls living at the shelter needed to be a part of something where they didn’t feel the shame or stigma of being homeless, and could develop skills and a community they could be proud of. Giselle had worked for the Girl Scouts and had the idea to establish a troop in the shelter, and with the support of a group of dedicated parents, advocates, and remarkable girls, Troop 6000 was born. New York Times journalist Nikita Stewart settled in with Troop 6000 for more than a year, at the peak of New York City’s homelessness crisis in 2017, getting to know the girls and their families and witnessing both their triumphs and challenges. In Troop 6000, readers will feel the highs and lows as some families make it out of the shelter while others falter, and girls grow up with the stress and insecurity of not knowing what each day will bring and not having a place to call home, living for the times when they can put on their Girl Scout uniforms and come together. The result is a powerful, inspiring story about overcoming the odds in the most unlikely of places. Stewart shows how shared experiences of poverty and hardship sparked the political will needed to create the troop that would expand from one shelter to fifteen in New York City, and ultimately inspired the creation of similar troops across the country. Woven throughout the book is the history of the Girl Scouts, an organization that has always adapted to fit the times, supporting girls from all walks of life. Troop 6000 is both the intimate story of one group of girls who find pride and community with one another, and the larger story of how, when we come together, we can find support and commonality and experience joy and success, no matter how challenging life may be.