Zoe Scholes

Wayne State University

Social Work Policy

New Policy Formulation McKinney Vento Act

The Problem
The McKinney-Vento Act of 1987 created a responsibility for school systems to
provide an equal education for homeless children and youth, as well as defined the word
homeless to provide assistance for families, youth, and individuals without a stable place
to live. (42 U.S.C. 11431.) This act created a societal shift in how America views the
homeless: seeing this group as an economic problem which needs help, rather than
looking at those as people who simply did not do things right to provide for themselves
and their family. While this was considered a great step toward social justice, it also
lacked many details to provide assistance to all parties and their individual cases. This
paper will discuss the gaps in the McKinney Vento Act regarding the equal opportunity to
education for school aged children without a home, as well as formulate an alternative
policy solution aiming to fix the gaps in the current policy.

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One major problem with the McKinney Vento Acts is in some areas and school
districts there is not an assigned school homeless liaison, or the one that is assigned does
not have the proper understanding of what a homeless liaison can do and should do under
the federal statute. Most often this faculty members will be assigned to this position in
addition to another already full-time position. (Miller, 2011) Also, while the act does
define homeless children and youth as those living in emergency shelters, motels, or
friends and familys homes; There is not a proper system in place in order for these
children to be connected with a homeless liaison and education assistance. (Miller, 2011)
Discussed by the National Center for Homeless Education, (2015), a school district
should choose a homeless liaison who has the knowledge, experience, and skills to ensure
the complex responsibilities are supported and carried out in the right way. Regardless if
the district is funded through McKinney-Vento Act, homeless children should be
identified through other agencies and have a full and equal opportunity to enroll and
succeed in school. Beyond this, the liaison is responsible to make referrals to dental care,
mental health, and health care, including other services and connecting those children
with before and after school programs. (Miller, 2011) Finally, the support for this position
provides that a liaison should not merely be assigned to an existing staff member, but be
treated as a professional administrator and receive the proper amount of time,
qualifications, and desire, to carry out the responsibilities and duties meant for the liaison.
(National Center for Homeless Education, 2015)
McKinney Ventos guarantee of access to public schools does not benefit all
school-aged children, although it is implied to. The Act includes access to pre
kindergarten programs for those homeless children in the eligible age group. A study
found by the Department of Education (2015), shows that 6 out of 10 four years olds are

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not enrolled in preschool education. Of the 40% who are enrolled in preschool, they are
private preschools not provided by any type of government funding. In many areas there
are not enough public preschool programs and classrooms to enroll homeless children or
children in poverty. Public preschool is extremely under funded in states all over the
country, and even within some states it is funded separate from its State Educational
Agency (SEA). (Department of Education, 2015). This means the McKinney Vento funds
would not apply to these preschool programs. This is true in Massachusetts, Florida,
Georgia, Alabama, and Washington. (Education Law Center, 2010) While already true in
some of these states, all states should adopt policies removing barriers and giving priority
to homeless children regardless if the preschool programs are governed by federal law or
privatized by the state.
Homeless Education in China
Worldwide homeless children have become more of an issue than half a century
ago, and in China there is an ever-growing concern for the children without homes and
their lack of education (Mo & Shen, 2006 p.270). Discussed by Business Insider (2012),
children are being found dead in the streets seeking shelter from the cold. China has
between 1 million and 1.5 million street children, and the stories of children dying while
seeking shelter are growing. On average between 14 and 15 years old, if these children
are not being trafficked, they are working illicitly, pick pocketing, or under the influence
of gangs. The majority has received less than 4 to 5 years of elementary education
(Business Inside, 2012). The leaders in China have just begun to develop solutions for
their vulnerable population.
In 2014, the Minister of Civil Affairs in China, Li Liguo called for a regulation
document providing relief organizations to safeguard the rights of homeless. Among
2,031 relief organizations, 261 of these are centers for juveniles, and about 2.35 million

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homeless individuals received help. This document is the first in China to regulate the
social assistance system. (English News, 2014) However, among the poverty stricken
families in rural China, children do not have the same opportunity to succeed in school as
those living in urban areas. 60 millions students from rural China walk over a mile to
decrepit schools and struggle to grasp advanced subjects. These children are usually
watched over by their grandparents while their parents work in baggage factories, and
when asked what they will do after graduating, they will not hesitate to say migrant
worker. All the while their urban living peers attend schools with state-of-the-art
facilities and advanced trained teachers. So later when these children take a test to
determine their future, rural living students have an extreme disadvantage to those living
in the city. (Gao, 2014)
Policies have been in circulation of correcting the inequality gap between rural
and urban childrens education in China, though none have passed. Most recently the
central government has created plans for the Internet to cut these inequalities, and provide
education access to those in rural areas. Where as they also intend to narrow the digital
gap between the two areas. (Schlaeger & Wang, 2015 p. 2) Despite the policy reform in
China, whether it is creating safe havens for those who seek refuge, or closing the gap
inequality between poverty stricken children and the urban elite, there is still a blind eye
turned to civil matters involving homeless children and their education. There are no
current policies or political actions being taken on the education of homeless children in
China. While China is viewed as vastly industrialized and known for its business leaders,
this is a small population of those with rights to higher education and stability. (Gao,
2014)
New Policy Formation

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Children in poverty affect all institutions, politicians, and businesses.

(Cunningham, Harwood, & Hall, 2010). The children growing up in homelessness,
poverty, and hunger are growing to affect our economy and work force. Before the
McKinney Vento Act, The United States, just as China, turned a blind eye toward
homelessness issues. Since it has become a nationally recognized problem, there are still
many gaps in the education policies for homeless children. While policies remain in
place, the war on poverty is still alive and well. Politicians are looking to make cuts on
food stamps and other temporary assistance to needy families (TANF) programs. Lowincome families face cuts in their public assistance under states lead by both democrats
and republicans. These same state fiscal budgets have raised earned income tax for lowincome working families, and cut taxes for both the wealthy and corporations (Brewer,
2011).
Almost 20 years after the McKinney Vento Act was introduced, homeless children
and children in poverty continue to face difficulties in receiving proper education. While
funding is tight, there are not enough funds being dispersed to provide the school districts
with a full time position for a homeless school liaison to provide the services necessary
for the population being discussed (Miller, 2011). These liaisons are stretched to more
than one position and are expected to take on extra work. Because of this, many schoolaged children are not discovered in the community to be connected with possible
resources. Even if these faculty members were given the proper amount of time to fulfill
the position required, many are not educated on the responsibilities applied to the position
(Miller, 2011).
A new federal policy, named Education for Under-Privileged Children would give a
financial responsibility to school districts to hire a homeless liaison, whos only job is

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this, to reach out to homeless children in the districts community and surrounding
shelters. As well, there would be a responsibility for the schools government to educate
these full time positions on the McKinney Vento Act and what it is capable of. Since a
single employee does not adherently fill most of these positions, they could use the
federal funding of this Act to create the position rather than splitting it between another
already full time position. Once these employees are educated on the policy and what the
funding is meant for, the school districts would be in charge of funding for the programs
necessary for the homeless childrens needs. This includes before and after school
programs, supplies, and special needs programs. In a new policy formation, both the
McKinney Vento Act and the states budget for schools would provide the responsibility
of funding. Where as many schools might use funding to update school facilities, or
transportation, they would be instead responsible to make funding available to the
education equality for homeless children. The new policy will include implementation of
research in all states and school districts to provide the proof of educational standards for
homeless children.
School homeless liaisons once identified and paid fully for their position will
follow the guidelines found at the National Center for Homeless Education, called Local
Homeless Liaison for School Districts: Making the Right Selection and Supporting their
Effectiveness (2015). Essentially, this document will guide a homeless liaison to what is
required of him or her in their position, and what the McKinney Vento Act provides
financially and what responsibilities the Act requires. Also on the website that provides
this documentation, called Serve, a homeless family may be able to find a local homeless
liaison to be connected with services. In the same way China has plans for their rural
under-educated children to receive equal access to services and education; Here in the

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United States there are plans in line to provide services for our vulnerable populations,
only for those services and provisions to not be properly executed in a way to be
effective.
According to the Department of Education (2015), research shows that those
children whom participated in preschool education excel in greater cognitive outcome, as
well as socio-emotional health than those who did not have access to public preschool
programs. The lack of programs for preschool aged children are significant in the United
States, and although grants and fiscal budgets have been addressed in the previous years
to address inequities, the grants do not cover every child in the funded states. For three
years, the Obama administration has requested formula funding to address the enormous
unmet need for high-quality preschool (Department of Education, 2015).
While both state and federal governments have attempted to create fiscal changes
to create a system where all preschool aged children have an opportunity to receive the
proper education before entering kindergarten, almost 50% of this population still does
not have access to preschool programs. With Education for Under-Privileged Children,
the McKinney Vento Act would be extended and federal funding would be increased to
provide a pre-kindergarten education for children whose familys income was low or
moderate. According to the Department of Education (2015), 70 percent of voters said
they would support federal funding to be increased to provide a high quality education for
preschool aged children. Investing in childrens education is the best way possible to
create a strong future for our societys economy and work force.
The New Policy
In the recent year a bill has been already introduced regarding the education of
preschool aged children: The Strong Start for Americas Children Act. This Act is
discussed in a document by the Department of Education, (2015). The Strong Start for

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Americas Children Act has formed to address the fiscal budget and requirements to
create an equal opportunity for all children to attend a preschool education program. In
my opinion, this policy should include rights to education for all school-aged children,
including the kindergarten through twelfth grade population. By creating the
responsibility of Local Education Agencies to provide a homeless liaison in every school
district to address the educational needs of homeless children. In funding, the bill already
calls for more funding to be provided to creating programs for the pre kindergarten aged
children. While funding is already tight, the new policy: Education for Under-Privileged
Children, will call for a change in funding for kindergarten through twelfth grade: Where
as the funding would be applied first to creating a position for a homeless liaison in all
districts. From there, the state funding and local education agency would provide
programs for before and after school, special needs, and school supplies if needed.
While this might be difficult for the smaller government agencies to afford, the
requirement of having a homeless liaison is what is found to be most important because
this is how homeless children and low income families would be guaranteed access to the
education they deserve. Beyond that, when this same population needs special needs
services or school supplies, the homeless liaison would act as an advocate who is
educated in providing these services. Homeless liaisons will be required to educate
themselves and others of how the Act is providing assistance for the families, and will use
the proper services to fund these programs. Among these services, the homeless liaisons
might reach out to homeless families with children who are younger than school age and
educate them of their options for preschool programs. An actual full time faculty position
will provide a single person whose purpose is to fulfill the needs of their community for
educational services and programs. This is a huge change that can be made for the

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community; thus creating a future of educated young individuals to enter our work force
and economy with their full abilities grown to provide excellence.
Feasibility
Since the Obama administration has already proposed to create funding for public
preschool educational programs in 2016 (Department of Education, 2015), there is a high
possibility that this new policy will already be implemented in some ways. The newly
formulated policy calls for the responsibility of states education agencies to provide
public schooling for prekindergarten aged children in poverty, as well as provisions for a
school homeless liaison in all school districts. For this, there will be essentially a law
requiring State and Local Education Agencies to hire a full time homeless liaison and
provide a classroom for preschool aged children. The funding for a homeless liaison
would already be provided for by the McKinney-Vento Act, as well as the Obama
administrations new plans to apply funding specifically for the younger children to
receive public education.
The implementation of Education for Under-Privileged Children Act makes sense
for the future of our economy and setting up younger children for success in their adult
life. If children can have the rights to education, they can diminish the high amount of
school dropouts from low-income families and stop the cycle of homelessness.
Eventually the funding for homeless children and families and low-income families who
need public assistance will diminish on its own. This policy would also work in the
presence of Chinas economy, where only a small number or urban students have access
to a valuable education. If this were true in all areas of China as well as for their
homeless population, there would no longer be children raised in poverty and only
prepared for a continuing lifetime of living in poverty.
Conclusion

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The hope for this new formation of policy and extending the McKinney Vento
Act, is to create a future for The United States that looks promising for all citizens. If
children are given the proper education to succeed in education, they will also succeed in
their future career. This Act is providing a hopeful future to end poverty and
homelessness where a proper education plays a huge role. If children are encouraged to
live independently and be knowledgeable for their careers, there should be no need for
public assistance twenty years from now. A big part of ongoing poverty is that families in
low-income households or without a home do not have access to provide their children
with fruitful education.
Research done by Nores and Barnett at the Center on Enhancing Early Learning
Outcomes (CEELO)(2014), discusses the effects on school aged children who come from
families of low-to-moderate income versus those in higher income households. The study
also looks at the kindergarten readiness of the children based on if their parents did or did
not have high school degrees. These studies show that children in lower income families
did not receive access to preschool education as often as those in higher income homes,
or an opportunity for ongoing public school success. The same research was found true in
families where the parents did not finish their high school education. The negative effects
these two factors have on children could possibly be reversed if every child is provided
with pre-kindergarten education as well as an equal opportunity for all children to receive
public education from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
In this paper that discussed the gaps in the McKinney Vento Act, I have given a
formula for a new policy, referencing a current bill in congress and new additions to
create a provision of assisting homeless and low-income children with educational
access. The Obama administration has already proposed funding for preschool aged

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10

children and their education for the 2016 budget (Department of Education, 2015). In the
Education for Under-Privileged Children Act including the requirement of homeless
liaisons and public preschool to be available in all school districts, the future for all
Americans will look brighter. Our future depends on the education of all children and if
only a quarter of the United States is getting a healthy and fruitful education our future
economy and work force will not be as strong as it could be.

References
42 U.S.C. 11431.
Brewer, J. (2011, May 30). Cuts in US welfare programs hit hundreds of thousands of
poor families. In World Socialist Website. Retrieved November 27, 2015, from
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2011/05/tanf-m30.html
China provides social relief for the homeless. (2014, February 28). In English News.
Retrieved November 27, 2015, from
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-02/28/c_133150564.html
Cunningham, M., Harwood, R., & Hall, S. (2010, May). Residential Instability and the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Education Program What We Know,
Plus Gaps in Research. In Metropolitan Housing and Communities Center.
Retrieved November 27, 2015, from
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Education-Program.PDF
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Local Homeless Liaisons for School Districts: Making the Right Selection and

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Supporting their Effectiveness. (2015, February). In National Center for

Homeless Education . Retrieved November 27, 2015, from
http://www.serve.org/nche
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