On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) (HR 1319, Sec. 2001), which included an $800 million reservation within the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund to address the specific and urgent needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness. The purpose of this program, referred to hereafter as ARP-HCY, is to strengthen the efforts of state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to identify children and youth experiencing homelessness, to provide them with wraparound services to address the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to enable them to attend school and fully participate in school activities. These funds are in addition to the annual funds provided to states through the Education of Homeless Children and Youths (EHCY) program under Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (reauthorized in 2015 by Title IX, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act). The following sections contain resources from NCHE related to ARP-HCY. For more information, you can also visit U.S. Department of Education’s ARP-HCY webpage.
This National Center for Homeless Education brief illustrates the critical need to provide wraparound supports for LGBTQI+ students experiencing homelessness. It spotlights how one local educational agency (LEA) is using ARP-HCY funding to support LGBTQI+ students at risk of or experiencing homelessness and explores promising practices for expanding LEA capacity to meet the needs of LGBTQI+ students at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
https://nche.ed.gov/supporting-lgbtq-students/
This brief provides an overview of the 7 historically underserved populations named in the Department of Education’s April 2021 Dear Colleague Letter. The brief includes publicly available data on the 7 historically underserved populations and a list of resources and organizations that educators can consult for more information. The information in this brief is valuable for building a foundation for equity-focused collaboration, planning, and service provision in the use of American Rescue Plan-Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) funds and Education of Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) funds.
https://nche.ed.gov/advancing-equity-in-homeless-education/
This NCHE brief provides a summary of the American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) program state plans submitted as part of the application for funding by September 2021; describes trends in how states are using the funds to address the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness who have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. and features innovative practices for expanding the capacity of state and local educational agencies to address the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness.
https://nche.ed.gov/arp-hcy-state-plans/
This NCHE brief provides an overview of the requirements to provide wraparound services for children and youth experiencing homelessness in the American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) program; discusses the ways that ARP-HCY funds have expanded the services that state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) are able to provide to children and youth experiencing homelessness; describes the opportunities and challenges for SEAs and LEAs in partnering with community-based organizations (CBOs) and providing wraparound services for children and youth experiencing homelessness; lists strategies to build SEA and LEA Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program capacity to provide wraparound services; and spotlights examples of SEA initiatives to provide wraparound services for children and youth experiencing homelessness.
https://nche.ed.gov/wrap-around-services/
This NCHE brief summarizes the role and expertise of school social workers; describes ways that school social workers can build local homeless liaisons’ capacity to provide wraparound services for children and youth experiencing homelessness; and includes strategies for and examples of successful partnerships between school social workers and local liaisons, as well as between school social workers and community-based organizations.
https://nche.ed.gov/partnering-with-school-social-works-brief/
This National Center for Homeless Education brief provides information on what systems navigators are and the role they play in supporting children and youth experiencing homelessness; explores how local educational agencies (LEAs) leverage the systems navigator role as a helpful resource for meeting the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness; and provides examples from communities and LEAs that have expanded their services and coordination by hiring systems navigators.
https://nche.ed.gov/leveraging-systems-navigators-brief/
This NCHE tip sheet provides educational administrators in local educational agencies (LEAs) with information and guiding questions to assist them in determining how to spend subgrant funds in their Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program authorized by Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento Act).
https://nche.ed.gov/use-of-funds-tip-sheet-2/
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP), signed into law as the third COVID-19 federal stimulus bill in March 2021, appropriated $800,000,000 in new education funds specifically for supporting children and youth experiencing homelessness. Join the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE), which operates the U.S. Department of Education’s federal technical assistance (TA) center for the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program, to:
https://nche.ed.gov/arp-hcy-early-implementation-webinar/
In this webinar, presenters from the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE), state educational agencies (SEAs), and local educational agencies (LEAs) explore creative approaches on how to provide wraparound services for homeless children and youth using American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief – Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) funding. Topics will include:
https://nche.ed.gov/event/providing-wraparound-services-under-arp-hcy/
Utilizing System Navigators provides the opportunity to expand the capacity for school districts to support students experiencing homelessness by navigating various systems that include housing, education, and workforce. In this webinar we will expand the awareness of the work of system navigators, funding opportunities to implement system navigators at the state and local levels, and how educators can collaborate with system navigators to support students experiencing homelessness. We are joined by panelists who will share how their communities are utilizing the unique role of system navigators to support youth and young adults.
https://nche.ed.gov/systems-navigators-promising-practices-recorded-webinar/
The United States is in the midst of responding to an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel (new) coronavirus that was first detected in China, and which has now been detected in countries around the world. The virus has been named “SARS-CoV-2,” and the disease it causes has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID-19”). Health officials are currently taking steps to prevent the introduction and spread of COVID-19 into communities across the United States. Schools can play an important role in this effort.