The Guide to Developing an Annual Plan for State-Level Activities will assist State Coordinators for homeless education in a step-by-step process to review state Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program requirements, examine data, assess and prioritize needs, set annual goals, and develop an action plan to achieve the goals. The federal program officer at the U.S. Department of Education strongly encourages states to develop annual plans for homeless education with measurable outcomes to guide their work.
The Guide is a flexible tool that State Coordinators may customize as needed. NCHE recognizes that each state is unique in its approach to implementing the McKinney-Vento Act and in the time and resources a State Coordinator can devote to the planning process. Some states will use the templates included in the Guide as the foundation for a formal needs assessment and program planning process while others will use the templates in a more informal way to guide thoughtful discussions among a small group to plan yearly activities. The core of the planning process is effective use of data. In order to create the most relevant and useful plan, NCHE encourages State Coordinators to gather all existing data, including data from the Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR), other state data on homeless students as compared to state averages, and data on implementation challenges derived from sources such as monitoring findings, phone and email records, and disputes. A review of the data will help State Coordinators identify areas for needed improvement as well as lead to establishing measurable goals to assess progress.
Guide to Developing an Annual Plan for State-Level Activities (complete guide)
Overview
Part IA – General Program Planning: Needs Assessment and Goal Setting | State Plan – Alternative 1
State Plan – Alternative 1 | Exploratory Conversations and Notes
Part IA – General Program Planning: Needs Assessment and Goal Setting | State Plan – Alternative 2
State Plan – Alternative 2 | Exploratory Conversations and Notes
Part IB – General Action Plan
Part IIA – State Collaboration Needs Assessment and Goal Setting
Part IIA – State Collaboration Needs Assessment and Goal Setting | Expectations and Exploratory Questions
Part IIB - Collaboration Action Plan
Part IIIA – Supporting and Monitoring LEAs: Needs Assessment and Goal Setting
Part IIIA – Supporting and Monitoring LEAs: Needs Assessment and Goal Setting | Exploratory Conversations and Notes
Part IIIB – Supporting and Monitoring LEAs Action Plan
Part IV – Plan Summary