This brief is an extension of the Early Care and Education for Young Children Experiencing Homelessness brief. It spotlights state coordination for early childhood education of young children experiencing homelessness.
Go to Supporting Young Children Experiencing Homelessness: Spotlight on State Coordination for Early Childhood Education.
Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! is a coordinated federal initiative to encourage healthy child development, universal developmental and behavioral screening for children, and support for families and providers caring for young children. The initiative consolidates materials from a wide array of federal agencies and non-federal partners, and includes tools designed specifically for a variety of audiences, including housing and homeless shelter providers.
Visit the Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! website.
This 2020 report from the U.S. Department of Education compiles data from multiple sources from the 2017-18 school year to provide information on the extent of early childhood homelessness and the availability of federally-funded early childhood education for young children experiencing homelessness across the United States.
Download Early Childhood Homelessness State Profiles. (2021)
Download Early Childhood Homelessness State Profiles. (2020)
Download Early Childhood Homelessness State Profiles 2019. (June 2019)
Download Early Childhood Homelessness State Profiles 2018. (December 2018)
This tool from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is designed to help shelter staff members create shelter environments that are safe and developmentally appropriate for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The tool provides recommendations and information on how shelter environments, programming, policies, and staff can support early childhood safety and development.
Download the Early Childhood Self-Assessment Tool for Family Shelters.
This tool, developed collaboratively by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Corporation for Supportive Housing, is designed to help supportive services and property management staff create environments and supportive services that are safe and developmentally appropriate for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The tool includes recommendations and information on how the physical spaces, programming, supportive services, policies and procedures, and staff can support early childhood safety and development.
Download the Early Childhood Self-Assessment Tool for Family Supportive Housing.
This brief from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) discusses the benefits of early education home visiting programs for support families experiencing homelessness and offers several suggested models for implementing this type of program.
Download Early Education Home Visiting: Supporting Children Experiencing Homelessness.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act) and the Head Start Act, require LEAs receiving Title I funds and Head Start programs, respectively, to coordinate both with each other and other early childhood providers. This guidance from North Carolina provides a framework for developing formal memoranda of understanding (MOUs) for coordination across local programs, and may be adapted by other states to develop their own guidance.
Download ESSA Title I, Part A and Head Start Act: LEA (Local Education Agency)/Head Start Coordination Guidance.
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