McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act

Policy History

 

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act originally started out as the Urgent Relief for the Homeless Act that provided emergency relief to America's homeless. After the primary backer, Stewart B. McKinney, passed away they renamed it the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. It was enacted into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 22nd, 1987. 

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The original Act was meant to assist those already homeless become eligible for assistance programs such as Food Stamps, Medicaid, and transitional housing by removing constraints such as needing to have a permanent address. When the Act was written into law, they had seen the precursors of an increase in homeless families, specifically mothers and children, so they included verbiage to ensure that homeless children received the same education as their non-homeless counterparts. This included a revision in residency requirements to limit the amount of time spent on enrollment so students may experience a shorter gap in education. 

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In 1990, there was a shift of focus from homeless student enrollment to homeless student success. The problem wasn't getting children enrolled, it was getting children to attend school. Realizing the obstruction to student success, the policy was amended to include the mandatory revision of state and local policies that could possibly be hindering students from attending classes. The amendments also opened up the use of funds allocated for the McKinney Act for programs that would directly boost student success. The programs included tutoring services,  before and after school care, counseling, medical care, and transportation services. 

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The Act was amended again in 1994 to include flexible fund disbursement, which allowed schools the right to allocate funds as they see fit in order to assist their homeless student population. Included in the amendment was the right for parents to enroll their child in whatever school they deem appropriate so long as it is reasonable and feasible. 

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Under the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 and after Bruce Vento, a major advocate for the Act, passed away, the McKinney act became the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The amendments outlined with this reauthorization included increased funding at a federal and state level, clarification of their definition of homeless to include more situations and the prohibition of segregation of homeless children from their non-homeless counterparts. 

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Currently, the McKinney-Vento Act was reauthorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act and now focuses on identifying homeless students and the connections between school and public services. It is now mandatory for every school district to have a Homeless Liaison that is well-versed in public services for the homeless and increased staff development in the assistance of homeless students. 

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Social Context and History

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The purpose of this Act was to address the growing population of homeless people and assist in their rehabilitation. It has since evolved to include a comprehensive facet geared towards the successful education of homeless students. The proposed solution to the problem was to ensure adequate access to assistive programs for those that find themselves homeless and to supply a reasonable amount of funding to make it happen. 

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The idea that homeless students perform better academically when they have access to equal education and a stable school environment derived from homeless student performance data collected by our government. It was observed that homeless students scored consistently lower than their peers that had access to stable housing and the fulfillment of their baser needs. The observations of such data led to the conclusion that the provision of more support for our homeless students and their families would increase the likelihood for student success.

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Support and advocation come from both Democrats and Republicans. However, the primary supporters have included people such as Stewart B. McKinney (R), Bruce Vento (D), and Al Gore (D).

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